IRS plans online taxpayer accounts

The Internal Revenue Service will implement the first version of a personalized taxpayer Web site next year, said David Williams, director of IRS’ Electronic Tax Administration. My IRS Account will initially let taxpayers look at three years’ worth of their tax data history. IRS’ goal is to have an online, secure set of self-service applications for taxpayers to deal with IRS similar to functions consumers enjoy with online banking, said Richard Spires, the agency’s deputy commissioner for operations support. Taxpayers will be able to get transcripts of their previous filings, and in the future they will be able to handle transactions, such as filing for an extension. IRS’ Web site rates high on customer service surveys, such as the American Customer Satisfaction Index, but the agency knows it needs to continuously improve, Williams said at a conference sponsored by the Council for Electronic Revenue Communication Advancement, an organization for tax professionals. Customers’ satisfaction is formed by their interactions with IRS in various parts of its Web space. “Taxpayer expectations are going to keep going up, and we as a government need to be ready to meet those expectations,” he said.