Description
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) processed more than 240.2 million Federal tax returns and supplemental documents in 2020, collecting close to $3.5 trillion in gross taxes and issuing almost 122 million refunds.
Designated Services
Previously-reported Services
Filing an individual tax return
Description
The tax filing journey begins each year with the taxpayer receiving and gathering their tax information. There are several ways a taxpayer can file their return, self-prepared using tax preparation software or IRS Free File, using a paid preparer, filling out a form and mailing it to the IRS, or visiting one of our thousands of VITA/TCE sites, where a volunteer tax preparer can help prepare their return. In the pre and post filing stages, taxpayers may seek answers to tax law questions or require tax account information. IRS research indicates that most taxpayers prefer interacting with us through visiting IRS.gov or calling.
Why this service was designated
Each year, millions of Americans file individual tax returns to pay their taxes or receive a tax refund. In 2022, the IRS processed over 168 million individual returns, and issued over $359 Billion in refunds, with an average individual refund of approximately $3,252.
Quarterly data reported
Q1 2023
What we learned from this quarter's data:
The most common reasons customers call are: Refund Inquiry, IRS Office Location/Appointment, Balance Due/Payoff, Transcript/Record of Account, or to establish an Installment Agreement. Recognizing that our diverse customer base has varying service preferences, the IRS has focused on providing automated solutions for most of the common reasons taxpayers call.
Overall agreement rates for the Accounts Management toll-free and Appointment Lines remain relatively high, with employee helpfulness scoring highest.
The IRS.gov main site survey relaunched on November 14 with new a survey provider. The new version of the IRS.gov sitewide survey is offered to both desktop and mobile users and is offered in Spanish if the user’s browser is set to Spanish. Additionally, this survey now operates with stricter criteria, only offering a survey to a sampling of users who meet the following criteria - user has visited at least three pages, spent at least 60 seconds on the site, and spent at least 15 seconds on a singular page (which has to be the third page or later in their session). These changes in criteria significantly lowered the number of responses compared to the previous model and contributed to a higher percentage of disagreement with the ease and efficiency A-11 questions as the new criteria is more likely to select visitors spending longer on the site and/or a specific page.
The Online Account survey is currently offline during transition to new vendor.
Service details
Transaction point: After calling the IRS Toll-Free line for service over the phone.
Channel: phone
People served: 1802593
Surveys offered: 38491
Responses: 859
Transaction point: After calling the IRS ACS Toll-Free line for service over the phone.
Channel: phone
People served: 1820440
Surveys offered: 54612
Responses: 932
Transaction point: When calling to schedule an appointment for face-to-face service.
Channel: phone
People served: 223919
Surveys offered: 70186
Responses: 2477
Transaction point: Customers who take the initial Field Assistance Appointment Service survey can opt-in to participate in a follow-up survey approximately one month later.
Channel: computer
People served: 223919
Surveys offered: 70186
Responses: 121
Q4 2022
What we learned from this quarter's data:
Pandemic related delays in tax return processing and distribution of tax refunds for some taxpayers continued to affect the taxpayer experience. The IRS is executing on an inventory “Get Healthy” plan to improve the experience for these taxpayers.
Fourth Quarter web surveys were paused on 8/31/2022 while administration responsibility transitioned to a new vendor. Data collection will resume in first quarter FY2023.
IRS.gov agreement rates with A-11 questions dropped in the fourth quarter. This is in line with previous years, where we observe a satisfaction drop post filing season as a larger proportion of site visitors have outstanding issues they are trying to address. Refund status was the most common reason for people to visit the IRS site during this quarter.
Online Account agreement rates were fairly consistent with the same time last year, with users looking to make an online payment as the most satisfied.
Overall agreement rates for the Accounts Management toll-free and Appointment Lines remain relatively high, consistent with the same time last year.
Service details
Transaction point: After calling the IRS Toll-Free line for service over the phone.
Channel: phone
People served: 1859422
Surveys offered: 53337
Responses: 1916
Transaction point: After calling the IRS ACS Toll-Free line for service over the phone.
Channel: phone
People served: 1668675
Surveys offered: 53790
Responses: 1218
Transaction point: When calling to schedule an appointment for face-to-face service.
