IRS closes in on release of $2.6B software solicitation
Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
The tax agency has an industry day planned for June 8 to update vendors on the Enterprise Development Operations Services contract vehicle.
The IRS is inching closer asking industry for support in a seven-year, $2.6 billion push to modernize some of its most critical functions while adding new options for taxpayers to interact securely with the tax agency.
The agency recently released a draft request for quotations and invited vendors on the General Services Administration’s Multiple Award Schedule, IT Category contract to a June 8 industry day to learn more about the Enterprise Development Operations Services (EDOS) blanket purchase agreement.
The new contract vehicle aims to onboard new support for IRS’s application development office to modernize existing systems, improve cybersecurity, build out analytics products and critically add new functionality to allow for taxpayers and tax professionals to interact directly with the tax agency.
The EDOS draft solicitation lists nine task areas that come under the aegis of the IRS application development office, including the upkeep and modernization of existing systems, agile portfolio management support as well as managed services including cloud and surge support for scaling systems during busy filing seasons.
A previous draft of the EDOS solicitation released in March 2021 indicated that support for the Customer Account Data Engine 2 (CADE2), administration of the tax side of the Affordable Care Act, the agency's own core financial systems and public-facing IRS user portals would be included in the new contract vehicle. The newly released draft solicitation does not enumerate systems, but covers much of the same ground as the 2021 version.
The IRS is seeking a $4.8 billion tech budget for 2023, which encompasses infrastructure, shared services and support and information systems as well as a separate line item for business systems modernization.