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United States Government Accountability Office: 
GAO: 

Report to Congressional Requesters: 

December 2011: 

2011 Tax Filing: 

Processing Gains, but Taxpayer Assistance Could Be Enhanced by More 
Self-Service Tools: 

GAO-12-176: 

GAO Highlights: 

Highlights of GAO-12-176, a report to congressional requesters. 

Why GAO Did This Study: 

The tax filing season is an enormous undertaking in which the Internal 
Revenue Service (IRS) processes millions of tax returns, issues 
billions of dollars in refunds to taxpayers, corrects taxpayers’ 
errors, and provides service to millions of taxpayers through 
telephones, website, and face-to-face assistance. Among other things, 
GAO was asked to assess (1) IRS’s performance processing returns and 
issuing refunds, and providing telephone assistance, and (2) IRS’s 
plans to expand self-service options on its website. To conduct the 
analyses, GAO obtained and compared data from 2007 through 2011, 
reviewed IRS documents, interviewed IRS officials, observed IRS 
operations, and interviewed tax-industry experts, including from tax 
preparation firms. 

What GAO Found: 

During the 2011 filing season the following occurred: 

* Electronic filing (e-filing) increased to nearly 80 percent of the 
140 million individual returns filed. The benefits of e-filing include 
that it is more accurate, faster, and less expensive for IRS than 
processing returns filed on paper. 

* Due to the increase in e-filing, new systems, and IRS’s performance 
in recent years, its refund timeliness measure and goal are outdated. 
The measure only relates to the 22 percent of returns filed on paper. 
IRS’s goal is to issue refunds for paper-filed returns within 40 days. 
In 2012, IRS expects to issue most refunds within 4 to 6 days of 
processing a return (paper and e-filed), meaning the current goal does 
not reflect current performance and capabilities. 

* The percent of callers seeking live assistance who receive it 
remained much lower than in 2007 and the average wait time for callers 
continued to increase. Providing live telephone assistance is 
expensive. However, IRS can shift some assistor-answered calls to less 
costly tools. Two such opportunities include creating self-service 
phone lines for taxpayers seeking to identify the (1) status of their 
amended return—a source of high call volume—and (2) location of a 
Taxpayer Assistance Center (TAC) or Volunteer Income Tax Assistance 
(VITA) site, where IRS employees and volunteers prepare returns, 
respectively. IRS officials expect the benefits of the amended return 
line to exceed the costs, but have not studied the costs and benefits 
of adding a TAC/VITA locator line. 

Table: IRS Return Processing, Phone Service, and Website Use, 2007 
through 2011 Filing Seasons: 

Processing (fiscal year): 

Returns processed (in millions): 
2007: 135; 
2008: 151; 
2009: 139; 
2010: 137; 
2011: 140. 

Percent e-filed: 
2007: 58%; 
2008: 59%; 
2009: 67%; 
2010: 71%; 
2011: 78%. 

Phone service (as of June 30, each year): 

Percent of callers seeking live assistance who receive it: 
2007: 81%; 
2008: 57%; 
2009: 68%; 
2010: 76%; 
2011: 72%. 

Average wait time (in minutes): 
2007: 4.6; 
2008: 8.6; 
2009: 8.4; 
2010: 9.5; 
2011: 11.7. 

Website (as of July 31, each year): 

Visits (in millions): 
2007: 168; 
2008: 292; 
2009: 235; 
2010: 239; 
2011: 250. 

Searches (in millions): 
2007: 106; 
2008: 125; 
2009: 263; 
2010: 277; 
2011: 312. 

Source: GAO analysis of IRS data. 

[End of table] 

The use of IRS’s website is growing, particularly the number of 
searches, which IRS officials attribute, in part, to taxpayers having 
difficulties locating information. Having an easily searchable website 
is important for IRS because it reduces costly phone calls. IRS has 
begun spending a planned $320 million on its website over 10 years. 
However, IRS’s initial strategy for providing new self-service tools 
online does not include allowing taxpayers to access account 
information and is missing fundamental elements, including a 
justification for new services and time frames. Doing so would provide 
Congress and taxpayers with a better understanding of the online 
services IRS plans to provide with its significant investment on its 
website. 

What GAO Recommends: 

GAO recommends that IRS develop a new refund timeliness performance 
measure to better reflect current capabilities, create an automated 
telephone line for taxpayers seeking information about amended returns 
unless IRS has a convincing cost-benefit analysis suggesting the costs 
exceed the benefits, assess the costs and benefits of automating a 
TAC/VITA locator line, and finalize a strategy for determining which 
self-service tools to provide on its website. 

IRS agreed with three of GAO’s recommendations, but said that 
resources are not available to automate the TAC/VITA line. GAO 
believes a review of the costs and benefits would better inform IRS 
decisions about how to allocate scarce resources. 

View [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-176]. For more 
information, contact Jim White at (202) 512-9110 or whitej@gao.gov. 

[End of section] 

Contents: 

Letter: 

Background: 

Processing of Returns Was Timely, but Opportunities to Improve 
Taxpayer Service Exist: 

IRS's Refund Timeliness Measure and Goal Do Not Reflect Processing 
Performance and Capabilities: 

Website Use Continues to Grow, but IRS Does Not Have a Comprehensive 
Internet Strategy: 

Expanding Prerefund Compliance Checks Appears Feasible, but Depends on 
System Upgrades and Process Changes: 

RACs Have Largely Replaced RALs, and Treasury Is Continuing to Study 
Alternatives for Providing Refunds: 

Conclusion: 

Recommendations for Executive Action: 

Agency Comments and Our Evaluation: 

Appendix I: IRS's Existing Math Error Authorities: 

Appendix II: Status of Prior GAO Matters for Congressional 
Consideration and TIGTA Recommendations for MEA: 

Appendix III: Key IRS Prerefund Compliance Check and Tax Processing 
Systems: 

Appendix IV: IRS's Processing Performance Relative to 2007 and 2011 
Goals: 

Appendix V: Status of Modernized E-Filing (MeF) by State: 

Appendix VI: Call Volume, Composition, and Level of Service, 2007 
through 2011: 

Appendix VII: IRS's Prerefund Compliance Process: 

Appendix VIII: Comments from the Internal Revenue Service: 

Appendix IX: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments: 

Tables: 

Table 1: Processing Data for Filing Seasons 2007 through 2011: 

Table 2: IRS Telephone Service Goals and Performance, 2007 through 
2011 Filing Seasons: 

Table 3: IRS Taxpayer Correspondence Performance, Fiscal Years 2005 
through 2011: 

Table 4: IRS Walk-in Site Accuracy, 2008 through 2011 (in percent): 

Table 5: Website Use from 2007 through 2011: 

Table 6: Comparison of IRS, New York, and California Interactive 
Online Services: 

Table 7: IRS's Existing Math Error Authorities (MEA): 

Table 8: Status of Prior GAO and TIGTA Suggestions for Granting IRS 
MEA: 

Table 9: Key IRS Prerefund Compliance Check Systems: 

Table 10: IRS Processing Performance, Fiscal Years 2007 through 2011: 

Figures: 

Figure 1: IRS Timeline for Implementing CADE 2: 

Figure 2: IRS Processes for Conducting Prerefund Compliance Checks on 
Tax Returns: 

Figure 3: Number of RACs and RALs, 1999-2010: 

Figure 4: Example of How a Taxpayer Receives a RAC and When Fees May 
Be Incurred: 

Figure 5: Call Volume, Composition, and Level of Service, 2007 through 
2011: 

Figure 6: IRS Processes for Conducting Prerefund Compliance Checks on 
Tax Returns: 

Figure 7: IRS Processes for Conducting Prerefund Compliance Checks on 
Tax Returns Filed Electronically: 

Figure 8: IRS Processes for Conducting Prerefund Compliance Checks on 
Tax Returns Filed on Paper: 

Abbreviations: 

BSM: Business System Modernization: 

CADE: Customer Account Data Engine: 

CSR: customer service representative: 

DDb: Dependent Database: 

EFDS: Electronic Fraud Detection System: 

EITC: Earned Income Tax Credit: 

ERS: Error Resolution System: 

FTE: full-time equivalent: 

GMF: Generalized Mainline Framework: 

IMF: Individual Master File: 

IRS: Internal Revenue Service: 

MEA: math error authority: 

MeF: Modernized e-File: 

PDF: portable document format: 

PIN: personal identification number: 

RAC: Refund Anticipation Check: 

RAL: Refund Anticipation Loan: 

RRP: Return Review Program: 

TAC: Taxpayer Assistance Center: 

TCE: Tax Counseling for the Elderly: 

TIGTA: Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration: 

TIN: Taxpayer Identification Number: 

Treasury: Department of the Treasury: 

VITA: Volunteer Income Tax Assistance: 

[End of section] 

United States Government Accountability Office: 
Washington, DC 20548: 

December 15, 2011: 

The Honorable Max Baucus:
Chairman:
The Honorable Orrin G. Hatch:
Ranking Member:
Committee on Finance:
United States Senate: 

The Honorable Charles E. Grassley:
Ranking Member:
Committee on the Judiciary:
United States Senate: 

The Honorable Charles W. Boustany, Jr.
Chairman:
The Honorable John Lewis:
Ranking Member:
Subcommittee on Oversight:
Committee on Ways and Means:
House of Representatives: 

Every tax filing season is a large-scale undertaking during which the 
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) interacts with millions of taxpayers 
and tax preparers by processing tax returns, issuing refunds, 
answering telephone calls, and providing other services, both face-to-
face and on its website. IRS's information systems also begin checking 
tax returns for compliance with the tax laws during processing. These 
automated checks correct many errors before refunds are issued, 
benefiting IRS by avoiding costly audits and taxpayers by preventing 
interest and penalties from accruing. 

In recent years IRS has taken or proposed a number of steps to gain 
efficiencies and provide better service to taxpayers. For example, IRS 
has been automating more of its higher-cost taxpayer services, 
including telephone assistance provided by IRS employees, with more 
self-service tools such as automated phone and online applications. In 
addition, the Commissioner of Internal Revenue has articulated a long-
term vision for employing more prerefund compliance checks to reduce 
the costs and delays associated with traditional "back end" checks 
such as audits. In the short term, IRS is upgrading key information 
systems, and plans to develop others that could begin increasing 
prerefund compliance check opportunities. 

Further, taxpayers have decreased their use of controversial Refund 
Anticipation Loans (RAL)--high-interest-rate, short-term loans from 
tax preparers or banks that give quicker access to tax refunds--while 
increasing their use of Refund Anticipation Checks (RAC)--temporary 
bank accounts set-up by tax preparers allowing them to subtract tax 
preparation and other fees from taxpayers' refunds. At the same time, 
the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) has taken action to identify 
lower-cost alternatives to paper check refunds that can be delivered 
to taxpayers faster, including direct deposits and debit cards. 

In this context, you asked us to: 

1) assess IRS's performance in processing returns, delivering refunds, 
and providing telephone service and face-to-face assistance in 
comparison to its goals and prior years' performance; 

2) describe trends in the use of IRS's website and assess IRS's plans 
to add self-service tools to the website; 

3) report on the status of changes to IRS's prerefund compliance 
checks, including system upgrades and process changes; and: 

4) report on trends in the use of RACs and RALs and efforts to provide 
refunds to taxpayers in a low-cost manner. 

To meet our objectives we did the following: 

* Reviewed and analyzed IRS documents and data, including performance 
and workload data, reports, testimonies, budget submissions, and 
internal studies of programs, and compared these to IRS's goals and 
prior years' performance to identify trends and anomalies. 

* Reviewed various other criteria, including industry standards, 
federal requirements, and best practices, to assess IRS's performance 
in key areas. 

* Observed operations at IRS's Joint Operations Center (which manages 
telephone services) and listened to calls from taxpayers with 
telephone assistors, and observed examiners performing correspondence 
examinations. We also viewed operations at an IRS walk-in site and a 
Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) site in both Atlanta, Georgia, 
and Washington, D.C. Additionally we visited the Submission Processing 
Center in Atlanta, Georgia. We selected these particular offices from 
IRS offices located around the country for a variety of reasons, 
including the location of IRS call centers, correspondence examiners, 
and relevant IRS managers. 

* Reviewed IRS's strategy to upgrade its website against various 
criteria, including federal guidelines and other best practices. 

* Obtained documentation and interviewed officials from two states 
that have developed interactive websites. 

* Reviewed prior GAO reports and Treasury Inspector General for Tax 
Administration (TIGTA) reports and interviewed TIGTA officials about 
IRS's performance and initiatives. 

* Interviewed IRS officials responsible for tax return processing, 
taxpayer services, online services, and examination and compliance 
activities about prerefund compliance checks. 

* Collected data from and interviewed key external stakeholders who 
frequently interact with IRS on key aspects of the filing season, 
including representatives from major tax preparation firms and other 
organizations responsible for providing refund products (e.g., RACs 
and RALs) to taxpayers. 

* Collected data from and interviewed Treasury officials responsible 
for developing a pilot program to deliver tax refunds on debit cards. 

* Interviewed Urban Institute officials about evaluation plans for 
Treasury's debit card program and its recent review of RACs and RALs, 
both of which were conducted at the request of Treasury.[Footnote 1] 

When data were available, we compared IRS's 2011 performance to its 
performance from fiscal years 2007 through 2010. IRS officials noted 
that since 2008 varying degrees of tax law changes have affected the 
agency's performance. 

This report discusses numerous filing season and performance measures 
and data covering the quality, accessibility, and timeliness of IRS's 
services. To the extent possible, we corroborated information from 
interviews with documentation and data, and where not possible, 
attributed the information to IRS officials. We reviewed IRS 
documentation, interviewed IRS officials about computer systems and 
data limitations, and compared those results to our standards of data 
reliability.[Footnote 2] Data limitations are discussed where 
appropriate. We consider the data presented in this report to be 
sufficiently reliable for our purposes. We conducted our work 
primarily at IRS headquarters in Washington, D.C., and at the Wage and 
Investment Division headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, as well as other 
sites mentioned earlier. 