Channel: phone
People served: 225015
Surveys offered: 73482
Responses: 3023
Transaction point: Customers who take the initial Field Assistance Appointment Service survey can opt-in to participate in a follow-up survey approximately one month later.
Channel: computer
People served: 225015
Surveys offered: 73482
Responses: 156
Q3 2022
What we learned from this quarter's data:
Pandemic related delays in tax return processing and distribution of tax refunds for some taxpayers continued to affect the taxpayer experience. The IRS is executing on an inventory “Get Healthy” plan to improve the experience for these taxpayers.
Agreement rates with A-11 questions dropped across all web surveys in the third quarter. This is in line with previous years as a larger proportion of site visitors after filing season have outstanding issues they are trying to address. Refund status was the most common reason for people to visit the website during this quarter.
Service details
Transaction point: After calling the IRS Toll-Free line for service over the phone.
Channel: phone
People served: 2530253
Surveys offered: 32307
Responses: 1087
Transaction point: After calling the IRS ACS Toll-Free line for service over the phone.
Channel: phone
People served: 2037345
Surveys offered: 59312
Responses: 1933
Transaction point: When calling to schedule an appointment for face-to-face service.
Channel: phone
People served: 297383
Surveys offered: 96029
Responses: 3611
Transaction point: Customers who take the initial Field Assistance Appointment Service survey can opt-in to participate in a follow-up survey approximately one month later.
Channel: mixed
People served: 297383
Surveys offered: 96029
Responses: 198
Q2 2022
What we learned from this quarter's data:
Pandemic related delays in tax return processing and distribution of tax refunds for some taxpayers continued to affect the taxpayer experience. The IRS is executing on an inventory “Get Healthy” plan to improve the experience for these taxpayers.
Service details
Transaction point: After calling the IRS Toll-Free line for service over the phone.
Channel: phone
People served: 2730462
Surveys offered: 13249
Responses: 770
Transaction point: After calling the IRS ACS Toll-Free line for service over the phone.
Channel: phone
People served: 1708158
Surveys offered: 43242
Responses: 1618
Transaction point: When calling to schedule an appointment for face-to-face service.
Channel: phone
People served: 330483
Surveys offered: 105291
Responses: 4152
Transaction point: Customers who take the initial Field Assistance Appointment Service survey can opt-in to participate in a follow-up survey approximately one month later.
Channel: computer
People served: 330483
Surveys offered: 105291
Responses: 261
Managing an individual online account
Description
The five most common reasons taxpayers contact us are: Refund Inquiry, IRS Office Location/Appointment, Balance Due/Payoff, Transcript/Record of Account, or to establish an Installment Agreement. Recognizing that our diverse customer base has varying service preferences, the IRS has focused on providing automated solutions for most of the common reasons taxpayers contact us, increasing convenience and reducing cost to the IRS and taxpayers.
Online Account allows taxpayers to securely access their individual account information. Through their online account, taxpayers can view the amount they owe, a breakdown by tax year, and payment plan options. They may also get email notifications, view records, and approve and electronically sign Power of Attorney and Tax Information Authorization form from their tax professionals.
Our vision for the future is a centralized online account experience for individual and business taxpayers that allows them to view their personalized tax information and transact via self-service. We are also building on our vision for tax professionals to more efficiently establish and manage their authorization relationships online, access tax-related information, and represent their clients with the IRS.
Why this service was designated
Since its launch in 2016, there have been over 173 million IRS individual online account sessions (through 9/30/2022). Usage of Online Account continues to grow each year, and we expect continued growth as we add more features. In fiscal year (FY) 2022 alone we saw over 79 million sessions and over 19.8 million unique users. Those visitors generated over 6.25 million tax payments, 847,000 payment plans, and converted over 97,000 notices to digital-only format by going paperless, enabling these taxpayers to meet their tax obligations online via self-service.
Quarterly data reported
Q4 2022
What we learned from this quarter's data:
Pandemic related delays in tax return processing and distribution of tax refunds for some taxpayers continued to affect the taxpayer experience. The IRS is executing on an inventory “Get Healthy” plan to improve the experience for these taxpayers.
