Digital Government
IRS announces 13 states where taxpayers could use its Direct File pilot
The agency has yet to commit to a long-term product for the in-house filing tool.
Digital Government
IRS won't add Login.gov without changes
A watchdog report reveals what led the IRS to scrap plans to use the government-backed identity service during the 2023 tax season.
Digital Government
IRS watchdog questions taxpayer demand for direct file services
A recent oversight report questions whether taxpayers are actually as interested in a direct, government-run tax filing tool as the IRS claims.
Artificial Intelligence
AI is part of a 'new era' at IRS, commissioner says
The tax agency announced the expansion of work to use AI in how it goes after large partnerships.
Digital Government
IRS awards $2B electronic payment system contract
The tax collection agency wants to make it easier to make payments via debit and credit cards, plus make the websites more accessible and user-friendly.
Digital Government
IRS must speed up efforts to resolve IT security weaknesses across the agency, watchdog says
The IRS’s failure to expeditiously resolve weaknesses in its IT systems puts the agency “at risk for exploitation by threat actors,” according to an audit by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.
Digital Government
How the IRS accidentally tagged thousands of taxpayers as dead
The IRS confirmed that 6,821 tax accounts were marked as deceased and locked — meaning that the agency wouldn’t process the tax returns associated with it — when the person was, in fact, alive.
Digital Government
GAO: IRS must enhance cyber oversight of third-party vendors, modernize online services
The IRS continues to ignore GAO’s recommendation to streamline oversight of third-party tax vendors’ cyber practices, despite concerns about mitigating digital threats.
Digital Government
IRS seeks states’ input on its direct file pilot
States have until Sept. 4 to tell the IRS if they’re interested in participating.
Digital Government
IRS to get a new acting CIO
The current occupant of the top tech job at the tax agency is going back to his post at Treasury at the end of June.
Modernization
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.
Cybersecurity
GAO identifies new infosec 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.
Digital Government
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.
Ideas
Stopping Tax Fraud in Its Tracks: 4 Ways OSINT Enhances Investigations
Fraud is often a crime of opportunity.
Modernization
IRS system doesn’t meet all cloud security requirements, watchdog says
The tax agency did not meet requirements like malicious code protection and timely risk mitigation, the department's internal watchdog reported.
Cybersecurity
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.
Digital Government
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.
Modernization
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.
People
IRS watchdog seeks crackdown on feds who owe back taxes
While civil servants overwhelmingly pay their taxes, the delinquency rate has ticked up for several years.
Digital Government