We conducted this performance audit from February 2011 through 
December 2011 in accordance with generally accepted government 
auditing standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform 
the audit to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a 
reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit 
objectives. We believe that the evidence obtained provides a 
reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit 
objectives. 

Background: 

Primarily through its telephone, website, and, to a much lesser 
extent, face-to-face operations, IRS provides tax law and account 
assistance, limited tax return preparation assistance, tax forms and 
publications, and outreach and education. 

* Taxpayers can call IRS to speak directly with a customer service 
representative (CSR), or use automated telephone lines to obtain 
information quickly. IRS has 10 automated telephone lines, which 
allow, for example, taxpayers to interactively inquire about the 
status of a refund, order a transcript of their return or account 
information, and request a personal identification number (PIN) to 
file electronically. IRS's 149 Teletax lines provide prerecorded 
messages on tax law topics ranging from alternative filing methods to 
what a taxpayer can itemize. 

* CSRs are also responsible for responding to paper correspondence. 
IRS tries to minimize the percent of overage paper correspondence 
(generally correspondence that is more than 45 days old). 

* IRS staff provides face-to-face assistance at 401 walk-in sites or 
Taxpayer Assistance Centers (TAC) where taxpayers can get basic tax 
law questions answered, review their accounts, and have returns 
prepared if their annual income is $49,000 or less. 

* IRS also has volunteer partners that staff over 12,000 volunteer 
sites. Volunteers at these Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and 
Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) sites prepare tax returns for 
traditionally underserved taxpayers, including the elderly, low-
income, disabled, and those with limited English proficiency. These 
sites also provide other services such as helping taxpayers without a 
bank account get into the banking system and financial literacy 
education. 

In addition to the services IRS provides to taxpayers during the 
filing season, paid tax preparers and tax software development 
companies play an important role answering taxpayers' questions and 
filing tax returns. In 2011, for the first time, paid preparers who 
expected to prepare 100 or more returns were generally required to 
file the returns electronically.[Footnote 3] 

As part of IRS's Business System Modernization (BSM) program, over the 
next few years IRS plans to make major changes to how it processes 
individual income tax returns to facilitate faster refund processing 
and maintain more up-to-date account information.[Footnote 4] For 
example, 

* IRS is replacing the legacy Individual Master File (IMF) and current 
Customer Account Data Engine (CADE) systems that it uses to process 
individual income tax returns with CADE 2. IRS plans to implement its 
CADE 2 program in three phases beginning in 2012. The first phase 
includes two projects: (1) processing tax returns daily, rather than 
weekly, using the IMF (known as IMF daily); and (2) implementing the 
CADE 2 database.[Footnote 5] 

* IRS is also replacing its legacy e-filing system with the Modernized 
e-File (MeF) system, and it plans to retire the legacy e-file system 
in October 2012. IRS cannot accept electronically filed returns 
directly from taxpayers. Rather, IRS authorizes e-file providers, such 
as large tax preparation firms, to transmit returns to IRS 
electronically using either the legacy e-file or MeF system.[Footnote 
6] The benefits of MeF include accepting or rejecting individual tax 
returns faster, providing a clearer explanation of why a return was 
rejected, and accepting prior-year returns. The system also allows 
taxpayers to attach portable document format (PDF) files to their tax 
returns (the legacy e-filing system cannot accept additional 
documentation, requiring such returns to be submitted on paper). 

Last year we reported that IRS has been taking actions to improve its 
website by identifying steps to enhance taxpayer service.[Footnote 7] 
As part of this effort, IRS plans to spend $320 million to upgrade and 
maintain its website over the next 10 years. These plans include 
introducing a new website by the 2013 filing season. 

* IRS's 5-year strategic plan for improving service to taxpayers 
identified five website-management control gaps, such as content 
management, website design and usability, and frequently asked 
questions.[Footnote 8] 

* IRS has three existing web portals accessible to the public at 
large, registered users, and IRS employees, respectively.[Footnote 9] 
According to IRS, its new portal environment investment will replace 
the current environment that has reached the end of its useful life, 
and provide streamlined, web-based services to taxpayers, business 
partners, IRS employees, and other government agencies. IRS plans to 
begin phasing in the new portal environment in 2012. 

While processing returns, IRS validates key pieces of information and 
corrects returns before issuing refunds, which allows it to avoid 
auditing taxpayers after returns have been processed and refunds sent 
to taxpayers.[Footnote 10] Such audits, which are costly to IRS and 
burdensome for taxpayers, may result in the assessment of interest and 
penalties, and may require IRS to collect amounts due. Correcting 
errors may result in taxpayers receiving larger refunds. Prerefund 
compliance checks help ensure that taxpayers submit required 
information to the IRS with their returns. In conducting prerefund 
compliance checks, IRS does the following: 

* Completes automated and relatively low-cost (compared to audits) 
checks using its math error authority (MEA).[Footnote 11] Math error 
checks increase the likelihood of IRS collecting the correct amount of 
tax owed. However, Congress must grant IRS specific authority to use 
MEA for purposes beyond computational errors. IRS can generally close 
uncontested (meaning that the taxpayer does not challenge the error 
identified by IRS) MEA cases much faster than correspondence audits 
(audits by mail)--the average cycle time for all correspondence audits 
is about 175 days (each requires an average of 2 hours of an 
examiner's time). Appendix I shows a list of IRS's 13 existing MEAs. 
Appendix II shows other areas where both we and TIGTA have suggested 
that additional MEA could be useful. 

* Identifies errors on tax returns for which it does not have MEA to 
correct. Corrections for those errors are generally made through 
correspondence audits. Appendix III provides a more detailed 
explanation of some of the key systems used for prerefund compliance 
checks, including the: 

- Generalized Mainline Framework System (GMF), which performs a 
variety of validation and consistency checks; 

- Dependent Database (DDb), which matches dependents with filers, 
among other things; 

- Error Resolution System (ERS), which corrects returns on which math 
errors have been detected and IRS has MEA; and: 

- Electronic Fraud Detection System (EFDS), which detects returns at a 
high risk for fraud. IRS is currently replacing EFDS with the Return 
Review Program (RRP). 

In addition, millions of taxpayers may choose to obtain their tax 
refunds through a RAC or RAL, which are offered to taxpayers by paid 
preparers or banks in connection with federal or state tax refunds, or 
both.[Footnote 12] RACs are a refund delivery option where refunds are 
directly deposited into a temporary bank account set up by a financial 
institution or tax preparer on behalf of the taxpayer. The tax return 
preparation fee, along with other fees, is generally withheld from the 
refund and the remaining funds are available to the taxpayer. RALs are 
short-term, high-interest-rate bank loans that allow taxpayers to get 
their refunds faster and also allow taxpayers to pay return 
preparation and other fees out of their refunds. In contrast to RALs, 
RACs are not loans. 

During 2011, taxpayers also could choose to receive their tax refund 
from IRS through (1) their banks' direct deposit program, (2) paper 
checks, or (3) debit cards, which could be obtained from a 
participating bank, through Treasury's pilot program on debit cards, 
or at VITA/TCE sites. Since 2009, IRS has worked with partner 
organizations at VITA/TCE sites to encourage taxpayers not requesting 
a direct deposit of their refund to opt to receive it on a debit card 
sponsored by a participating financial institution. Last year we 
reported that less than 3 percent of eligible taxpayers at VITA/TCE 
sites elected to receive refunds on debit cards. Separately, in 2011, 
Treasury launched a pilot program offering about 800,000 low-income 
taxpayers tax refunds on debit cards. Although targeting the same 
demographic group, the VITA site offers are made in person and the 
Treasury offer was made through the mail. Even though both programs 
are relatively small in scale, they are important because they are 
intended to identify ways to reduce the cost of delivering refunds to 
taxpayers, provide faster refunds compared to paper checks, reduce 
transaction costs, and provide individuals who might not otherwise 
have access to a bank account with banking services. 

Processing of Returns Was Timely, but Opportunities to Improve 
Taxpayer Service Exist: 

During the 2011 filing season, the percentage of returns e-filed 
increased considerably and IRS expects new systems to speed refunds to 
taxpayers. As a result of these improvements, IRS's refund timeliness 
measure and goal, which relates only to paper returns, is outdated. In 
addition, the high call volume and amount of paper correspondence 
highlight the need to improve taxpayer service through providing 
additional self-service tools. Although fewer taxpayers receive face-
to-face assistance than in other ways, IRS is taking steps to improve 
service at TAC and VITA sites. 

E-Filing Increased and the Shift to New Processing Systems Continues: 

IRS processed about 140 million returns and almost reached its e-file 
goal of 80 percent (78 percent of individual returns were e-filed and 
22 percent filed on paper), established by Congress in 1998.[Footnote 
13] E-filing increased about 13 percent compared to last year, as 
table 1 shows. E-filing has many benefits for taxpayers, such as 
higher accuracy rates and faster refunds, and it also provides IRS 
with significant cost savings through eliminating the need for manual 
transcription of paper returns, which is labor intensive and 
introduces errors. According to IRS, in fiscal year 2010, it cost 17 
cents to process an e-filed return and $3.66 for returns filed on 
paper. IRS officials and representatives from major tax preparation 
firms attributed the increase in the e-file rate to factors including 
the e-filing requirement for paid preparers and the fact that IRS did 
not mail out hard-copy tax forms to taxpayers.[Footnote 14] In 
addition, nearly half the states also have e-file mandates, which may 
also encourage taxpayers to e-file federal returns. Further, IRS met 
all eight returns processing goals, summarized in appendix IV. 

Table 1: Processing Data for Filing Seasons 2007 through 2011: 

Numbers: Returns processed (in millions); 
2007: 135; 
2008[A]: 151; 
2009: 139; 
2010: 137; 
2011: 140; 
Percentage change from 2010 to 2011[B]: 2%. 

Numbers: Electronic (in millions); 
2007: 79; 
2008[A]: 89; 
2009: 94; 
2010: 97; 
2011: 109; 
Percentage change from 2010 to 2011[B]: 13%. 

Numbers: Paper (in millions); 
2007: 56; 
2008[A]: 62; 
2009: 45; 
2010: 40; 
2011: 30; 
Percentage change from 2010 to 2011[B]: -24%. 

Numbers: Percent e-filed; 
2007: 58%; 
2008[A]: 59%; 
2009: 67%; 
2010: 71%; 
2011: 78%; 
Percentage change from 2010 to 2011[B]: n/a[C]. 

Numbers: Refunds issued (in millions); 
2007: 103; 
2008[A]: 105; 
2009: 109; 
2010: 107; 
2011: 107; 
Percentage change from 2010 to 2011[B]: 0. 

Numbers: Dollar amount of refunds issued (in billions); 
2007: $234; 
2008[A]: $248; 
2009: $298; 
2010: $312; 
2011: $303; 
Percentage change from 2010 to 2011[B]: -3%. 

Numbers: Average refund amount; 
2007: $2,259; 
2008[A]: $2,350; 
2009: $2,725; 
2010: $2,915; 
2011: $2,836; 
Percentage change from 2010 to 2011[B]: -3%. 

Legend: n/a = not applicable. 

Source: GAO analysis of IRS data. 

Notes: Data are from January 1 through: September 28, 2007; October 3, 
2008; October 2, 2009; October 1, 2010; and September 30, 2011. 

[A] The Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 mandated that IRS send stimulus 
payments to over 100 million households, many of which would not 
otherwise have needed to file a tax return. 

[B] Numbers in the table are rounded, but percentage change calculated 
using exact values. Therefore, in some cases, the percentage change is 
slightly different than it would be if it were calculated using the 
rounded values in the table. 

[C] Not applicable because we calculate the percent change in e-filed 
and paper returns in the table using the actual number of paper and e-
filed returns, not the percentages. 

[End of table] 

As figure 1 shows, IRS used current CADE to process about 40 million 
returns in 2011--about the same as last year. As part of its 
transition to CADE 2, IRS transferred all accounts on CADE back to the 
IMF in June 2011 and plans to retire CADE at the end of December 2011. 

Going forward, consistent with its plans for transitioning to CADE 2, 
IRS plans the following: 

* Beginning in January 2012, IRS intends to use the IMF to process 
most returns on a daily, rather than weekly, basis. Refunds generally 
are expected to be issued in 4 business days for direct deposit and 6 
business days for paper checks after IRS processes the return and 
posts the return data to the taxpayer's account.[Footnote 15] IRS also 
plans to begin loading and validating all taxpayer account data from 
the IMF into the CADE 2 database. 

* Beginning in March 2012, IRS plans to begin updating the CADE 2 
database with IMF daily data. 

* Beginning in 2014, IRS had planned to finish modifying key 
compliance and taxpayer service systems to use information from the 
CADE 2 database (second phase of CADE 2). However, IRS reported that 
it did not receive fiscal year 2011 funding to allow it to meet the 
2014 time frame.[Footnote 16] 

Figure 1: IRS Timeline for Implementing CADE 2: 

[Refer to PDF for image: timeline] 

2011 Filing Season: 

1/2011-6/2011: 
IRS transferred 40 million accounts from current CADE to the IMF. 

1/2011-9/2011: 
IRS evaluated two ways to accelerate processing: 
Both options allow refunds to be issued within 4 business days for 
direct deposit and 6 business days for paper check from when return is 
processed and data is posted to taxpayers account. 

In addition, IRS evaluated whether it can proceed with the CADE 2 
database, which will contain data on individual taxpayers and their 
accounts, and provide for the transfer of data from the database to 
downstream systems. 

9/2011-12/2011: 
IRS decided whether: 
1. to proceed with the IMF daily processing; 
2. the CADE 2 database would be ready. 

1/2011-12/2011: 
IRS processed approximately 100 million returns on the IMF and 40 
million on current CADE. 

2012 Filing Season: 

1/2012-12/2012: 
IRS to use the IMF for daily processing. 

