diff --git a/src/Utilities/MathUtil.f90 b/src/Utilities/MathUtil.f90
index 029743a36eb..f01d6f7e39c 100644
--- a/src/Utilities/MathUtil.f90
+++ b/src/Utilities/MathUtil.f90
@@ -119,7 +119,10 @@ logical function is_close(a, b, rtol, atol, symmetric)
     logical(LGP) :: lsymmetric
 
     ! check for exact equality
-    if (a == b) is_close = .true.
+    if (a == b) then
+      is_close = .true.
+      return
+    end if
 
     ! process optional arguments
     if (.not. present(rtol)) then
@@ -138,7 +141,6 @@ logical function is_close(a, b, rtol, atol, symmetric)
       lsymmetric = symmetric
     end if
 
-    ! approximate equality
     if (lsymmetric) then
       ! "weak" symmetric test, https://peps.python.org/pep-0485/#which-symmetric-test
       is_close = abs(a - b) <= max(lrtol * max(abs(a), abs(b)), latol)