Article Summary –
The IRS has implemented significant improvements in taxpayer services over the past two years due to the Inflation Reduction Act, allowing for fully digital interactions, quicker in-person services, and enhanced measures against tax scams and evasion. Key accomplishments include offering callback options to reduce phone wait times by 3.3 million hours, expanding service to rural areas, increasing electronic form submissions, and sending educational materials to promote refundable credit eligibility. The IRS has also stepped up its efforts to protect over $1 billion from scammers and pursued high-income individuals who evade taxes, while forming new coalitions and enhancing compliance reviews to combat fraud.
The Internal Revenue Service announced significant progress in taxpayer service since the Inflation Reduction Act, enabling fully digital interactions and better resources to counter tax evasion and scams.
Taxpayers opting for in-person service can now receive quicker assistance.
“Two years into work enabled by the Inflation Reduction Act, the IRS has made significant strides in a 10-year plan to improve taxpayer service, upgrade technology, and ensure fair compliance,” said IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel. “Continuing this trajectory will fulfill a generational imperative. This will allow all taxpayers to complete interactions digitally, enhance IRS capability to disrupt tax scams, protect taxpayer data, and implement accurate audit methods that target income shielding.”
By the end of July, more than 11 million taxpayers used IRS callback options, saving 3.3 million hours of phone wait time.
The IRS expanded service to rural, underserved areas, adding 11,000 extra service hours at Taxpayer Assistance Centers for the 2024 filing season.
With new digital capabilities, 94% of taxpayers will avoid mailing correspondence to the IRS. Enhanced electronic and mobile form submissions and updated scanning equipment support this shift.
The IRS sent over 1.8 million reminder letters to those eligible for the advanced Child Tax Credit but who did not file a 2021 return. The service also launched a Tax Professional Awareness initiative to educate on refundable credit eligibility.
This two-year report highlighted simplified notices and letters, and improved service during the latest filing season.
The IRS’s main phone line reached over 88% service during the 2024 filing season, surpassing last year’s 87% and marking a significant improvement from pandemic levels.
Efforts to halt Employee Retention Credit scams protected over $1 billion. Enhanced compliance reviews, withdrawal options for misled small-business owners, and partnerships with the Department of Veterans Affairs were crucial. The IRS also formed the Coalition Against Scam and Scheme Threats, joining state tax agencies and the tax industry.
Budget cuts prior to the Inflation Reduction Act hindered the IRS’s ability to address complex tax evasion. Now, swift actions are closing this gap.
Increased efforts target high-income individuals who evade taxes. “While much work remains, the IRS has made significant advances in the past two years,” said Werfel. “These initiatives to improve taxpayer service and tax administration will continue to intensify.”
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