1/2012-3/2012: 
IRS plans to initialize the CADE 2 database and copy taxpayer data 
from the IMF in stages. 

3/2012-6/2-12: 
IRS plans to begin updating the CADE 2 database daily with taxpayer 
data from the IMF. 

6/2012-12/2012: 
IRS plans to have CADE 2 database ready to populate downstream systems 
that will allow compliance and services staff to access more timely
data. 

Source: GAO analysis of IRS data. 

[End of figure] 

IRS officials responsible for MeF implementation believe that the 
agency remains on schedule to turn off the legacy e-file system in 
2012 and replace it with MeF. Although the use of MeF increased 
significantly compared to last year--IRS accepted over 10.2 million 
returns in fiscal year 2011 on MeF compared to about 1 million in 
2010--the number of returns fell far short of the 30 million IRS 
expected or the 80 million IRS officials said MeF was capable of 
handling. 

IRS faces two key challenges to increasing MeF use. First, return 
transmitters must use the MeF system. Although return transmitters 
reported that the MeF system was more stable than in 2010, not all 
transmitters eligible to use it did so in 2011. According to IRS 
officials, the major return transmitters are committed to using MeF in 
the future. Second, states must have the capability to download state 
returns from the MeF system, but not all currently do. Presently, 
transmitters submit federal and state returns through the legacy e-
file system, and states then retrieve their state tax returns. 
However, 11 states that will need to retrieve returns from MeF 
beginning in 2013 are not yet capable of doing so. If they do not gain 
such capability by October 2012, when the legacy e-file system is 
scheduled to be turned off, the burden on affected taxpayers or 
transmitters submitting tax returns would increase.[Footnote 17] As 
appendix V shows, if all states follow through with their current 
plans, they should be prepared to download their state's tax returns 
from MeF during the 2013 filing season. 

IRS's Refund Timeliness Measure and Goal Do Not Reflect Processing 
Performance and Capabilities: 

IRS's current refund timeliness measure and goal, which it routinely 
uses in budget justification documents and to assess its performance, 
do not include e-filed returns. The IRS Restructuring and Reform Act 
of 1998 requires IRS to report to Congress on how it has maintained 
processing times of 40 days or less for paper returns, in addition to 
implementing a plan to increase electronic filing, and IRS maintains a 
goal of issuing refunds for returns filed on paper within 40 
days.[Footnote 18] Due to improvements in the percentage of e-filed 
returns (nearly 80 percent of returns are now filed electronically) 
the measure does not apply to the majority of returns filed by 
taxpayers. IRS last made significant changes to the refund timeliness 
measure in 2003. Since that time IRS has made important changes to 
facilitate faster refund processing. For example, the number of e-
filed returns has more than doubled, IRS implemented new systems 
including current CADE, and, in 2012, IMF daily processing should 
allow IRS to issue refunds within 4 business days for direct deposit 
and 6 business days for paper checks after it processes the return and 
posts the return data to the taxpayer's account. As a result, the goal 
of issuing 97 percent of refunds within the 40 days for paper returns 
does not give IRS a meaningful indicator of how quickly it is 
disbursing refunds. 

According to IRS officials, the refund timeliness goal captures the 
percentage of refunds issued for returns filed on paper within 40 
days, which is 5 days before IRS generally must begin paying interest 
on the refund. However, as we previously reported, performance 
measures and goals should provide useful information for decision-
making to track how programs can contribute to attaining the 
organization's goals and mission.[Footnote 19] We have also stressed 
that agencies need to consider differing needs of various 
stakeholders, including Congress, to ensure that performance 
information will be both useful and used.[Footnote 20] IRS has a 
variety of options for updating its refund timeliness measure. For 
example, more meaningful measures could include identifying the 
percentage of refunds issued during given periods (such as the 
percentage of refunds issued in 10 or 20 days) or creating separate 
measures for returns filed on paper and returns filed electronically. 
Doing so would not preclude IRS from continuing to meet its 
requirement of reporting the percentage of refunds for returns filed 
on paper issued within 40 days. Without developing a new refund 
timeliness measure and goal to more appropriately reflect current 
capabilities, IRS is missing opportunities to better measure its 
actual performance and provide useful information to Congress for 
decision-making purposes. 

High Call Volume Drives the Need to Expand Self-Service Telephone 
Lines: 

Since 2007, IRS has struggled to respond to high call volume, which 
has adversely affected access to telephone service. In 2011, IRS 
received 83 million calls as of June 30, compared to about 57 million 
through the same date in 2007 (see appendix VI). Over the same years, 
as table 2 shows, taxpayers' ability to gain access to CSRs, IRS's 
live telephone assistors, deteriorated. In 2011, 72 percent of 
taxpayers seeking live telephone assistance got through to a CSR, 
compared to 81 percent in 2007. The deterioration in access is also 
reflected in the length of time taxpayers must wait before speaking to 
a CSR. In 2011, average wait time was almost 12 minutes; in 2007 it 
was less than 5 minutes. IRS officials attribute the higher call 
volume over the years to a number of factors including tax law changes 
made very late in the year that generated a lot of taxpayer questions: 

Table 2: IRS Telephone Service Goals and Performance, 2007 through 
2011 Filing Seasons: 

Access measure: Percent of callers seeking live assistance who 
received it; 
2007, Actual: 81%; 
2007, Goal: 82%; 
2008, Actual: 57%; 
2008, Goal: 83%[B]; 
2009, Actual: 68%; 
2009, Goal: 77%[C]; 
2010, Actual: 76%; 
2010, Goal: 71%; 
2011, Actual: 72%; 
2011, Goal: 71%. 
Percent change from 2010 to 2011[A], Actual: -5%.
Percent change from 2010 to 2011[A], Goal: 0. 

Access measure: Average wait time (in minutes); 
2007, Actual: 4.6; 
2007, Goal: 4.3; 
2008, Actual: 8.6; 
2008, Goal: 4.5; 
2009, Actual: 8.4; 
2009, Goal: 10.4[D]; 
2010, Actual: 9.5; 
2010, Goal: 11.6; 
2011, Actual: 11.7; 
2011, Goal: 11.6. 
Percent change from 2010 to 2011[A], Actual: 23%.
Percent change from 2010 to 2011[A], Goal: 0. 

Accuracy measure[E]: 

Accuracy measure[E]: Tax Law Rate (in percent)[F]; 
2007: 90.7%; +/-0.9%; 
2008: 90.3%; +/-0.9%; 
2009: 92.5%; +/-0.8%; 
2010: 92.4%; +/-0.8%; 
2011: 93.4%; +/-0.6%; 
Percent change from 2010 to 2011[A]: 1%. 

Accuracy measure[E]: Account Accuracy Rate (in percent)[F]; 
2007: 93.2%; +/-0.5%; 
2008: 93.5%; +/-0.4%; 
2009: 95.1%; +/-0.4%; 
2010: 95.6%; +/-0.4%; 
2011: 96.0%; +/-0.3%; 
Percent change from 2010 to 2011[A]: 0. 

Source: GAO analysis of IRS data. 

Notes: Actual data are from January 1 through June 30, while goals are 
for the entire fiscal year. We believe comparing performance during 
the filing season to fiscal year goals is appropriate as IRS's filing 
season performance is an indicator of its performance for the entire 
year. 

[A] Numbers in the table are rounded, but percentage change was 
calculated using exact values. Therefore, in some cases, the 
percentage change is slightly different than it would be if it were 
calculated using the rounded values in the table. 

[B] IRS revised its original fiscal year goal of 82 percent down to 74 
percent because of high call volume due to economic stimulus-related 
calls. 

[C] IRS revised its original fiscal year goal of 77 percent down to 70 
percent because of high call volume from taxpayers requesting e-filing 
authentication information and asking stimulus--related questions. 

[D] IRS determines its wait time goal based on anticipated call volume 
and resource availability. IRS significantly raised its wait time goal 
for 2009 compared to 2008 in light of anticipated increased call 
volume related to tax law changes. 

[E] Based on representative samples selected by IRS from January 1 
through June 30. 

[F] The percentage of calls in which CSRs provided accurate answers 
for the call type and took the appropriate actions, with a 90 percent 
confidence interval. 

[End of table] 

Table 2 also shows that, as performance declined, IRS reduced its 
goals for access to CSRs and increased its goal for telephone wait 
time. Despite less chance of getting through to CSRs and longer wait 
times, this year IRS met its goal for providing live assistance and 
almost met it for wait time. IRS sets its telephone performance goals 
based on the expected volume and complexity of calls (complexity 
affects the time required to respond to a taxpayer), resource 
availability, and the anticipated volume of paper correspondence that 
CSRs handle. Even though IRS has reduced its goals for phone service, 
the number of full-time equivalents (FTE) dedicated to answering the 
phones has actually increased from about 8,000 in fiscal year 2007 to 
about 8,800 in fiscal year 2011.[Footnote 21] 

A positive aspect of IRS's telephone service in 2011 was the accuracy 
of CSRs answers. As shown in table 2, IRS's accuracy rate estimates 
for CSR answered calls remained well over 90 percent. In the past we 
have reported that IRS officials attribute these high accuracy rates 
to automated interactive tax law assistance tools that CSRs use to 
provide answers to taxpayers.[Footnote 22] IRS also attributes the 
high accuracy rate to the use of contact analytics--a tool used to 
identify reasons why taxpayers call IRS and evaluate how CSRs interact 
with taxpayers. 

Key to improving telephone access, given the high volume of taxpayers 
calling the IRS and resource constraints, is shifting as many calls as 
appropriate to self-service tools, such as interactive automated 
telephone lines or the IRS website. Providing automated answers to 
taxpayer questions reduces the demand to speak to a CSR and also 
reduces IRS's costs. In 2011, through June 30, CSRs answered over 22 
million calls at a cost of about $30 per call, for a total of about 
$660 million. Conversely, IRS said this year it cost $0.36 to answer 
an automated phone call. 

We identified two types of calls that could likely be answered through 
automation, but are instead answered by CSRs--calls about the status 
of amended tax returns and callers asking for the location of a TAC or 
VITA site. 

Generally, taxpayers checking on the status of their tax refunds can 
either call IRS's toll-free refund automated line or go to IRS.gov to 
use the Where's My Refund online self-service tool. However, taxpayers 
who filed an amended return must speak to a CSR. 

Last year, IRS assessed the need to create an automated telephone line 
that gives taxpayers the status of their refund if they filed an 
amended return, similar to the current Where's My Refund automated 
line. IRS officials do not track the exact number of calls they 
receive related to amended returns, but believe it to be a significant 
number. IRS received over 4.3 million amended returns in fiscal year 
2011 alone, and according to IRS's assessment, an automated self-
service tool for checking on the status of a refund from an amended 
return could potentially serve as many as 5 million taxpayers 
annually.[Footnote 23] IRS officials acknowledged that creating this 
line would free up CSRs to answer other lines, and submitted an 
internal request to create such an automated line to allow taxpayers 
to determine the status of their amended return refund, which has yet 
to be funded. IRS officials were uncertain exactly how much it would 
cost to develop the line but said that it would probably cost less 
than $1 million. 

In addition, from January 1 through June 30, 2011, CSRs answered over 
60,000 calls from taxpayers inquiring about the location of a TAC or 
VITA site. During the same time period last year, IRS received over 
35,000 calls to the lines and, in 2009, IRS received more than 60,000 
calls to these lines. However, IRS does not have an automated 
telephone line for those taxpayers to call. As a result, taxpayers 
must go online or call IRS and wait to speak to a CSR. 

Without offering an automated phone line for taxpayers inquiring about 
the status of their amended return or the location of a TAC or VITA 
site, CSRs will continue to answer calls that could be addressed 
through automation. In determining whether to create additional 
automated lines and which lines to prioritize, IRS would need to 
compare the up-front costs associated with creating such applications 
with the projected benefits over time. IRS is unsure how much it would 
cost to automate the amended return telephone line, but IRS's 
preliminary estimates suggest that the benefits may outweigh the cost. 
IRS officials acknowledged they have not determined whether the cost 
of automating the TAC and VITA locator lines would be worth the 
benefits. As a result, IRS may be missing opportunities to provide 
taxpayers with more self-service tools, save resources, and provide 
better access to taxpayers. 

IRS Has Received about the Same Amount of Paper Correspondence as in 
2010, but Overage Paper Correspondence Increased: 

Managing the trade-offs between responding to paper correspondence and 
providing live telephone service illustrates the challenges IRS faces 
in improving taxpayer service. In 2011, IRS dedicated about 4,700 FTEs 
to providing paper correspondence. We previously reported that the age 
of taxpayer paper correspondence had risen steadily since 2005, and 
recommended that IRS establish a performance measure that includes 
providing timely correspondence service to taxpayers.[Footnote 24] IRS 
agreed, but the recommendation has not been fully implemented. Table 3 
shows that the overall amount of paper correspondence is about the 
same as last year and the percentage of overage inventory (paper 
correspondence older than 45 days) increased again in 2011. The volume 
and percentage of overage paper correspondence further highlight the 
need to provide additional automated services and maximize resources. 

Table 3: IRS Taxpayer Correspondence Performance, Fiscal Years 2005 
through 2011: 

Correspondence received (in millions)[B]: 
Fiscal year 2005: 15; 
Fiscal year 2006: 15; 
Fiscal year 2007: 16; 
Fiscal year 2008: 18; 
Fiscal year 2009: 19; 
Fiscal year 2010: 20; 
Fiscal year 2011: 20; 
Percent change from fiscal year 2010 to 2011[A]: 0. 

Average percentage of taxpayer correspondence overage[C]: 
Fiscal year 2005: 12%; 
Fiscal year 2006: 17%; 
Fiscal year 2007: 17%; 
Fiscal year 2008: 23%; 
Fiscal year 2009: 25%; 
Fiscal year 2010: 27%; 
Fiscal year 2011: 35%; 
Percent change from fiscal year 2010 to 2011[A]: 30%. 

Source: GAO analysis of IRS data. 

