Skip to main content

Tax Policy and Administration

Jump To:

Recent Reports

View More Reports

Open Recommendations

Adoption Tax Credit: IRS Needs a Comprehensive Educational Outreach Plan
GAO-25-107429
Aug 11, 2025
Show
1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Internal Revenue Service The Commissioner of Internal Revenue should direct the Acting Chief of Communications and Liaison and the Chief Taxpayer Experience Officer to develop a comprehensive educational outreach plan for the adoption tax credit that aligns with our Leading Practices for Consumer Education Planning, including identifying key stakeholders and developing clear, consistent messaging. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Taxpayer Experience: IRS Should Fully Establish Its Approach for Using Evidence to Assess Service Improvement Results
GAO-25-107408
Jul 17, 2025
Show
1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Internal Revenue Service We recommend that the Commissioner of Internal Revenue fully establish an evidence-based approach, such as we identified, to determine whether and how improvements to services affect the taxpayer experience. (Recommendation 1)
Open
IRS agreed with this recommendation. In June 2025 comments on our draft report, IRS outlined planned steps for implementation. Until IRS fully establishes an evidence-based approach for the taxpayer experience, IRS will not be assured that it has the information it needs to assess progress toward its taxpayer experience goals, determine what worked well and where improvements are needed, and identify the best investments of its resources to make those improvements. We will continue to monitor progress and update this status as IRS more fully documents its planned actions to implement the recommendation, as we expect later this year.

Direct File: IRS Successfully Piloted Online Tax Filing but Opportunities Exist to Expand Access
GAO-25-106933
Dec 19, 2024
Show
4 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Internal Revenue Service The Commissioner of Internal Revenue should ensure relevant officials collaborate on recruiting and training customer service representatives for Direct File and document an annual process for recruiting and training employees. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Internal Revenue Service The Commissioner of Internal Revenue should continue to coordinate with state revenue agencies to expand taxpayer access to Direct File and, as necessary, take steps to ensure the availability of the federal Direct File program to eligible taxpayers in all states. (Recommendation 2)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Internal Revenue Service The Commissioner of Internal Revenue should ensure IRS's planned research on potential Direct File users includes research questions that will allow the agency to collect data that can be used to prioritize the development of new capabilities for Direct File. (Recommendation 3)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Internal Revenue Service The Commissioner of Internal Revenue should identify additional data that could be prepopulated in Direct File returns and develop a plan for testing the accuracy of prepopulating the data and its effect on the taxpayer experience. (Recommendation 4)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Tax Administration: IRS Needs to Take Additional Actions to Prepare for New Information Reporting Requirements
GAO-24-107028
Sep 19, 2024
Show
4 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Internal Revenue Service The Commissioner of Internal Revenue should update IRS's policies and procedures to require a documented risk assessment for substantive tax administration decisions and include guidance on when these assessments are needed, such as when a decision could affect a large number of taxpayers or when decisions could generate congressional or oversight scrutiny. (Recommendation 1)
Open
IRS agreed with this recommendation and reported that its Enterprise Risk Management will update its policies and procedures to require a documented risk assessment for substantive tax administration decisions and include guidance on when these assessments are needed by September 2025. Assessing risks and documenting key decisions would help promote accountability and transparency to ensure IRS has a sound rationale for its implementation decisions.
Internal Revenue Service The Commissioner of Internal Revenue should ensure offices implementing the lowered Form 1099-K reporting threshold develop and implement a process to comprehensively and systematically document stakeholder feedback. (Recommendation 2)
Open
IRS agreed with this recommendation and as of March 2025 reported the agency would develop a process to document stakeholder feedback and communicate updated Form 1099-K guidance to appropriate parties by July 2026. IRS reported that it was researching internal systems and plans to leverage existing technology to decrease implementation time and costs. Having a process that comprehensively and systematically tracks stakeholder feedback, such as a designated place for such feedback, will help IRS ensure it is prepared and well positioned to implement changes to the Internal Revenue Code and make tax administration decisions.
Internal Revenue Service The Commissioner of Internal Revenue should ensure the Communication and Liaison Office and the Office of Digital Asset Initiative consult with the offices implementing the lowered Form 1099-K reporting threshold and incorporate any lessons learned and effective outreach strategies into their communication strategy for the new digital asset reporting requirements. (Recommendation 3)
Open
IRS agreed with the recommendation and as of March 2025 reported that it developed a communication strategy for the Digital Assets program that incorporated lessons learned during the implementation of the Form 1099-K outreach efforts. IRS reported that it is creating a tailored approach to ensure effective outreach for the Digital Assets program's audience. As part of this, IRS reported that officials are identifying outreach opportunities to address the specific challenges associated with this audience. We are requesting documentation of these efforts and will determine the extent to which they fulfill our recommendation. Incorporating lessons learned from prior experience could help the agency's efforts to educate and communicate with taxpayers and tax preparers. These insights could help officials target communication and education efforts. Tax preparers, taxpayers, and others would be more prepared for the new requirements, thus facilitating IRS's implementation and avoiding potential delays due to confusion over the changes.
Internal Revenue Service The Commissioner of Internal Revenue should ensure the Communication and Liaison Office and the Office of Digital Asset Initiative update their Communication Strategy to include periodic evaluation of their outreach and education efforts to assess whether they are meeting the agency's goals and providing timely, understandable, readily available, and accessible information to tax professionals, industry, and taxpayers. (Recommendation 4)
Open
IRS agreed with the recommendation and as of March 2025 reported that the agency is building mechanisms to gather feedback and measure the effectiveness of outreach activities. By October 2025, IRS plans to leverage existing stakeholder networks, use data-driven insights to inform updates, and ensure a focus on accessibility and clarity in communications. IRS also reported that it is seeking opportunities to refine outreach methods to meet the needs of its audiences in the digital space. Periodically evaluating its communication approach to providing information to tax professionals, industry, and taxpayers can help IRS ensure it is well positioned for the new reporting to begin. It would help IRS know if its outreach and education efforts are timely, understandable, readily available, and accessible to its audience so IRS can make adjustments to address confusion, if needed.
View More Recommendations

Related Pages

GAO Contacts