Fourth Quarter web surveys were paused on 8/31/2022 while administration responsibility transitioned to a new vendor. Data collection will resume in first quarter FY2023.
IRS.gov agreement rates with A-11 questions dropped in the fourth quarter. This is in line with previous years, where we observe a satisfaction drop post filing season as a larger proportion of site visitors have outstanding issues they are trying to address. Refund status was the most common reason for people to visit the IRS site during this quarter.
Online Account agreement rates were fairly consistent with the same time last year, with users looking to make an online payment as the most satisfied.
Overall agreement rates for the Accounts Management toll-free and Appointment Lines remain relatively high, consistent with the same time last year.
Service details
Transaction point: Random selection after successfully authenticating into the IRS Online Account application on a computer
Channel: computer
People served: 4109579
Surveys offered: 0
Responses: 23861
Q3 2022
What we learned from this quarter's data:
Pandemic related delays in tax return processing and distribution of tax refunds for some taxpayers continued to affect the taxpayer experience. The IRS is executing on an inventory “Get Healthy” plan to improve the experience for these taxpayers.
Agreement rates with A-11 questions dropped across all web surveys in the third quarter. This is in line with previous years as a larger proportion of site visitors after filing season have outstanding issues they are trying to address. Refund status was the most common reason for people to visit the website during this quarter.
Service details
Transaction point: Random selection after successfully authenticating into the IRS Online Account application on a computer
Channel: computer
People served: 11804784
Surveys offered: 4121192
Responses: 60174
Q2 2022
What we learned from this quarter's data:
Pandemic related delays in tax return processing and distribution of tax refunds for some taxpayers continued to affect the taxpayer experience. The IRS is executing on an inventory “Get Healthy” plan to improve the experience for these taxpayers.
Service details
Transaction point: Random selection after successfully authenticating into the IRS Online Account application on a computer
Channel: computer
People served: 12822973
Surveys offered: 2310713
Responses: 42874
Previously-reported Services
Prior to the first service designation exercise in 2022, HISPs were collecting data using methods unique to each agency, resulting in data that was not standardized. This previously-reported data was collected to increase visibility and awareness regarding customer experience through feedback data. Per A-11 guidance, service providers will collect feedback in a more standardized way.
Visiting IRS.gov
Description
IRS sends surveys to those who visit IRS.gov.
Quarterly data reported
Q1 2023
What we learned from this quarter's data:
The most common reasons customers call are: Refund Inquiry, IRS Office Location/Appointment, Balance Due/Payoff, Transcript/Record of Account, or to establish an Installment Agreement. Recognizing that our diverse customer base has varying service preferences, the IRS has focused on providing automated solutions for most of the common reasons taxpayers call.
Overall agreement rates for the Accounts Management toll-free and Appointment Lines remain relatively high, with employee helpfulness scoring highest.
The IRS.gov main site survey relaunched on November 14 with new a survey provider. The new version of the IRS.gov sitewide survey is offered to both desktop and mobile users and is offered in Spanish if the user’s browser is set to Spanish. Additionally, this survey now operates with stricter criteria, only offering a survey to a sampling of users who meet the following criteria - user has visited at least three pages, spent at least 60 seconds on the site, and spent at least 15 seconds on a singular page (which has to be the third page or later in their session). These changes in criteria significantly lowered the number of responses compared to the previous model and contributed to a higher percentage of disagreement with the ease and efficiency A-11 questions as the new criteria is more likely to select visitors spending longer on the site and/or a specific page.
The Online Account survey is currently offline during transition to new vendor.
Service details
Transaction point: Random selection after visiting any IRS.gov public facing page on a computer
Channel: computer
People served: 50178933
Surveys offered:
Responses: 2277
Q4 2022
What we learned from this quarter's data:
Pandemic related delays in tax return processing and distribution of tax refunds for some taxpayers continued to affect the taxpayer experience. The IRS is executing on an inventory “Get Healthy” plan to improve the experience for these taxpayers.
Fourth Quarter web surveys were paused on 8/31/2022 while administration responsibility transitioned to a new vendor. Data collection will resume in first quarter FY2023.