Note: Aggregate data are from Accounts Management and Submission 
Processing, which jointly respond to IRS's taxpayer correspondence. 

[A] Numbers in the table are rounded, but percentage change was 
calculated using exact values. 

[B] Data cover equivalent periods for each fiscal year with slight 
variation in the exact dates depending on the year and data source. 

[C] 2005 through 2008 data do not include overage data for 
correspondence processed by submission processing as submission 
processing began tracking overage data in 2009. 

[End of table] 

IRS Continues to Implement Programs to Improve Service at TAC and 
VITA/TCE Sites: 

Although far fewer taxpayers visit TAC and volunteer sites than call 
IRS or use its website, these sites represent an important service. As 
of April 30, 2011, IRS received 2.85 million taxpayer contacts at its 
401 TACs, compared to about 2.78 million contacts during the same 
period last year. The accuracy of accounts and tax law assistance 
provided at TACs stayed about the same as last year, as table 4 shows. 

Table 4: IRS Walk-in Site Accuracy, 2008 through 2011 (in percent): 

Accounts assistance; 
2008 actual: 85% +/-2.30%; 
2009 actual: 86% +/-1.93%; 
2010 actual: 9%1 +/-1.66%; 
2011 actual: 89% +/-1.42%; 
2011 goal: 91%. 

Tax law assistance; 
2008 actual: 66% +/-2.73%; 
2009 actual: 76% +/-1.97%; 
2010 actual: 81% +/-1.83%; 
2011 actual: 82% +/-1.50%; 
2011 goal: 8%2. 

Return preparation assistance; 
2008 actual: n/a; 
2009 actual: n/a; 
2010 actual: 82% +/-3.82%; 
2011 actual: 82% +/-2.95%; 
2011 goal: 84%. 

Legend: n/a = not applicable. 

Source: GAO analysis of IRS data. 

Note: Actual data are from January 1 through April 30. IRS does not 
have comparable accuracy data available for the years prior to 2008. 

[End of table] 

IRS is implementing service improvements, including self-service 
tools, at TAC sites intended to increase access, reduce wait time, and 
extend the effectiveness of its employees. IRS expanded its pilot 
program of extended Saturday and evening hours to 36 TACs to increase 
taxpayer access. IRS officials said they would like to expand this 
program but need to renegotiate a letter of understanding with the 
National Treasury Employees Union so they can adjust employee 
schedules without incurring overtime costs. To reduce wait time and 
improve customer service, IRS officials told us there were 100 
Facilitated Self Assistance kiosks located at 37 TAC sites to 
encourage clients with less complex questions to use them. For 2011, 
the number of taxpayer contacts at the TAC kiosks more than doubled to 
about 21,500 from about 9,550 in 2010. 

For 2012, as part of IRS's efforts to increase self-service and 
improve the productivity of its employees, IRS is piloting a virtual 
assistance program at 12 TACs that would allow employees to interact 
with walk-in clients through a video terminal at other sites when the 
employee is not occupied at their home site. Also beginning in 2012, 
IRS will be able to measure wait time at TAC sites on a nationwide 
basis.[Footnote 25] 

Highlights of VITA/TCE site performance include the following: 

* The number of volunteers at VITA/TCE sites increased slightly to 
over 88,500, up from about 87,600 last year. 

* Volunteers prepared 3.2 million tax returns, up from 2.9 million 
last year. 

* Return preparation accuracy by volunteers increased to 87 percent, a 
gain from 85 percent in 2010.[Footnote 26] 

* IRS placed employees at 31 VITA sites to assist with return 
preparation and answer questions from about 6,800 taxpayers, up from 
27 sites and about 5,500 taxpayers in 2010. Due to budgetary 
constraints, IRS does not plan to expand the number of IRS employees 
or sites supported in 2012. 

IRS is supporting its volunteer site partners as they work with 
taxpayers to promote financial education and asset building, which 
includes efforts to bring taxpayers without a bank account into the 
banking system. The number of taxpayers requesting direct deposit at 
VITA sites has risen in each of the last 5 years, and by a total of 
about 50 percent since 2007 (from about 970,000 in 2007 to about 1.5 
million in 2010).[Footnote 27] Later in this report, we discuss the 
options available for taxpayers, particularly those without bank 
accounts, to receive refunds. 

Website Use Continues to Grow, but IRS Does Not Have a Comprehensive 
Internet Strategy: 

Visits to IRS's website [hyperlink, http://www.irs.gov] and the use of 
self-service tools continue to increase since last year, as table 5 
shows. 

Table 5: Website Use from 2007 through 2011: 

Total visits: 
2007: 168 million; 
2008: 292 million; 
2009: 235 million; 
2010: 239 million; 
2011: 250 million; 
Percent change from 2010 to 2011[A]: 4%. 

Downloads: 
2007: 121 million; 
2008: 136 million; 
2009: 137 million; 
2010: 157 million; 
2011: 166 million; 
Percent change from 2010 to 2011[A]: 6%. 

Searches[B]: 
2007: 106 million; 
2008: 125 million; 
2009: 263 million; 
2010: 277 million; 
2011: 312 million; 
Percent change from 2010 to 2011[A]: 13%. 

Volunteer site list[C]: 
2007: n/a; 
2008: n/a; 
2009: n/a; 
2010: 48,000; 
2011: 152,000[D]; 
Percent change from 2010 to 2011[A]: 214%[E]. 

Self-service tools: 

Where's My Refund? 
2007: 31 million; 
2008: 38 million; 
2009: 53 million; 
2010: 64 million; 
2011: 73 million; 
Percent change from 2010 to 2011[A]: 15%. 

Electronic Filing Pin Request: 
2007: n/a; 
2008: n/a; 
2009: n/a; 
2010: 5 million; 
2011: 10 million; 
Percent change from 2010 to 2011[A]: 112%. 

Online Payment Agreement:
2007: 13,000; 
2008: 19,000; 
2009: 34,000; 
2010: 43,000; 
2011: 26,000[F]; 
Percent change from 2010 to 2011[A]: -39%. 

Interactive Tax Assistant Tools: 
2007: n/a; 
2008: n/a; 
2009: n/a; 
2010: 42,000[G]; 
2011: 164,000[H]; 
Percent change from 2010 to 2011[A]: n/a[I]. 

Legend: n/a = not applicable. 

Source: GAO analysis of IRS data. 

Notes: Data are from January 1 to July 31 for all years unless 
otherwise noted. 

[A] Numbers in the table are rounded, but percentage change was 
calculated using exact values. Therefore, in some cases, the 
percentage change is slightly different than it would be if it were 
calculated using the rounded values in the table. 

[B] Page views; includes both successful search results and search 
results not found. 

[C] 2010's listing was on 1 page, with an index at the top. This 
year's listing has been split into 52 pages; one for each state, the 
District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. 

[D] Data are through June 30, 2011. 

[E] Percent change was calculated using 2011's rounded value. 

[F] There was a programming error that led to a decrease in the number 
of completed agreements. 

[G] Data are from March 7 through July 31, 2010. 

[H] Data are from January 2 through July 30, 2011. 

[I] IRS did not introduce interactive tax assistance tools until March 
2010, and IRS added more such tools for 2011. As a result, the time 
frames and available services are not comparable. 

[End of table] 

IRS officials believe that the increase in the use of the search tool 
over the years is due in part to site visitors not being able to 
easily locate the information they are seeking. IRS acknowledged that 
the existing manner in which IRS manages content on its website 
contributes to more searches because of duplicative and outdated 
information. Currently, content is developed on IRS's website by about 
300 employees throughout IRS, and Content Area Administrators provide 
oversight. In September 2011, IRS developed a draft business case for 
a new content management strategy that is expected to significantly 
reduce duplication and greatly improve user search results. According 
to IRS, centralizing certain elements of content management is a key 
piece of its Internet strategy, and removing old content should make 
the site more efficient and improve content consistency, quality 
control, and the user experience. 

IRS Is Developing an Internet Strategy, but Fundamental Elements Are 
Missing: 

As we noted earlier, IRS has begun spending a planned $320 million on 
its website over a 10-year period.[Footnote 28] IRS awarded the 
contract for the new website in August 2011 and has begun developing 
the website, which it plans to introduce in 2013. IRS's investment 
plans include, among other things, introducing new, more secure 
portals for taxpayers to access information. However, IRS does not 
have concrete plans that define what additional online services the 
new website will ultimately provide and how much the services will 
cost. To their credit, IRS officials have begun developing a roadmap 
that identifies some online services they would like to provide, and 
IRS has periodically added new online services in the past. However, 
the roadmap omits several fundamental elements. For example, it does 
not include an assessment of the costs and benefits for new services 
identified, time frames for when these online services would be 
created and available for taxpayer use, or specific plans to 
periodically revisit the strategy and make revisions based on IRS's 
priorities. Online tools, much like automated telephone lines, are a 
partial substitute for calling IRS and perhaps speaking to a CSR. The 
extent to which taxpayers can be diverted to the web will allow IRS to 
assist them at a much lower cost and more quickly. 

Federal guidance suggests that a strategy to guide website development 
within an agency is important.[Footnote 29] For example, the guidance 
states that: 

* a strategic plan is an essential part of web management; 

* performance goals and time frames are necessary elements to be 
included within the strategic plan; 

* cost estimates are necessary to support decisions about funding one 
program over another, evaluate resource requirements at key decision 
points, and develop performance measurement baselines; and: 

* agencies should also revisit plans periodically and update them to 
reflect changes in priorities and capabilities. 

Recent organizational changes within IRS, including the addition of a 
Director of Online Services at the agencywide level and a 
reorganization of IRS's online management team, offer opportunities to 
develop a more comprehensive approach to website development. The 
Director of Online Services told us that he plans to further develop 
the strategy based on taxpayers' needs and develop online services in 
an iterative manner. However, IRS has not yet developed an initial 
schedule for implementing online services and it is not clear the IRS 
plans to develop a more comprehensive Internet strategy. 

Without a comprehensive Internet strategy in place that IRS revisits 
on a regular basis, IRS risks not getting the greatest possible 
benefits from the $320 million and any additional funding for online 
services that it proposes to spend. In addition, taxpayers and 
Congress do not have complete information about the online services 
IRS intends to provide in return for making these investments. 

Federal Taxpayers Are Unable to Access Account Information Online: 

Unlike online services offered by two states we identified, taxpayers 
who visit IRS's website cannot view and update personal tax account 
information online.[Footnote 30] Online services are a substantially 
less expensive means for IRS to conduct business with taxpayers 
compared to telephone or paper correspondence, making it important for 
IRS to promote interactive website services.[Footnote 31] Table 6 
compares online services offered by tax agencies in New York and 
California compared to IRS. New York and California state tax 
officials said they expect taxpayers to increasingly transition from 
the phones to the web for information, driving down their operating 
costs. In addition, officials from New York also reported that the 
anticipated savings greatly outweigh the up-front costs in their case. 
[Footnote 32] 

Table 6: Comparison of IRS, New York, and California Interactive 
Online Services: 

Online service: View tax account balance and recent payments; 
IRS: [Empty]; 
New York: [Check]; 
California: [Check]. 

Online service: Make extension payments; 
IRS: [Empty]; 
New York: [Check]; 
California: [Check]. 

Online service: Respond to department notices; 
IRS: [Empty]; 
New York: [Check]; 
California: [Check][A]. 

Online service: Order tax return or tax account transcript; 
IRS: [Check]; 
New York: [Empty]; 
California: [Empty]. 

Online service: Estimate personal tax account payment; 
IRS: [Empty]; 
New York: [Check]; 
California: [Check]. 

Online service: Determine eligibility for tax credits[B]; 
IRS: [Check]; 
New York: [Check]; 
California: [Check]. 

Online service: Pay taxes online; 
IRS: [Check]; 
New York: [Check]; 
California: [Check]. 

Online service: Check the status of a refund online; 
IRS: [Check]; 
New York: [Check]; 
California: [Check]. 

Online service: Change taxpayer address; 
IRS: [Empty]; 
New York: [Check]; 
California: [Check]. 

Source: GAO analysis of IRS, New York, and California data. 

Notes: This is not a complete list of services available on IRS, New 
York, and California tax websites. 

[A] California provides taxpayers with the ability to respond to a 
limited set of notices. 

[B] Taxpayers can determine their eligibility for a limited number of 
tax credits using these web features. 

[End of table] 

According to IRS officials, they have not allowed taxpayers to view 
and update elements of their personal tax account online because of 
outdated technology and federal regulations requiring secure access to 
account information.[Footnote 33] However, IRS has recently taken 
steps that may allow it to meet federal requirements for 
electronically authenticating (e-authenticating) users online so that 
taxpayers can access information securely. By 2013, IRS plans to have 
online security features in place that would allow taxpayers to access 
more account information online.[Footnote 34] Nevertheless, IRS has 
not assessed the need for allowing taxpayers to view and update 
elements of their personal account information online nor has it 
conducted an assessment of the risks associated with doing so--all of 
which could be completed in conjunction with the development of a more 
comprehensive Internet strategy discussed above. Without making these 
determinations, IRS is missing opportunities to reduce costs and 
provide the most beneficial online services to taxpayers. 

Expanding Prerefund Compliance Checks Appears Feasible, but Depends on 
System Upgrades and Process Changes: 

In April 2011, the Commissioner of Internal Revenue said that IRS 
should develop a long-term vision to perform more prerefund checks of 
returns by requiring earlier submission of information provided by 
third parties to match the data with taxpayer returns.[Footnote 35] He 
acknowledged that implementing such a strategy would require a 
fundamental shift in how IRS conducts its business and would likely 
need to take place over a significant period of time. In more recent 
remarks in October 2011, the Commissioner stated that after conducting 
an initial review of the steps IRS would need to take to achieve his 
long-term vision, he believes that implementing the vision may be even 
more feasible than initially thought. 

Figure 2 illustrates IRS's current prerefund process for e-filed and 
paper returns. As we mentioned earlier, the key information systems 
that support the process are further outlined in appendix III. 

