Management

Budget and Tech Challenges Loom Over IRS's Direct File Pilot

The news of the forthcoming pilot was followed this week by a compromise debt ceiling bill that includes reallocating $20 billion of the funding the IRS got as part of the Inflation Reduction Act.

Tech

GAO Identifies New Information Security Deficiencies in IRS System Controls

The watchdog's annual audit of the agency turned up new recommendations on system access controls and security configurations, alongside a limited release report and previous recommendations.

Tech

The IRS Will Test a Government-Run Free File System in 2024

The move could presage the large-scale deployment of free, government-furnished online tax prep services.

Workforce

The IRS Answered 2.4M More Taxpayer Phone Calls During 2023 Filing Season

Inflation Reduction Act funding paid dividends for the IRS during the 2023 tax filing season.

Management

Why Is Tax Day on April 18 This Year? and How Did Early Spring Become Tax Season, Anyhow?

The federal government wanted to give taxpayers a couple months to prepare the year’s taxes. But as filing became more complex, the date was pushed back.

Tech

Taxpayer Data Is at Risk Due to Cybersecurity Deficiencies at IRS, a Report Warns

An annual assessment of the IRS' information technology program alleges critical cybersecurity deficiencies in the agency's handling of taxpayer data privacy.

Workforce

IRS Strategic Plan Vows to Amp Up Audits of the Rich

With $80 billion in new funding, the previously gutted agency pledged to renew its pursuit of wealthy tax dodgers and address a number of problems that ProPublica has been reporting on in recent years.

Workforce

IRS to Hire 30,000 Employees Over the Next Two Years

Biden administration lays out the full spending plan for its new $80 billion cash infusion.

Management

New IRS Chief: Growing the Workforce Will Transform Agency ‘Armed Only With Their Calculators’

As a new commissioner is sworn in, the Biden administration will detail its $80 billion IRS spending plan this week.

Tech

IRS System Doesn’t Meet All Cloud Security Requirements, Watchdog Says

Treasury’s Inspector General found the IRS did not meet requirements like malicious code protection and timely risk mitigation.

Oversight

Paying Your Taxes Is Complicated. Here's Why.

OpenSecrets' Anna Massoglia joins the podcast to discuss the influence of tax preparation industry lobbying money on the ways Americans interact with the IRS.

Tech

Planned Login-dot-gov Deployment at IRS is Postponed

The decision comes after concerns about implementing the sign-on service during tax season.

Tech

IRS Taxpayer Advocate Says Congress Shortchanged IT Modernization Efforts

Lawmakers didn’t allocate the $80 billion provided to the IRS in the right way, claims National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins, adding that IT modernization and taxpayer services aren’t getting the money they need.

Tech

IRS Plans to Approve Use of Login-dot-gov as Tax Day Nears

The tax agency intends to add Login this filing season—and as early as next week—as the integration is in final rounds of testing.

Management

The Number of Tax Delinquent Feds Is Growing. The IRS Watchdog Wants a Crackdown.

While civil servants overwhelmingly pay their taxes, the delinquency rate has ticked up for several years.

Management

The IRS Has a New Commissioner After Senate Approves Biden's Pick in a Bipartisan Vote

"Government geek" Danny Werfel will lead the agency for a second time at a pivotal moment in IRS history.

Management

Biden Administration Misses Its Own Deadline to Detail Inflation Reduction Act Spending at IRS

The plan will spell out how the tax agency will spend its $80 billion cash injection, including its hiring proposals.

Management

Biden’s IRS Pick Says He’s the ‘Government Geek’ for the Job

Nominee pledges transparency with unprecedented spending and hiring surge as he takes on the “most challenging and least popular job in town.”

Management

IRS Sends Black Taxpayers at Least 2.9X More Audit Notices

Researchers demonstrate how the IRS could tweak its secret algorithm to reduce the audit disparity facing Black taxpayers.

Management

Taxpayer Advocate Pushes For IRS to Make Its Own Free, Direct e-File System

A new report calls the current e-file program, a collaboration between private tax prep companies and the IRS, greatly underutilized and advises the agency to develop a new system.