IRS.gov agreement rates with A-11 questions dropped in the fourth quarter. This is in line with previous years, where we observe a satisfaction drop post filing season as a larger proportion of site visitors have outstanding issues they are trying to address. Refund status was the most common reason for people to visit the IRS site during this quarter.
Online Account agreement rates were fairly consistent with the same time last year, with users looking to make an online payment as the most satisfied.
Overall agreement rates for the Accounts Management toll-free and Appointment Lines remain relatively high, consistent with the same time last year.
Service details
Transaction point: Random selection after visiting any IRS.gov public facing page on a computer
Channel: computer
People served: 40098574
Surveys offered: 0
Responses: 11573
Q3 2022
What we learned from this quarter's data:
Pandemic related delays in tax return processing and distribution of tax refunds for some taxpayers continued to affect the taxpayer experience. The IRS is executing on an inventory “Get Healthy” plan to improve the experience for these taxpayers.
Agreement rates with A-11 questions dropped across all web surveys in the third quarter. This is in line with previous years as a larger proportion of site visitors after filing season have outstanding issues they are trying to address. Refund status was the most common reason for people to visit the website during this quarter.
Service details
Transaction point: Random selection after visiting any IRS.gov public facing page on a computer
Channel: computer
People served: 99907422
Surveys offered: 4076207
Responses: 31626
Q2 2022
What we learned from this quarter's data:
Pandemic related delays in tax return processing and distribution of tax refunds for some taxpayers continued to affect the taxpayer experience. The IRS is executing on an inventory “Get Healthy” plan to improve the experience for these taxpayers.
Service details
Transaction point: Random selection after visiting any IRS.gov PUP page on a computer. 50/50 split of being presented with main survey or beta survey
Channel: computer
People served: 133053594
Surveys offered: 4176295
Responses: 39740
Q1 2022
What we learned from this quarter's data:
Pandemic related delays in tax return processing and distribution of tax refunds for some taxpayers continued to affect the taxpayer experience. While the volume of these users has reduced since last quarter, they make up a larger percentage of online survey respondents than first quarter last year. In December, online experience scores improved as users began coming to the site more frequently to gather tax forms and instructions in preparation for the filing season.
Due to a contracting issue, first quarter data for the IRS toll-free Appointment Line and Appointment Line follow-up surveys are not available.
Service details
Transaction point: After calling the IRS Toll-Free line for service over the phone.
Channel: phone
People served: 3420410
Surveys offered: 16915
Responses: 1015
Transaction point: After calling the IRS ACS Toll-Free line for service over the phone.
Channel: phone
People served: 1227785
Surveys offered: 31266
Responses: 1483
Transaction point: When calling to schedule an appointment for face-to-face service.
Channel: phone
People served: 0
Surveys offered: 0
Responses: 0
Transaction point: Customers who take the initial Field Assistance Appointment Service survey can opt-in to participate in a follow-up survey approximately one month later.
Channel: mixed
People served: 0
Surveys offered: 0
Responses: 0
Transaction point: Random selection after visiting any IRS.gov PUP page on a computer. 50/50 split of being presented with main survey or beta survey
Channel: computer
People served: 64054728
Surveys offered: 1589798
Responses: 20157
Transaction point: Random selection after successfully authenticating into the IRS Online Account application on a computer
Channel: computer
People served: 4612592
Surveys offered: 690227
Responses: 29231
Q4 2021
What we learned from this quarter's data:
Pandemic related tax processing delays and inquiries related to Economic Impact Payments and the Advance Child Tax Credit continued to drive significantly higher than normal volumes on our online and toll-free service channels and influence survey scores.
Service details
Transaction point: After calling the IRS Toll-Free line for service over the phone.
Channel: automated_phone
People served: 3403769
Surveys offered: 20887
Responses: 1025
Transaction point: After calling the IRS ACS Toll-Free line for service over the phone.
Channel: phone
People served: 1703459
Surveys offered: 39179
Responses: 1788
Transaction point: When calling to schedule an appointment for face-to-face service.
Channel: phone
People served: 404776
Surveys offered: 126129
Responses: 4777
Transaction point: Customers who take the initial Field Assistance Appointment Service survey can opt-in to participate in a follow-up survey approximately one month later.