Figure 2: IRS Processes for Conducting Prerefund Compliance Checks on 
Tax Returns: 

[Refer to PDF for image: interactive graphic] 

Directions:
Click tabs below to see IRS processes for conducting prerefund 
compliance checks for all individual tax returns, electronically filed 
tax returns only, and paper filed tax returns only. 

A printable version of this graphic is available in appendix VII. 

Source: GAO analysis of IRS information. 

[End of figure] 

As IRS develops this strategy, it is also undertaking shorter-term 
initiatives, including upgrading information systems, expanding data 
collection, and identifying areas where it could use additional MEA or 
make changes to existing processes to enhance prerefund compliance 
checks. 

* Upgrading Information Systems: In 2012, IRS plans to implement IMF 
daily processing and, in 2013, to make MeF the sole system for 
accepting electronic returns, and transition to CADE 2 for returns 
processing at a future date. IRS also plans to replace the EFDS--which 
applies specific fraud criteria to tax returns filed with the IRS to 
identify questionable tax returns with refunds--with RRP. RRP is a 
more modern database that IRS views as a critical piece in its 
prerefund compliance activities because it will allow IRS to more 
effectively identify fraudulent schemes early in the filing season. 
Although IRS believes that EFDS is obsolete and too risky to maintain 
past 2014, procurement delays and a change in vendors will likely 
result in extending the implementation of RRP beyond 2014. We plan to 
further assess RRP's progress as part of our annual budget and 
information systems reviews. 

* Expanding Data Collection: We reported earlier that IRS does not 
transcribe all data from paper filed returns due to cost 
constraints.[Footnote 36] As IRS only runs automated compliance checks 
on data present in both e-filed and transcribed paper returns, the 
amount of data for enforcement activities is limited. In October 2011, 
we reported that because an increasing percentage of returns are e-
filed, IRS could be at the point where the benefits of digitizing 
additional data from paper returns are greater than costs.[Footnote 37] 

* Identifying Additional MEA or Process Changes: IRS works with 
Treasury on a case-by-case basis to identify areas where it may need 
MEA. Although we have suggested that granting IRS broader MEA would 
help ensure compliance before refunds are issued, we recognize that 
MEA may not always be the most effective or appropriate prerefund 
compliance tool (see apps. I and II for a list of current and proposed 
MEA for IRS). For example, in our October 2011 report on IRS's 
administration of the adoption tax credit, we recommended that IRS 
determine whether existing processes could be used to reduce the 
number of costly audits conducted rather than obtain MEA.[Footnote 38] 

Although these short-term efforts to enhance prerefund compliance 
checks are important, the potential long-term benefits of matching 
information provided to IRS by third parties to tax return data during 
the filing season may generate benefits to taxpayers and IRS that far 
exceed those from current prerefund compliance checks. 

RACs Have Largely Replaced RALs, and Treasury Is Continuing to Study 
Alternatives for Providing Refunds: 

In 2010 (the last year with data available), RACs greatly outnumbered 
RALs, 18 million to 2 million, as shown in figure 3. Since 2005 the 
total number of RACs and RALs issued has not changed much but the 
distribution has.[Footnote 39] 

Figure 3: Number of RACs and RALs, 1999-2010: 

[Refer to PDF for image: line graph] 

Year: 1999; 
RAL: 6 million. 

Year: 2000; 
RAL: 10.8 million. 

Year: 2001; 
RAL: 12.1 million. 

Year: 2002; 
RAL: 12.7 million. 

Year: 2003; 
RAL: 12.2 million. 

Year: 2004; 
RAL: 12.4 million. 

Year: 2005; 
RAC: 9.8 million; 
RAL: 9.6 million. 

Year: 2006; 
RAC: 10.8 million; 
RAL: 9 million. 

Year: 2007; 
RAC: 11.7 million; 
RAL: 8.7 million. 

Year: 2008; 
RAC: 12 million; 
RAL: 8.4 million. 

Year: 2009; 
RAC: 12.9 million; 
RAL: 6.9 million. 

Year: 2010; 
RAC: 17.9 million; 
RAL: 1.9 million. 

Source: GAO analysis of Urban Institute and IRS data. 

Note: Data on the number of RACs are not available before 2005. 

[End of figure] 

Although less is known about RACs than controversial RALs, some have 
expressed concerns that RACs have similar features to RALs and are 
used by the same categories of taxpayers. For example, consumer 
advocacy groups have noted that the fees associated with a RAC may be 
high, lack transparency, and taxpayers may not always fully understand 
the refund product to which they are agreeing--similar to concerns 
previously raised with respect to RALs.[Footnote 40] A 2010 Urban 
Institute report developed at the request of Treasury noted that RAC 
and RAL usage is common across similar population groups. For example, 
RAC and RAL usage is highly concentrated in America's poorest 
communities, and RAC and RAL users frequently do not have bank 
accounts to receive direct deposits. RAC and RAL users also tend to be 
similar to consumers of other alternative financial services, 
including pawnshop loans and payday loans.[Footnote 41] The high use 
of RACs and RALs in low-income areas may be explained, in part, by the 
fact that allowing the return preparer to deduct tax preparation fees 
from the refund (as opposed to being paid for out-of-pocket when the 
return is prepared) is the primary benefit of a RAC. 

The total average cost of a RAC is difficult to calculate because 
pricing varies considerably across providers, and fees beyond the flat 
fee for setting up the RAC account are difficult to calculate. Figure 
4 provides an example of potential fees incurred by taxpayers when 
filing a return and receiving a refund through a RAC. For example, 
most tax preparers we observed charge a flat fee of about $30 to $35 
for setting up a RAC account. Tax preparers may also charge an 
additional fee for issuing a paper check and taxpayers may incur fees 
when using debit cards supplied by tax preparers. In addition, 
preparers charge standard fees for tax preparation, including for 
document preparation and e-filing. Taxpayers may also incur other fees 
not charged by the preparer, such as check-cashing fees. 

Figure 4: Example of How a Taxpayer Receives a RAC and When Fees May 
Be Incurred: 

[Refer to PDF for image: illustration] 

Taxpayer: 
Taxpayer gets return prepared by a tax preparer. 
If taxpayer chooses to obtain the refund on (1) a debit card or (2) a 
paper check from the bank that set up the RAC account, the taxpayer 
may have to pay fees to use the debit card or to receive the paper 
check.[A] 

Tax Preparer: 
Return sent to IRS.  

IRS: 
IRS deposits refund in temporary bank account, called a RAC account, 
set up by a private bank in partnership with the preparer. 

RAC Account: 
Tax Preparer deducts tax preparation fees and fees to set up the RAC 
account, some of which may go to the bank that set up the RAC account. 

Taxpayer's Bank[B]: 
If taxpayer chooses to obtain the account refund by means of direct 
deposit, other charges generally do not apply. 
Source: GAO analysis. 

[A] Taxpayers with bank accounts can generally cash or deposit their 
refund check without charge. If not, they may use an alternative 
provider and pay a fee to have check cashed. 

[B] Many taxpayers who receive RACs may not have bank accounts, which 
is one of the primary reasons they request their refund by means of a 
debit card or a paper check. 

[End of figure] 

Despite the fact that many taxpayers still need to pay for tax 
preparation services out of their refunds, the fees associated with 
RACs and the concerns noted above raise questions about whether 
taxpayers understand the benefits and all the fees of RACs. Federal 
rules require tax preparers to inform taxpayers that they are 
receiving a RAC or a RAL, and some states have issued additional 
regulations requiring more disclosures that must be provided to 
taxpayers when signing up for a RAC. For example, Arkansas, 
California, Maine, and Maryland require preparers to post a RAL and 
RAC fee schedule. 

One step that could help taxpayers make more informed decisions about 
RAC use is improving the relevance of IRS's refund timeliness 
performance measure, which we previously discussed. A refund 
timeliness measure that gave taxpayers a clearer picture of how long 
it normally takes to get a refund from IRS could help them decide 
whether it is worth paying RAC fees. 

Treasury and IRS Are Exploring Lower-Cost Options to Deliver Refunds 
to Taxpayers: 

In part to address concerns about costly refund delivery mechanisms, 
in January 2011 Treasury launched a pilot program that offers low-and 
medium-income taxpayers the option to receive their federal tax refund 
on a debit card, which could be delivered to taxpayers more quickly 
and at a lower cost to IRS. In part, the program was intended to 
measure whether providing such options to taxpayers would reduce 
reliance on costly refund products and offer safer and more secure 
refunds to taxpayers without bank accounts. Treasury designed the 
program to test a variety of fee structures and marketing techniques 
to determine whether taxpayers would likely use the cards if the 
program were expanded on a national basis.[Footnote 42] The 
preliminary results indicate that taxpayers are most sensitive to 
pricing of a refund debit card, opting for the card with no fees the 
most frequently. The Urban Institute is working on the final 
assessment of the Treasury program, which is scheduled to be released 
in December 2011. 

According to a Treasury official, because the program was a pilot to 
test taxpayers' responsiveness to different debit card offers, 
Treasury does not expect to continue the program in 2012. However, it 
is exploring other options to test out products in future filing 
seasons. Treasury is also determining whether refunds could be 
deposited on Direct Express cards--cards on which citizens already 
receive federal benefit payments--at a future date. 

Separately, IRS is trying to encourage taxpayers who may not have an 
account at a bank or other financial institution to receive their 
refunds through direct deposit on a debit card issued by one of IRS's 
four national bank partners.[Footnote 43] In 2011, refunds on debit 
cards were available at all VITA sites and IRS's national banking 
partners issued just over 6,000 prepaid cards--a small percentage of 
potentially eligible taxpayers. In August 2011, IRS completed a study 
to determine how to appropriately market debit cards and other 
services provided at VITA sites. IRS concluded that, among other 
things, low-cost options, such as continuing to work through VITA/TCE 
partners to promote the cards, exist to increase the use of debit 
cards at VITA/TCE sites. 

IRS officials anticipate that these two efforts may result in reduced 
taxpayer use of RACs and RALs by providing taxpayers without bank 
accounts a low-cost or no-cost option to receive refunds quickly. 

Conclusion: 

IRS is processing tax returns in a rapidly changing environment. In 
2011, IRS met a number of its filing season performance goals, and e-
filing increased to nearly 80 percent--a target that IRS has worked to 
reach over more than a decade. Moving forward, new systems, including 
CADE 2 and MeF, should allow IRS to issue refunds much more quickly 
and provide other benefits. In this context, opportunities exist for 
IRS to revisit how it measures its performance in processing tax 
returns and refunds and make related goals more meaningful. 

The continued low level of telephone service combined with the high 
cost of assistor answered calls highlights the importance of 
implementing additional self-service tools for both IRS's telephones 
and its website. This is especially important in an era of tight 
budgets when federal agencies will be expected to do more with less. 
By developing an Internet strategy and implementing e-authentication, 
IRS is taking important steps to identify and provide additional 
online services, including starting to spend a planned $320 million on 
its website over 10 years. However, developing a more comprehensive 
strategy should help ensure that IRS gets the most benefit for 
taxpayers from this investment. 

Recommendations for Executive Action: 

We recommend that the Commissioner of Internal Revenue take the 
following four actions: 

* develop a new refund timeliness measure and goal to more 
appropriately reflect current capabilities; 

* offer an automated telephone line that gives taxpayers the status of 
their amended tax return, unless IRS has a convincing cost-benefit 
analysis to suggest that the costs exceed the benefits; 

* assess the costs and benefits of automating the TAC/VITA location 
telephone lines, and automate these lines if the benefits exceed the 
costs; and: 

* complete an Internet strategy that: 

* provides a justification for the implementation of online self-
service tools and includes an assessment of providing online self-
service tools that allow taxpayers to access and update elements of 
their account online; 

* acknowledges the cost and benefits to taxpayers of new online 
services; 

* sets the time frame for when the online service would be created and 
available for taxpayer use; and: 

* includes a plan to update the strategy periodically. 

Agency Comments and Our Evaluation: 

We provided a draft of this report to the Commissioner of Internal 
Revenue. In written comments on a draft of this report (which are 
reprinted in appendix VIII) the IRS Deputy Commissioner for Services & 
Enforcement agreed with three of our four recommendations. 

IRS agreed that automating the ability to locate TAC and VITA sites 
could enhance service and convenience, but said that resources are not 
currently available to support it. We acknowledge that IRS is facing 
tough choices in an environment of constrained resources. However, we 
recommended that IRS assess the costs and benefits of automating the 
TAC/VITA location telephone lines, and automate these lines if the 
benefits exceed the costs. Since 2007, IRS telephone service has 
continued to suffer and we believe that a rigorous assessment of the 
costs and benefits of automating the TAC/VITA telephone line will give 
IRS better information on how to allocate scarce resources. 

As agreed with your offices, unless you publicly announce the contents 
of this report earlier, we plan no further distribution until 30 days 
from the report date. At that time, we will send copies to the 
Chairmen and Ranking Members of other Senate and House committees and 
subcommittees that have appropriation, authorization, and oversight 
responsibilities for IRS. We will also send copies to the Commissioner 
of Internal Revenue, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Chairman of 
the IRS Oversight Board, and the Director of the Office of Management 
and Budget. In addition, the report will be available at no charge on 
the GAO website at [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov]. 

If you or your staff have any questions about this report, please 
contact me at (202) 512-9110 or whitej@gao.gov. Contact points for our 
Offices of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on 
the last page of this report. GAO staff who made key contributions to 
this report are listed in appendix IX. 

Signed by: 

James R. White: 
Director, Tax Issues Strategic Issues: 

[End of section] 

Appendix I: IRS's Existing Math Error Authorities: 

Table 7 summarizes the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) 13 areas of 
existing math error authority (MEA). As early as the first 
codification of the Internal Revenue law in 1926, Congress granted IRS 
MEA so that IRS does not have to provide taxpayers with a statutory 
notice of deficiency for math errors. A 1976 statutory revision 
defined the authority to include not only mathematical errors, but 
other obvious errors, such as omissions of data needed to substantiate 
an item on a return, and provided a statutory right to file a request 
for abatement of the assessment within 60 days after the notice is 
sent. In the 1990s, Congress extended the authority multiple times, 
and more recently it has added other provisions to help determine 
eligibility for certain tax exemptions and credits, such as the First-
Time Homebuyer Credit. 

