TAP 05-027

IRC on the IRS Website

Statement of Issue:

The IRS web page, IRS.gov, contains two links to the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”), neither of which contains the most recent changes to the Code, potentially misleading those who seek to access the Code from the IRS web page and resulting in serious errors.

Proposal:

Ideally, the information to which these links take the user should be current. If this is not possible, the IRS should consider placing a current version of the Code on IRS.gov.

Response Notes:

DuMars thanked TAP for the suggestion and said the goal of assisting taxpayers and tax professionals in identifying current IRC requirements was very admirable and worthy of careful consideration. He agreed that it would be ideal if the external IRC resource sites the IRS website links to provided current information. Unfortunately, there is no public domain copy available of a completely current codified IRC. Instead, all such copies are provided by private vendors for a fee per user. Therefore, IRS is not able to implement the first proposed solution. The sites currently referenced are the best non-fee sources of the IRC available at this time.

In addition, Congress has traditionally disfavored the IRS acting in competition with services provided by the private business sector. This is a major barrier that prevents the IRS from implementing TAP's recommendation to place the current IRC on IRS.gov. Even if that barrier could be overcome, the IRS does not internally maintain the current codified IRC, so does not have the information available to post. Keeping a codified copy of the IRC up-to-date is a major undertaking, which explains the current success of the fee-based services.