Channel: mixed
People served: 404776
Surveys offered: 1849
Responses: 529
Transaction point: Random selection after visiting any IRS.gov PUP page on a computer. 50/50 split of being presented with main survey or beta survey
Channel: computer
People served: 76985391
Surveys offered: 3079065
Responses: 34473
Transaction point: Random selection after successfully authenticating into the IRS Online Account application on a computer
Channel: computer
People served: 6159044
Surveys offered: 1462839
Responses: 41159
Q3 2021
What we learned from this quarter's data:
Pandemic related tax processing delays and inquiries related to Economic Impact Payments and the Advance Child Tax Credit continued to drive significantly higher than normal volumes on our online and toll-free service channels.
Due to a contracting issue, third quarter data for the IRS toll-free survey is not available.
The IRS recently modified the Automated Collection System survey to align with Section 280 standards, adding a compliance channel to the existing Section 280 survey quarterly reporting.
Service details
Transaction point: After calling the IRS Toll-Free line for service over the phone.
Channel: automated_phone
People served: 0
Surveys offered: 0
Responses: 0
Transaction point: After calling the IRS ACS Toll-Free line for service over the phone.
Channel: phone
People served: 1826067
Surveys offered: 45349
Responses: 940
Transaction point: When calling to schedule an appointment for face-to-face service.
Channel: phone
People served: 500606
Surveys offered: 130444
Responses: 5210
Transaction point: Customers who take the initial Field Assistance Appointment Service survey can opt-in to participate in a follow-up survey approximately one month later.
Channel: automated_phone
People served: 500606
Surveys offered: 1680
Responses: 394
Transaction point: Random selection after visiting any IRS.gov PUP page on a computer. 50/50 split of being presented with main survey or beta survey
Channel: computer
People served: 130800469
Surveys offered: 3860465
Responses: 60590
Transaction point: Random selection after successfully authenticating into the IRS Online Account application on a computer
Channel: computer
People served: 8559847
Surveys offered: 918234
Responses: 45409
Q2 2021
What we learned from this quarter's data:
The third round of Economic Impact Payments (EIP 3) was authorized by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 on March 11, 2021. The IRS started issuing EIP 3 to eligible individuals on March 12, 2021, with more payments sent by direct deposit and through the mail as a check or debit card in the weeks that followed. As of early April the IRS issued about 156 million payments totaling approximately $372 billion.
Pandemic related tax processing delays and inquiries related to EIPs continued to drive significantly higher than normal volumes on our online and toll-free service channels (at peak, more than 1,500 calls per second).
Service details
Transaction point: After calling the IRS Toll-Free line for service over the phone.
Channel: automated_phone
People served: 5839717
Surveys offered: 44709
Responses: 1669
Transaction point: When calling to schedule an appointment for face-to-face service.
Channel: computer
People served: 458852
Surveys offered: 77687
Responses: 3507
Transaction point: Customers who take the initial Field Assistance Appointment Service survey can opt-in to participate in a follow-up survey approximately one month later.
Channel: automated_phone
People served: 458852
Surveys offered: 798
Responses: 232
Transaction point: Random selection after visiting any IRS.gov PUP page on a computer. 50/50 split of being presented with main survey or beta survey
Channel: computer
People served: 216878115
Surveys offered: 13376809
Responses: 106832
Transaction point: Random selection after successfully authenticating into the IRS Online Account application on a computer
Channel: computer
People served: 7833221
Surveys offered: 4074983
Responses: 42874
Q1 2021
What we learned from this quarter's data:
The IRS successfully calculated and started issuing Economic Impact Payments (EIP) just 14 days after the passage of the CARES Act legislation; and simultaneously delivered two special tools on IRS.gov, in a compressed timeframe, to help taxpayers understand the law and provide millions of people who don’t normally file a tax return a way to quickly register for these payments. A recent Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration report indicated that the IRS correctly computed the payment amount for approximately 98 percent of these EIPs. The IRS calculated and issued the second round of payments (EIP2) just two days after passage of the Coronavirus and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 on December 27, 2020. A total of 147 million EIPs totaling $142 billion.