Table 7: IRS's Existing Math Error Authorities (MEA): 

Number: (1); 
Description: An error in addition, subtraction, multiplication, or 
division shown on any return. 

Number: (2); 
Description: An incorrect use of any table provided by IRS with 
respect to any return if other information in the return makes the 
incorrect use apparent. 

Number: (3); 
Description: An entry on a return of an item that is inconsistent with 
another entry of the same or different item on that return. 

Number: (4); 
Description: An omission of information that is required to be 
supplied on the return to substantiate an entry on that return. 

Number: (5); 
Description: An entry on a return of a deduction or credit in an 
amount that exceeds the statutory limit for that deduction or credit, 
if that limit is expressed as a specific monetary amount or as a 
percentage, ratio, or fraction, and if the component items of that 
limit appear on the return. 

Number: (6); 
Description: A correct Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) not 
provided on the return as required; 
* Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC); 
* child and dependent care credit; 
* personal or dependent exemption; 
* child tax credit, or; 
* Hope and Lifetime Learning credits. 

Number: (7); 
Description: A return claiming an EITC for net earnings from self-
employment, where the self-employment tax imposed by IRC § 1401 on 
those net earnings has not been paid. 

Number: (8); 
Description: An omission of information required for recertification 
of eligibility for the EITC. 

Number: (9); 
Description: An entry on the return of a TIN required for the EITC, 
the child credit, and the child and dependent care credit, when 
information associated with that TIN indicates the child does not meet 
the age eligibility requirements for those credits. 

Number: (10); 
Description: An entry on the return of a claim for the EITC where the 
Federal Case Registry of Child Support Orders indicates that the 
taxpayer is the noncustodial parent of that child. 

Number: (11); 
Description: A failure to reduce economic stimulus payment credit on a 
return related to the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 by amounts 
previously advanced. 

Number: (12); 
Description: A failure to reduce the Making Work Pay credit by the 
amount of any payment received as a result of tax abatement resulting 
from the combat-related deaths of members of the Armed Forces, deaths 
of astronauts, and deaths of victims of certain terrorist attacks, or 
by the amount of any credit allowed under the American Recovery and 
Reinvestment Act of 2009; or a failure to submit a proper Social 
Security Number with the claim. 

Number: (13); 
Description: A claim for the First Time Homebuyer Credit where the 
taxpayer has not included the required settlement statement; 
or where other information indicates the taxpayer is under 18 years of 
age; or where information from the past 2 years of returns indicates 
ineligibility for the credit. Additionally, IRS may correct the return 
where the taxpayer has failed to include the increased tax required 
under the recapture provision for the credit, when applicable. 

Source: GAO. 

[End of table] 

[End of section] 

Appendix II: Status of Prior GAO Matters for Congressional 
Consideration and TIGTA Recommendations for MEA: 

For almost a century, Congress has been expanding the Internal Revenue 
Service's (IRS) math error authority (MEA) on a case-by-case basis. In 
2010, we suggested that authorizing the use of MEA on a broader basis 
with appropriate controls to protect taxpayer rights could help IRS 
address compliance problems with newly created tax credits. In the 
absence of broader MEA, we have also suggested that Congress expand 
MEA for more limited purposes as shown in table 8. The Treasury 
Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) also made several 
recommendations to IRS to request expanded MEA from Congress. 

Table 8: Status of Prior GAO and TIGTA Suggestions for Granting IRS 
MEA: 

GAO matter for congressional consideration: 

Suggestion: Use tax return information from previous years to ensure 
that taxpayers do not improperly claim credits or deductions in excess 
of lifetime limits where applicable; 
Report and date: GAO-11-481; March 29, 2011; 
Disposition: Not as yet enacted. 

Suggestion: Broaden MEA so it is not restricted to a case-by-case 
basis, with appropriate safeguards against misuse; 
Report and date: GAO-10-349; February 10, 2010; 
Disposition: Not as yet enacted. 

Suggestion: Use prior years' tax return information to automatically 
verify taxpayers' compliance with the number of years the Hope credit 
can be claimed; 
Report and date: GAO-10-225; December 10, 2009; 
Disposition: Not as yet enacted. 

Suggestion: Use prior years' tax return information to automatically 
verify compliance with the 2008 First Time Homebuyer Credit payback 
provision and ensure that homebuyers do not improperly claim the 
credit in multiple years; 
Report and date: GAO-09-1026; September 23, 2009; 
Disposition: Enacted 2009 in Public Law 111-92. 

Suggestion: Use MEA to identify and correct returns with ineligible 
Individual Retirement Account "catch-up" contributions and 
contributions to traditional Individual Retirement Accounts from 
taxpayers over age 70-½; 
Report and date: GAO-09-146; December 12, 2008; 
Disposition: Not as yet enacted. 

TIGTA recommendation to IRS: 

Suggestion: Require taxpayers to provide documentation to support 
eligibility for all refundable tax credits and seek legislation that 
would provide the IRS with MEA to deny refundable credits when 
supporting documentation is not provided; 
Report and date: 2011-41-035; March 31, 2011; 
Disposition: Not as yet enacted. 

Suggestion: Work with the Department of the Treasury to make a request 
for MEA from Congress to deny adoption credits if documentation is not 
provided; 
Report and date: 2011-40-032; March 31, 2011[A]; 
Disposition: Not as yet enacted. 

Suggestion: Work with the Department of the Treasury, Office of Tax 
Policy, to obtain limited MEA so that the IRS can freeze refunds while 
contacting taxpayers with a questionable age for certain filing 
statuses, taxpayers shown as deceased based on Social Security 
Administration information, and taxpayers with questionable Earned 
Income Tax Credit (EITC) claims based on age difference; 
Report and date: 2010-40-062; July 13, 2010; 
Disposition: Not as yet enacted. 

Suggestion: Clarify whether IRS should require a valid Social Security 
number to pay refundable tax credits. If so, IRS should be granted MEA 
to disallow associated claims for the credits, such as the Additional 
Child Tax Credit; 
Report and date: 2009-40-057; March 12, 2009; 
Disposition: Not as yet enacted. 

Source: GAO and analysis of TIGTA data. 

[A] TIGTA issued an e-mail alert to IRS on October 29, 2010, advising 
them to seek MEA to deny adoption credits if documentation is not 
provided. 

[End of table] 

[End of section] 

Appendix III: Key IRS Prerefund Compliance Check and Tax Processing 
Systems: 

Table 9 summarizes the key systems the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) 
uses to conduct prerefund compliance checks and process tax returns. 

Table 9: Key IRS Prerefund Compliance Check Systems: 

System: Generalized Mainline Framework (GMF); 
Description: Programs within the GMF perform validation, consistency, 
and math verification checks on tax return data. Paper return data are 
checked against National Account Profile data for the first time. 
Returns with errors are routed to the Input Corrections Operation. 
After processing, all returns go through the Dependent Database (DDb). 
Additionally, IRS sends all electronic returns and any paper filed 
return on which a taxpayer claimed a refund to the Electronic Fraud 
Detection System (EFDS). 

System: Dependent Database (DDb); 
Description: DDb primarily matches dependents with filers, but IRS 
uses DDb's programming capability to create filters for other 
compliance checks, mostly for cases where IRS lacks math error 
authority. As part of preparing return data for posting to the Master 
File, IRS uses DDb to run validity checks on returns claiming the 
Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), the First Time Homebuyers Credit, and 
other items. Generally returns go to compliance after the DDb check. 

System: Electronic Fraud Detection System (EFDS); 
Description: EFDS applies specific fraud criteria to tax returns filed 
with the IRS to identify questionable tax returns with refunds. IRS 
plans to replace EFDS with the Return Review Program (RRP). 

System: Error Resolution System (ERS); 
Description: ERS is part of the IRS Input Control Operation. ERS 
examiners check transcribed paper return data, verify and correct the 
errors, and send automatically generated MEA notices to taxpayers. 

System: Return Review Program (RRP); 
Description: RRP is a modern relational database that can process 
returns faster, correct errors simultaneously rather than in series, 
and better adjust to changes in tax law and fraud patterns than EFDS. 
RRP was scheduled to come on line in 2014 but may be delayed. 

System: Individual Master File (IMF); 
Description: IMF is the authoritative data source for individual tax 
account data. It is updated annually to incorporate new tax law 
procedures and changes and is critical to IRS's ability to process tax 
returns--all other IRS information system applications use IMF data. 
IRS plans to transition from IMF, a 1960s legacy system, to the CADE 2 
database as part of upgrading its information systems in 2014. 

System: Current Customer Account Data Engine (CADE); 
Description: IRS initiated the current CADE project in 1999 to replace 
its legacy data systems. Starting in 2005, CADE processed and recorded 
tax return and tax account information for millions of individual 
taxpayers with simple returns. But the development of the system took 
longer than anticipated, so IRS decided to review its information 
systems modernization efforts. IRS plans retired current CADE at the 
end of December 2011. 

System: CADE 2 (beginning 2012); 
Description: CADE 2 is IRS's new program for replacing the IMF which 
it plans to implement in three phases. The CADE 2 database will be a 
modern relational database, which will house data on individual 
taxpayers and their accounts, allow IRS to issue refunds faster due to 
a daily rather than weekly processing cycle, and provide for the 
transfer of data from the database to downstream IRS financial, 
taxpayer service, and compliance systems. 

Source: GAO analysis of IRS data. 

[End of table] 

[End of section] 

Appendix IV: IRS's Processing Performance Relative to 2007 and 2011 
Goals: 

As shown below in table 10, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) met all 
of its processing performance goals in 2011. 

Table 10: IRS Processing Performance, Fiscal Years 2007 through 2011: 

Measure name: Deposit error rate[A]; 
Definition: Percentage of payments applied in error by, for example, 
reimbursing a taxpayer who overpaid when the taxpayer wanted the 
overpayment credited to next year's tax bill; 
Fiscal year: 
2007 actual: 1.3%; (+/-0.22%); 
2008 actual: 1.1%; (+/-0.27%); 
2009 actual: 0.7%; (+/-0.20%); 
2010 actual: 0.4%; (+/-.18%); 
2011 actual: 0.4%; (+/-0.13%); 
2011 goal: 1.0%. 

Measure name: Deposit timeliness--paper--individual master file (IMF); 
Definition: Interest foregone by not depositing monies the business 
day after receipt, per $1 million in deposits. Measure assumes an 8 
percent interest rate; 
Fiscal year: 
2007 actual: $331; 
2008 actual: $290; 
2009 actual: $204; 
2010 actual: $213; 
2011 actual: $98; 
2011 goal: $213. 

Measure name: Correspondence error rate (includes system errors) 
IMF[A, B, C]; 
Definition: The percentage of incorrect Submission Processing 
Masterfile notices and letters issued to taxpayers by the processing 
sites; 
Fiscal year: 
2007 actual: 4.3%; (+/-0.38%); 
2008 actual: 3.8%; +/-0.36%); 
2009 actual: 5.4%; (+/-0.53%); 
2010 actual: 5.4%; (+/-0.45%); 
2011 actual: 4.89%; (+/-0.50%); 
2011 goal: 5.4%. 

Measure name: Refund error rate--individual (paper) (includes systemic 
errors)[A]; 
Definition: Percentage of refunds with IRS-caused errors in the entity 
information (e.g., incorrect name, Social Security number, or refund 
amount); includes systemic errors[B]; 
Fiscal year: 
2007 actual: 2.8%; (+/-0.36%); 
2008 actual: 3.4%; (+/-0.52%); 
2009 actual: 2.0%; (+/-0.33%); 
2010 actual: 1.4%; (+/-0.28%); 
2011 actual: 1.10%; (+/-0.30%); 
2011 goal: 3.0%. 

Measure name: Refund interest paid; 
Definition: Amount of refund interest IRS paid per $1 million of 
refunds issued; 
Fiscal year: 
2007 actual: $39.60; 
2008 actual: $24.16; 
2009 actual: $15.36; 
2010 actual: $44.12; 
2011 actual: $14.04; 
2011 goal: $52.00. 

Measure name: Refund timeliness--individual (paper)[A]; 
Definition: Percentage of refunds issued within 40 days or less; 
Fiscal year: 
2007 actual: 98.9%; (+/-0.19%); 
2008 actual: 99.1%; (+/-0.19%); 
2009 actual: 99.2%; (+/-0.18%); 
2010 actual: 96.1%; (+/-0.44%); 
2011 actual: 99.4%; (+/-0.15%); 
2011 goal: 97.0%. 

Measure name: Productivity; 
Definition: Weighted volume of documents processed per staff year 
expended at the processing centers; 
Fiscal year: 
2007 actual: 34,313; 
2008 actual: 37,624; 
2009 actual: 47,259; 
2010 actual: 47,208; 
2011 actual: 45,617; 
2011 goal: 44,935. 

Measure name: IMF efficiency; 
Definition: Measure of Individual Master File returns processed per 
staff year expended; 
Fiscal year: 
2007 actual: 22,031; 
2008 actual: 23,834; 
2009 actual: 22,758; 
2010 actual: 24,800; 
2011 actual: 29,491; 
2011 goal: 25,867. 

Source: GAO analysis of IRS data. 

Note: Percentages are rounded to the nearest tenth. 

[A] Where the estimates are the result of a probability sample, IRS 
has provided the margin of error based on a 95 percent confidence 
interval. See the +/-numbers in parentheses after the estimate. 

[B] The reported Correspondence Error Rate result is a weighted 
combination of the results of the Letter and Notice Error Rate 
Measures. The weights are based on the actual volumes of letters and 
notices (as reported in letter and notice weighted reports). 

[C] Systemic errors are computer-generated errors over which a 
particular processing center would have no control. 

