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Project Statement:

Taxpayers have raised concerns that documents submitted through the Document Upload Tool are not being addressed by the IRS in a timely manner.

In many cases taxpayers are left wondering if the IRS have received the documents through the DUT or what type of progress if any the IRS has made on the documents that they have sent in using the DUT. This causes a significant number of phone calls from both taxpayers and tax practitioners to the IRS to check up on the status of these documents.

Goal Statement:

To reduce the amount of calls the taxpayers are making to the IRS by giving them meaningful status updates of the documents that were sent to the IRS via the Document Upload Tool.

Project Statement:

Evaluation of Form 8821 and instructions to determine if the form and instructions clearly communicate appropriate guidance to the public.

Goal Statement:

TAP’s assistance is requested in educating taxpayers on the need to review who they have designated to receive and inspect their tax information and to revoke the authorizations when it is no longer needed. Focusing on this communication will improve tax compliance and protect taxpayer information.

Project Statement:

Tax professionals.

Goal Statement:

The Office of Online Services (OLS) previously engaged with TAP on the topic of taxpayer requested data, focusing specifically on taxpayers’ struggles with interpretation of the IRS’s tax account transcript. As a follow-up to the incredibly valuable feedback TAP provided about taxpayers’ perspectives, our team would also like to ensure that we are considering the perspective of tax professionals as we consider updates to make to improve the readability and understandability of the transcript. For example, a non-expert taxpayer likely does not understand what the transaction codes mean, or what “cycle” refers to, or why some transactions show values of $0 – but are those transcript elements valuable to tax professionals? If yes, how might the IRS better accommodate the disparity in expertise between taxpayers and tax professionals in its transcript products? We want to ensure that any updates we make will meet the needs of all potential users (or find a suitable compromise), rather than serving the needs of one group (e.g., taxpayers) at the expense of another (e.g., tax professionals).

Project Statement:

There are numerous ways in which a taxpayer or tax professional can communicate with the IRS to get answers to questions or resolve issues, including phone, chat bot, live chat, secure messaging, and in-person appointments. However, those communication channels don’t exist as a unified, holistic communication system, but rather as independent, unintegrated channels, with inconsistent availability from one topic area to the next (e.g., secure messaging use is inconsistent between business units; chat is available from some pages in IRS.gov but not others; etc.). We are planning an overhaul of our communication system to make it user- and issue-centered, creating a better experience for users. To do that, we need to collect feedback from taxpayers and tax professionals about their experiences contacting the IRS: What’s working well? What isn’t? How could we better serve users’ communication needs?

Goal Statement:

An ideal outcome would be answers to the following questions: • Other than phone wait times, what are the biggest pain points for taxpayers and tax professionals trying to communicate with the IRS? What problems are most important for the IRS to tackle? • Focusing on digital communication: What are specific examples of challenges of using the IRS’s current chat bot, live chat, and secure messaging systems? How do our communication channels compare with those of other businesses or organizations? What could the IRS be doing better? • Why might users elect not to use the IRS’s digital communication channels (e.g., privacy: What are users concerned about?)? • What communication with the IRS do taxpayers and tax professionals wish they could do digitally that they currently cannot? Why? • What communication with the IRS do taxpayers and tax professionals wish they could do digitally that they currently cannot? Why?What communication with the IRS do taxpayers and tax professionals wish they could do digitally that they currently cannot? Why?

Project Statement:

Evaluation of Form 8962 instructions and Publication 974 to determine if the form and instructions clearly communicate appropriate guidance to the public.

Goal Statement:

The goal of this project is to review and make recommendations to the IRS that will enhance customer service and improve the taxpayers’ experience. The goal of the Tax Forms and Publications Committee (TF&P) is to promote greater efficiency in the communication and implementation of tax laws. The suggested changes will lead to better and more understandable communication between taxpayers and the IRS and promote a better relationship with taxpayers.

Project Statement:

Evaluation of Form 8938 and instructions to determine if the form and instructions clearly communicate appropriate guidance to the public.

Goal Statement:

The goal of this project is to review and make recommendations to the IRS that will enhance customer service and improve the taxpayers’ experience. The goal of the Tax Forms and Publications Committee (TF&P) is to promote greater efficiency in the communication and implementation of tax laws. The suggested changes will lead to better and more understandable communications between taxpayers and the IRS and promote a better relationship with taxpayers.

Project Statement:

Evaluation of Form 1040-NR and instructions to determine if the form and instructions clearly communicate appropriate guidance to the public.

Goal Statement:

The goal of this project is to review and make recommendations to the IRS that will enhance customer service and improve the taxpayers’ experience. The goal of the Tax Forms and Publications Committee (TF&P) is to promote greater efficiency in the communication and implementation of tax laws. The suggested changes will lead to better and more understandable communications between taxpayers and the IRS and promote a better relationship with taxpayers.

Project Statement:

Based on this referral and a reference that this same complaint has been shared by other taxpayers various social media platforms, there is a systemic issue with the lack of access to quality assistance on important personal tax and business matters through our toll-free lines. The IRS needs to improve the navigation of its phone system and enhance the subject matter expertise of its Business Accounts service representatives.

Goal Statement:

Improve Navigation of Toll Free Line and Access to Quality Help
The goal of this referral is to address a taxpayer’s complaint submitted through SAMS and echoed on social media. The complaint concerns difficulties with navigating the Toll-Free line’s menu and obtaining quality subject matter expert assistance when contacting the IRS via the toll free lines.

Project Statement:

The IRS website promotes VITA/TCE sites as providing free tax help for people who need assistance in preparing their own tax returns, including low income, disabled, and elderly taxpayers. Low income is defined as the maximum income limits for Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) eligibility for the tax year. The current language on the website does not clarify if the income limits apply to people who have disabilities or are elderly.

Some taxpayers who are elderly or disabled have been turned away because they do not meet the income limit. The ambiguity confuses both taxpayers and VITA/TCE providers.

Goal Statement:

The goal of services provided by VITA/TCE is to serve low-income taxpayers. Language defining roles and responsibilities must be consistent with that goal and articulate guard rails when fines or penalties exist for discretionary services offered to taxpayers outside the specified income limit. This referral provides the necessary language to serve taxpayers and those who serve our underserved taxpayer communities.