For online survey responses, negative scores were most often driven by frustration with delays in tax return processing and refund distribution caused by the pandemic. A high volume of respondents were looking for information related to the first or second EIP and also score more negatively than the average visitor.
Service details
Transaction point: After calling the IRS Toll-Free line for service over the phone.
Channel: automated_phone
People served: 3770404
Surveys offered: 51789
Responses: 2246
Transaction point: When calling to schedule an appointment for face-to-face service.
Channel: automated_phone
People served: 220454
Surveys offered: 40471
Responses: 1738
Transaction point: Customers who take the initial Field Assistance Appointment Service survey can opt-in to participate in a follow-up survey approximately one month later.
Channel: email
People served: 220454
Surveys offered: 564
Responses: 85
Transaction point: Random selection after visiting any IRS.gov PUP page on a computer. 50/50 split of being presented with main survey or beta survey
Channel: computer
People served: 71014169
Surveys offered: 3800681
Responses: 24667
Transaction point: Random selection after successfully authenticating into the IRS Online Account application on a computer
Channel: computer
People served: 3290256
Surveys offered: 1055834
Responses: 12301
Description
The Treasury Department is the executive agency responsible for promoting economic prosperity and ensuring the financial security of the United States. In addition the the IRS, the Treasury Department is made up of several agencies and bureaus including the Bureau of Fiscal Service (BFS). In 2020, supporting multiple COVID-19 relief efforts, BFS disbursed 1.4 billion payments totaling more than $5.4 trillion – making up 89% of all Federal payments, including IRS tax refunds, Social Security and Supplemental Security (SSI) benefits, Federal salary payments and retirement benefits, Veterans benefits, and vendor payments. Additionally, BFS has issued $98.1 billion in Treasury retail securities, and redeemed $114.7 billion in Treasury securities.
Designated Services
- Accessing Federal benefit payments electronically
- Accessing capital and financial products to serve communities in need
Accessing Federal benefit payments electronically
Description
The Direct Express® program issues Federal benefits through a reloadable debit card. A significant number of Federal benefit recipients do not have bank accounts and Direct Express® allows recipients to receive payments electronically.
Why this service was designated
The Direct Express® program manages 5.1 million cardholder accounts – the majority of which are held by the unbanked. The Direct Express® debit card allows cardholders to receive their monthly benefit payments electronically – eliminating the need to wait for a check in the mail, reducing the chances of non-receipt claims, or paying expensive check cashing fees. For most cardholders, this payment is their sole source of income and is essential for basic living needs such as housing, food, and medicine.
Direct Express® is safer, more convenient, and more reliable than a paper check when receiving federal benefits. Additionally, it provides consumer protections available to traditional bank account owners, including for fraud, loss, and other errors. The debit card can be used online or at any retail locations where Mastercard is accepted, or cash can be withdrawn at point-of-sale debit transactions or ATMs. The program has maintained cardholder satisfaction ratings of 92% or higher for the last 10 years.
Accessing capital and financial products to serve communities in need
Description
The CDFI Fund serves CDFIs, community development entities (CDEs), non-profit affordable housing developers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico. The CDFI Fund helps customers access Federal financial assistance, tax credit authority and bond guarantees for community and economic development purposes. Services include certifying CDFI and CDE organizations eligibility for certain federal assistance programs; providing lending capital, loan loss reserves, and funding for technical assistance; awarding entities with the ability to provide tax credits to investors; and providing bond loans and guarantees for long-term projects.
Why this service was designated
Access to affordable financial products and services is a staple of economically vibrant communities. Yet at least one quarter of American households do not have a bank account or rely on costly payday lenders and check-cashing outlets. Additionally, many small businesses and critical community development projects lack access to the capital investment necessary to spark economic growth in their communities. Through its grant, tax credit and bond guarantee program, the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) actively works to address these issues by investing federal resources—which are matched with private funding—into mission-driven financial institutions and community development organizations recognized for their expertise in providing service and support to low-income communities. In FY 2021 by providing nearly $1.5 billion in monetary awards and loans, committing to guarantee $100 million in bonds, and allocating $5 billion in tax credit authority.