[End of table] 

[End of section] 

Appendix V: Status of Modernized E-Filing (MeF) by State: 

[Refer to PDF for image: illustrated U.S. map] 

States that participated in MeF in 2011 as of 9/30/11: 
Alabama: 
Arkansas: 
Colorado: 
Connecticut: 
Georgia: 
Hawaii: 
Idaho: 
Illinois: 
Indiana: 
Kansas: 
Kentucky: 
Louisiana: 
Maine: 
Maryland: 
Michigan: 
Mississippi: 
Missouri: 
Montana: 
Nebraska: 
North Dakota: 
Ohio: 
Oklahoma: 
Oregon: 
Pennsylvania: 
Rhode Island: 
South Carolina: 
Utah: 
Virginia: 
West Virginia: 
Wisconsin: 

States that plan to participate in MeF in 2012: 
Arizona: 
Delaware: 
Iowa: 
Minnesota: 
New Mexico: 
New Jersey: 
New York: 
North Carolina: 
Vermont: 

States without a state income tax: 
Alaska: 
Florida: 
Nevada: 
South Dakota: 
Tennessee: 
Texas: 
Washington: 
Wyoming: 

States that are not participating in federal/state program: 
California: 
Massachusetts: 

State that plans to participate in MeF in 2013: 
New Hampshire: 

Source: GAO analysis of IRS data (data); map resources (map). 

[End of section] 

Appendix VI: Call Volume, Composition, and Level of Service, 2007 
through 2011: 

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) receives millions of phone calls 
each year, some of which are answered by live assistors and some of 
which are handled through automated services, as figure 5 shows. In 
2011, IRS received 83 million calls as of June 30 compared to about 57 
million through the same date in 2007. 

Figure 5: Call Volume, Composition, and Level of Service, 2007 through 
2011: 

[Refer to PDF for image: stacked vertical bar graph] 

Year: 2007; 
Automated calls answered: 20.8 million; 
Assistor calls answered: 21.5 million; 
Abandoned calls: 13.3 million; 
Business and IRS discounts: 1.3 million; 
Level of service (Percent of callers seeking and receiving live 
assistance): 80.9%. 

Year: 2008[A]; 
Automated calls answered: 43.0 million; 
Assistor calls answered: 27.0 million; 
Abandoned calls: 34.4 million; 
Business and IRS discounts: 13.6 million; 
Level of service (Percent of callers seeking and receiving live 
assistance): 56.7%. 

Year: 2009; 
Automated calls answered: 25.3 million; 
Assistor calls answered: 25.7 million; 
Abandoned calls: 21.4 million; 
Business and IRS discounts: 5.3 million; 
Level of service (Percent of callers seeking and receiving live 
assistance): 67.8%. 

Year: 2010; 
Automated calls answered: 31.6 million; 
Assistor calls answered: 24.1 million; 
Abandoned calls: 20.5 million; 
Business and IRS discounts: 1.2 million; 
Level of service (Percent of callers seeking and receiving live 
assistance): 76.3%. 

Year: 2011; 
Automated calls answered: 36.7 million; 
Assistor calls answered: 22.6 million; 
Abandoned calls: 22.7 million; 
Business and IRS discounts: 1.1 million; 
Level of service (Percent of callers seeking and receiving live 
assistance): 72.4%. 

Source: GAO analysis of IRS data. 

Notes: Data are from January 1 to June 30 for all years. 

[A] Much of the increase is due to the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 
that mandated IRS send economic stimulus payments to over 100 million 
households, many of which would not otherwise have needed to file a 
tax return. 

[End of figure] 

[End of section] 

Appendix VII: IRS's Prerefund Compliance Process: 

Figures 6 through 8 show the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) process 
for conducting prerefund compliance checks for all individually filed 
tax returns, returns filed electronically, and returns filed on paper, 
respectively. An interactive graphic illustrating this process is 
shown in figure 2 of this report. 

Figure 6: IRS Processes for Conducting Prerefund Compliance Checks on 
Tax Returns: 

[Refer to PDF for image: process chart] 

1) Return submitted electronically: 

2) IRS attempts to verify identity by automatically checking for 
mismatches between IRS systems' data and the return; go to #3, or: 
If mismatch exists, return to preparer or taxpayer. 
Mismatches for returns that were filed on paper are forwarded to the 
Error Resolution System (ERS): go to #4. 

3) Generalized Mainline Framework System (GMF) captures all 
transcribed and electronically submitted return data and begins 
conducting automated checks. The Dependents Database (DDb) runs 
validity checks. Returns with refunds or on which taxpayers claimed 
refundable credits go through the Electronic Fraud Detection System 
(EFDS) as well. 
If no errors are detected: go to #7; 
If errors are detected: go to #5. 

4) In the ERS, IRS specialists correct or resolve issues for which IRS 
has legal authority. 
Returns sent to ERS or exam depending on whether IRS has authority to 
correct the error. 
Math error processing: error found/errors corrected: 
In the ERS, IRS specialists correct or resolve issues for which IRS 
has legal authority. 
Authority issue: go to #5. 

5) Returns sent to ERS or exam depending on whether IRS has authority 
to correct the error. 
Authority issue: go to #6. 

6) If IRS does not have math authority to correct the error, the 
return is identified for potential audit. 
If noncompliance is detected, IRS sends a statutory notice of 
deficiency to the taxpayer. 

7) Return data are posted to IRS's master file. 
If IRS corrected a math error, it sends a notice to the taxpayer. 

8) Return submitted on paper. 

9) IRS examiners screen returns to ensure that all data needed to 
process the return are present. 
If additional information is needed, IRS sends correspondence to 
preparer or taxpayer. 

10) Return data are manually transcribed; go to #2. 

Source: GAO analysis of IRS information. 

[End of figure] 

Figure 7: IRS Processes for Conducting Prerefund Compliance Checks on 
Tax Returns Filed Electronically: 

[Refer to PDF for image: process chart] 

1) Return submitted electronically: 
About 78 percent or 109 million individual returns were filed 
electronically in 2011. 

2) IRS attempts to verify identity by automatically checking for 
mismatches between IRS systems' data and the return; 
If mismatch exists, return to preparer or taxpayer. 

3) Generalized Mainline Framework System (GMF) captures all 
transcribed and electronically submitted return data and begins 
conducting automated checks. The Dependents Database (DDb) runs 
validity checks. Returns with refunds or on which taxpayers claimed 
refundable credits go through the Electronic Fraud Detection System 
(EFDS) as well. 
If no errors are detected: go to #6; 
If errors are detected: go to #4. 

5) In the ERS, IRS specialists correct or resolve issues for which IRS 
has legal authority. 
Returns sent to ERS or exam depending on whether IRS has authority to 
correct the error. 
Math error processing: error found/errors corrected: 
In the ERS, IRS specialists correct or resolve issues for which IRS 
has legal authority. 
Authority issue: go to #5. 

5) If IRS does not have math authority to correct the error, the 
return is identified for potential audit. 
If noncompliance is detected, IRS sends a statutory notice of 
deficiency to the taxpayer. 

6) Return data are posted to IRS's master file. 
If IRS corrected a math error, it sends a notice to the taxpayer. 

Source: GAO analysis of IRS information. 

[End of figure] 

Figure 8: IRS Processes for Conducting Prerefund Compliance Checks on 
Tax Returns Filed on Paper: 

[Refer to PDF for image: process chart] 

1) Return submitted on paper. 

2) IRS examiners screen returns to ensure that all data needed to 
process the return are present. 
If additional information is needed, IRS sends correspondence to 
preparer or taxpayer. 

3) Return data are manually transcribed. 

4) IRS attempts to verify identity by automatically checking for 
mismatches between IRS systems' data and the return; go to #6; or: 
Mismatches for returns that were filed on paper are forwarded to the 
Error Resolution System (ERS): go to #5. 

5) In the ERS, IRS specialists correct or resolve issues for which IRS 
has legal authority. 
Returns sent to ERS or exam depending on whether IRS has authority to 
correct the error. 
Math error processing: error found/errors corrected: 
In the ERS, IRS specialists correct or resolve issues for which IRS 
has legal authority. 
Authority issue: go to #7. 

6) Generalized Mainline Framework System (GMF) captures all 
transcribed and electronically submitted return data and begins 
conducting automated checks. The Dependents Database (DDb) runs 
validity checks. Returns with refunds or on which taxpayers claimed 
refundable credits go through the Electronic Fraud Detection System 
(EFDS) as well. 
If no errors are detected: go to #8; 
If errors are detected: go to #5. 

7) If IRS does not have math authority to correct the error, the 
return is identified for potential audit. 
If noncompliance is detected, IRS sends a statutory notice of 
deficiency to the taxpayer. 

8) Return data are posted to IRS's master file. 
If IRS corrected a math error, it sends a notice to the taxpayer. 

Source: GAO analysis of IRS information. 

[End of figure] 

[End of section] 

Appendix VIII: Comments from the Internal Revenue Service: 

Department Of The Treasury: 
Deputy Commissioner: 
Internal Revenue Service: 
Washington, D.C. 20224: 

December 13, 2011: 

Mr. James R. White: 
Director, Tax Issues: 
U.S. Government Accountability Office: 
441 G Street, N.W. 
Washington, DC 20548: 

Dear Mr. White: 

I have reviewed your draft report entitled 2011 TAX FILING: Processing 
Gains, but Taxpayer Assistance Could be Enhanced By More Self-Service 
Tools. As noted in the report, we are processing tax returns in a 
rapidly changing environment while simultaneously taking steps to 
continue to realize improvements in our processing abilities. Further, 
despite the challenges presented by the late enactment of tax 
legislation, we delivered another successful Filing Season (FS) in 
2011. 

The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job 
Creation Act of 2010 (enacted December 17, 2010), required programming 
and processing changes that delayed the start of the FS for taxpayers 
claiming itemized deductions, or certain other deductions from income. 
We implemented all requisite changes and began accepting those returns 
on February 14, 2011. At that time, we received approximately 6.5 
million electronic tax returns held by Electronic Return Originators. 
Those returns were processed by our systems both accurately and 
timely, as were approximately 100,000 affected paper tax returns 
received prior to February 14, 2011. 

Processing — As of September 30, 2011, we processed almost 140 million 
individual income tax returns and issued over 106 million refunds, 
totaling approximately $303 billion. We also issued over $11 million 
dollars in refunds to 45,352 taxpayers through the U.S. Savings Bonds 
initiative. 

In addition to successfully responding to the effects of late 
legislative changes, we also addressed the repayment provisions of the 
First-Time Homebuyers Credit (FTHBC), which generally requires the 
repayment of 1/15th of the FTBHC received for qualified homes 
purchased in 2008. As 2010 was the first year for repayments to 
commence, we took proactive steps to identify those returns with a 
missing or incorrect repayment amount. This led to error inventories 
that were higher than usual. As of September 30, 2011, IRS processed 
956,389 returns, totaling over $555 million in recapture of the FTHBC. 

Electronic filing increased by 13 percent over last year, with over 
109.5 million individual taxpayers filing electronically (78.2 
percent). The volume of paper returns declined to 30 million. 
Significant increases were seen in both practitioner and online 
returns. Over 70 million returns were prepared by tax practitioners, a 
12.5 percent increase over the previous year. Taxpayers who file from 
a home or personal computer continue to account for the most 
significant increase. Over 39 million returns were self-filed 
electronically, a 14 percent increase from the prior year. Over 3.1 
million of these taxpayers took advantage of free online filing 
services offered by the Free File Alliance, available through IRS.gov. 
This includes a 45 percent increase in the use of Free File
Fillable Forms. 

Customer Account Data Engine (CADE) Release 6.2 was successfully 
deployed within cost estimates on January 19, 2011. The functionality 
added in Release 6.2 incorporated legislative and filing season 
changes. During the 2011 FS, CADE posted a total of 40 million 
returns, disbursed 35.1 million refunds totaling more than $65.7 
billion, and processed 6.1 million payments totaling over $7.2 
billion. All CADE taxpayer accounts were successfully migrated to the 
Individual Master File, in June 2011, in preparation for CADE 2 
Transition State 1. The CADE 2 Transition State 1 is on schedule to 
implement daily processing and initialize the CADE 2 relational 
database in January 2012. 

As of October 15, 2011, Modernized e-file (MeF) received 12.2 million 
returns and accepted 10.3 million returns. We worked with transmitters 
to provide assistance in resolving issues with their software that 
impeded their ability to use MeF, and continue to engage the 
transmitter community by communicating the features and benefits of the
MeF system. We also performed outreach through software developer 
conferences, industry calls, webinars, "Quick Alert" subscriber e-mail 
messages, other information published to IRS.gov, and IRS publications. 

As of September 30, 2011, 29 States are participating in the MeF 
Program. There are 11 additional States that will be participating in 
2012, and two more joining in 2013. 

Telephone Performance - Each year, taxpayers call the IRS for 
assistance and, rightfully, expect prompt and accurate responses to 
their questions. Although we originally experienced a reduction in 
funding, we increased the program staffing to meet higher demand due 
to a general increase in complexity of questions and the impact of 
increased call volume attributable to late tax law changes. We 
exceeded our planned measurements for assisting taxpayers in Assistor 
Calls Answered, Assistor Services Provided, and Automated Calls 
Answered for the 2011 FS. 

The Assistor Calls Answered measure was 17 percent over plan (16.09 
million vs. 13.75 million), Assistor Services Provided was 14 percent 
over plan (19.3 million vs. 16.96 million) and Automated Calls 
Answered was 17 percent over plan (31.86 million vs. 27.14 million). 
The Customer Service Representative Level of Service was 74.6 
percent for the FS, compared to the plan of 71.0 percent. Average 
Speed of Answer was 84 seconds less then plan (596 seconds vs. 680 
seconds), and Average Handle Time was 640 seconds, which is 14 seconds 
less than the 654 planned. 

