People

IRS recalls certain mission-critical employees for tax season

The tax agency is putting distancing measures into place and requiring employees to wear face coverings on the job.

Cybersecurity

Treasury Secretary Says Electronic Stimulus Payments ‘More Secure,' But Are They?

Verifying the identity of people submitting personal information to IRS portals could be a challenge for the agency.

Digital Government

Coronavirus Response 'Likely' to Lead to IRS Backlogs, IG Says

Outstanding cases have already spiked due to shutdown, and now thousands of employees are home and not working.

People

Temporary Excused Paid Leave sounds good but is hard to come by

Feds with dependent care responsibilities that stretch them to the breaking point have a stopgap once leave options are exhausted, but many agencies are reluctant to put it in play.

Digital Government

Agencies look to digital financial outlets to disburse relief funds

As IRS and the Small Business Administration tap digital-only financial firms to assist in relief funding, concerns are emerging about cybersecurity vulnerabilities and fraud.

People

IRS outlines expanded flexible work schedule

The IRS, which is operating under an evacuation order that mandates telework for all eligible employees, released new guidance outlining its flexible work schedule policy.

Emerging Tech

Pilot IRS to Return with New Focus Areas and Significantly More Funding

In the next three to six months, the IRS plans to issue new solicitations through its experimental contracting vehicle.

People

IRS wants $300 million for IT modernization in 2021

The agency is planning IT modernization and security initiatives while also adding more than 100 new special agents focused on cybercrime and virtual currencies.

Modernization

IRS Reforms Free File Program, Drops Agreement Not to Compete With TurboTax

The changes come after ProPublica’s reporting showed how TurboTax maker Intuit tricked customers into paying for tax prep they could have gotten for free.

People

Shutdown threat stokes financial anxiety among feds

A new survey says annual leave, travel, spending are down as feds budget for furloughs or missing paychecks.

Cybersecurity

Cybercrime at the center of IRS investigations in 2019

Officials from the agency's criminal investigations unit touted a major shift over the past year towards multi-stakeholder partnerships to investigate cybercrime and cryptocurrencies in financial crime.

Modernization

Key EIS transition deadline looms

Agencies are entering a critical time for telecom transitions as March deadline to limit activity on an expiring contract vehicle approaches.

Cybersecurity

Cryptocurrency tracking improves -- but how?

The IRS and other tax enforcement agencies are touting big improvements in tracing the use of cryptocurrencies in tax evasion and other criminal schemes. They just don't want to talk about how.

Digital Government

Security, modernization and people are key IRS challenges

The IRS should focus the next year on modernizing IT, improving security controls for its primary e-filing tool, eliminating critical vulnerabilities in servers used for personal devices and addressing its "serious" human capital crisis, according to Treasury auditors.