Customer Accuracy and Customer Satisfaction also remained high during 
the FS. Customer Accuracy for Toll-Free Tax Law services was 93 
percent, which exceeded the Fiscal Year (FY) goal of 92.7 percent; and 
Customer Accuracy for Toll-Free Accounts was 95.9 percent, compared to 
the FY goal of 95 percent. Considering all channels (telephone, paper 
correspondence, and internet), Customer Contacts Resolved per Staff 
Year of 15,785 was an increase over the plan of 14,421, and the Self 
Service Participation of 76.2 percent was higher than the 74.8 percent 
planned. 

Volunteer Assistance - During the 2011 FS, 88,527 volunteers prepared 
Federal and State tax returns at 12,486 Volunteer Income Tax 
Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) sites. 
These volunteers prepared nearly 3.2 million Federal returns and 2.4 
million State returns, which represents increases over FY 2010 of more 
than 3 percent and 7 percent, respectively. The returns prepared were 
primarily for low income, elderly, disabled, and limited English-
proficient taxpayers. 

The IRS awarded $18.1 million in grant funds in support of the VITA 
($12M) and TCE ($6.1M) programs in FY 2011. For the FS, 210 grants 
were awarded to organizations that provided service through more than 
9,000 sites located in all 50 States and the District of Columbia. 
More than 2.3 million returns were prepared by these sites. 

We also continued to improve the accuracy rate of returns prepared by 
VITA volunteers, as measured by our quality review process. The IRS 
Quality Program Office performed return reviews of a statistically 
valid sample of VITA/TCE sites. The results from these reviews were 
used to calculate an accuracy rate for all tax returns produced by the 
Volunteer Return Preparation Program with a 90 percent level of 
confidence. During the 2011 FS, 724 returns were reviewed and yielded 
an 87 percent accuracy rate, up 2.4 percent from the prior year. 

In 2011, Stakeholder Partnerships, Education and Communication (SPEC) 
collaborated with the Electronic Tax Administration to provide on-line 
access to our VITA/TCE site information, which previously had only 
been available through the IRS Toll-Free number. There were 
approximately 168,000 hits to the listing on IRS.gov. 

Walk-in Assistance — During the 2011 FS, the IRS continued to stress 
accuracy goals and once again Field Assistance met its goals for Tax 
Law and Accounts accuracy. We delivered several Saturday tax 
assistance events for taxpayers in addition to regular service. 
Taxpayer Assistance Centers (TACs) supported Earned Income Tax Credit
(EITC) awareness by offering special Saturday assistance on January 29 
and February 5 at approximately 170 TACs. Over 15,000 taxpayers were 
assisted and 5,131 returns were prepared — a 60 percent increase from 
the previous year's EITC Saturday results. 

Furthermore, the Field Assistance function collaborated with SPEC and 
other Operating  Divisions to host TAC Open House events in February, 
March, and July, serving almost  20,600 taxpayers and preparing 5,023 
returns. 

The Extended Hours of Service initiative has proven to be very 
successful with the support of 36 participating TACs, including the 
Detroit TAC which offered extended  Saturday hours. During the FS, 
over 14,105 taxpayers sought service during extended hours. 

During the 2011 FS, the IRS expanded the service provided to low-
income taxpayers who seek help with the preparation of their State 
income tax returns. We prepared income tax returns for eight 
additional States this year, bringing the total covered by the program 
to 35. The Field Assistance function continued the partnership with 
SPEC to provide an Individual Taxpayer Advisory Specialist (ITAS) for 
on-site technical support at 31 volunteer sites in 2011. Taxpayers who 
visit VITA sites typically do not seek services at TAC locations, so 
providing the ITAS support at these sites met our objective of 
increasing service coverage.  

Website — We established a new Online Services organization to provide 
service to taxpayers via the IRS.gov website. In July 2011, IRS 
completed a refresh of the IRS.gov homepage which is the first step in 
a year-long upgrade of the website which will benefit taxpayers as it 
lays the foundation for increased online interactions.  

Consistently, IRS.gov is one of the most heavily used Government 
websites. In Calendar Year 2011 (January through than 297 million 
times, resulting in More November 13), the website was visited more 
than 1.5 billion page views. This was up from 284 million visits and 
remained steady period last year. An increase in visits have had 
success finding the information with 1.5 billion page views during the 
same but not in page views, indicates site visitors may they needed 
with fewer clicks on the site. Visits are the measurement of actions 
page on IRS.gov and ends when the beginning when a visitor views their 
first web visitor leaves the website. Taxpayers and Practitioners also 
downloaded more than 207 million forms, publications, instructions, 
and other documents, as of October 31, 2011. 

Responses to your specific recommendations are enclosed. I appreciate 
your observations on the successful FS for 2011. If you have any 
questions, please contact me, or a member of your staff may contact 
Robin L. Canady, Director, Strategy and Finance, Wage and Investment 
Division, at (404) 338-8801.  

Sincerely, 

Signed by: 

Steven T. Miller: 
Deputy Commissioner for Services and Enforcement: 

Enclosure:  

[End of letter] 

Enclosure: 

We recommend that the Commissioner of Internal Revenue take the 
following four actions: 

Recommendation: 

Develop a new refund timeliness measure and goal to more appropriately 
reflect current capabilities. 

Comment: 

We will reassess the refund timeliness measure and goal. We will 
consider different options including identifying the percentage of 
refunds issued during a given period, or create separate measures for 
electronic and paper returns. 

Recommendation: 

Offer an automated telephone line that gives taxpayers the status of 
their amended tax return, unless IRS has a convincing cost-benefit 
analysis to suggest that the costs exceed the benefits. 

Comment: 

We agree with this recommendation. Refund inquiries, including those 
involving amended returns, continue to use a large amount of 
resources. Telephone demand in the individual applications is 
unprecedentedly high and refund inquires are a major contributor to 
this increase. The IRS monitored approximately 600 refund calls and 
discovered that a significant number of these calls pertain to the 
status of amended returns and could be addressed by automated systems, 
including both automated telephone and online applications. We are 
pursuing an automated application that will provide the taxpayer with 
the date the Form 1040X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, 
was received and advise them of the processing time. 

Recommendation: 
Assess the costs and benefits of automating the TACNITA location 
telephone lines, and automate these lines if the benefits exceed the 
costs. 

Comment: 

While we agree that automating the ability to locate Volunteer Income 
Tax Assistance sites may increase service and convenience, the 
resources are not currently available to support doing so by 
automating the telephone service. The VITA program includes 
approximately 13,000 sites that are Sponsored and operated by our 
partner organizations, and are subject to frequently changing days of 
service and hours of operation. In addition to automation costs, 
personnel costs to adequately update a telephone system would be 
prohibitive. During the 2011 Filing Season, we provided an online 
listing of local offices, Taxpayer Assistance Centers, and select VITA 
locations on IRS.gov. The online service included a locator search 
tool and provided links to third-party mapping services. The IRS 
intends to launch a new online VITA Site Locator application for 
Filing Season 2012 which will provide timely information on the 
thousands of tax sites. The automation is intended to ensure that the 
information presented remains timely and accurate, with current office 
locations, telephone numbers, hours of operation, and links to an 
online map. 

Recommendation: 

Complete an internet strategy that: 

* Provides a justification for the implementation of online self-
service tools and includes an assessment of providing online self-
service tools that allow taxpayers to access and update elements of 
their account online; 

* Acknowledges the cost and benefits to taxpayers of new online 
services; 

* Sets the timeframe for when the online service would be created and 
available for taxpayer use; and; 

* Includes a plan to update the strategy periodically. 

Comment: 

We will consider online access for taxpayers, along with other online 
taxpayer services as part of the IRS Internet roadmap and strategic 
approach. The development and delivery of new online tools and 
services on IRS.gov will focus on two main efforts targeting the 
taxpaying public: a simplified online experience, and self-service 
transactional web applications (tools). 

The IRS business roadmap and strategic approach is a living document 
which will evolve as new service opportunities are identified, 
assessed and developed in an agile environment. The initiatives in the 
IRS business roadmap will be assessed based on cost benefit analyses, 
return on investment, and potential timelines for implementation.
Current best practices of many Fortune 500 companies also utilize a 
form of an agile developmental methodology over a rigid traditional 
"waterfall" development approach. The IRS expects to update its 
business roadmap and strategic approach periodically to confirm that 
taxpayers' as well as the IRS's needs are being appropriately 
addressed. 

[End of section] 

Appendix IX: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments: 

GAO Contact: 

James R. White, (202) 512-9110 or whitej@gao.gov: 

Staff Acknowledgments: 

In addition to the contact named above, Joanna Stamatiades, Assistant 
Director; Steven J. Berke; Abbie David; David Fox; Tom Gilbert; Matt 
Johlie; Inna Livits; Kirsten Lauber; Karen O'Conor; and Sabrina 
Streagle made key contributions to this report. 

[End of section] 

Footnotes: 

[1] The Urban Institute is a research organization that aims to build 
knowledge about the nation's social and fiscal challenges. 

[2] GAO, Assessing the Reliability of Computer-Processed Data, 
[hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-09-680G] (Washington, 
D.C.: July 2009). 

[3] GAO - E-Filing Tax Returns: Penalty Authority and Digitizing More 
Paper Return Data Could Increase Benefits, [hyperlink, 
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-33] (Washington, D.C.: Oct. 5, 
2011). 

[4] IRS's BSM program is a long-term, multibillion-dollar, highly 
complex effort that involves the development and delivery of a number 
of modernized systems that are intended to replace the agency's aging 
business and tax processing systems. The program is critical to 
transforming the agency's manual paper-intensive business operations, 
fulfilling its obligations under the IRS Restructuring and Reform Act 
of 1998, and providing more reliable and timely financial management 
to allow IRS to better justify resource allocation decisions and 
budgetary requests. See, GAO, Business Systems Modernization: Internal 
Revenue Service's Fiscal Year 2011 Expenditure Plan, [hyperlink, 
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-26] (Washington, D.C.: Oct. 6, 
2011). 

[5] GAO, Taxpayer Account Strategy: IRS Should Finish Defining 
Benefits and Improve Cost Estimates, [hyperlink, 
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-168] (Washington, D.C.: Mar. 24, 
2011). 

[6] Tax professionals accepted into the electronic filing program are 
called Authorized IRS e-file Providers. They are the Electronic Return 
Originator that transmits tax return information to the IRS. 

[7] GAO, 2010 Tax Filing Season: IRS's Performance Improved in Some 
Key Areas, but Efficiency Gains Are Possible in Others, [hyperlink, 
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-111] (Washington, D.C.: Dec. 16, 
2010). 

[8] IRS identified its 5-year strategic plan in the 2007 Taxpayer 
Assistance Blueprint. 

[9] The publicly available portal, also known as IRS.gov, is IRS's 
Internet portal that provides unrestricted public access to 
nonsensitive materials and applications, including forms, 
instructions, news, and tax calculators. The portal for registered 
users is IRS's external portal that allows registered individuals and 
third-party users to interact with selected tax processing and other 
sensitive systems, applications, and data. The portal for IRS 
employees is the internal IRS portal that allows IRS employees to 
access IRS data and systems. 

[10] GAO, Tax Refunds: Enhanced Prerefund Compliance Checks Could 
Yield Significant Benefits, [hyperlink, 
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-691T] (Washington, D.C.: May 25, 
2011). 

[11] MEA is statutory authority granted to IRS by Congress to correct 
calculation errors and other obvious instances of noncompliance, such 
as claims above income and credit limits, and assess additional tax 
based on such errors without having to issue a statutory notice of 
deficiency. 

[12] We previously reported that fees associated with RALs may amount 
to an annual percentage interest rate of over 500 percent. GAO, Refund 
Anticipation Loans, [hyperlink, 
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-08-800R] (Washington, D.C.: June 5, 
2008). 

[13] In March 2011, we reported that IRS had to delay processing for 
certain returns until mid-February, highlighting the need for IRS to 
complete new systems. See  GAO, 2011 Tax Filing: IRS Dealt with 
Challenges to Date, but Needs Additional Authority to Verify 
Compliance, [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-481] 
(Washington, D.C.: Mar. 29, 2011). Once IRS was capable of processing 
all returns, it cleared the backlog. 

[14] [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-33]. 

[15] For 2012, IRS plans to process returns on a daily basis, and, for 
returns without errors, IRS expects to post the return data to 
taxpayer accounts about 2 days after processing. 

[16] IRS officials reported that it had completed planning activities 
associated with the second phase of CADE 2 and that additional 
progress would be contingent upon the availability of planned funding 
and resources. 

[17] The federal/state program allows IRS to share information with 
the states, including filed tax returns. In the federal/state 
electronic filing program, both federal and state income tax returns 
can be filed at the same time. IRS functions as an electronic post 
office for the participant state, which receives and processes the 
state electronic return. 

[18] Pub. L. No. 105-206, title II, § 2001, 112 Stat. 685, 723 (July 
22, 1998). 

[19] GAO, Tax Administration: IRS Needs to Further Refine Its Tax 
Filing Season Performance Measures, [hyperlink, 
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-03-143] (Washington, D.C.: Nov. 22, 
2002). 

[20] GAO, Government Performance: GPRA Modernization Act Provides 
Opportunities to Help Address Fiscal, Performance, and Management 
Challenges, [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-466T] 
(Washington, D.C.: Mar. 16, 2011). 

[21] Full-time equivalent is a measure of the staff hours equal to 
those of an employee who works 40 hours per week in 1 year. 

[22] GAO, 2009 Tax Filing Season: IRS Met Many 2009 Goals, but 
Telephone Access Remained Low, and Taxpayer Service and Enforcement 
Could Be Improved, [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-10-225] 
(Washington, D.C.: Dec. 10, 2009). 

[23] According to IRS, on the basis of a sample of 300 refund-related 
calls, about 10 percent related to amended returns. 

[24] [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-111]. 

[25] Currently, IRS can measure wait time at certain TAC sites but not 
on an aggregate level nationwide. IRS officials said that they 
generally tried to serve 80 percent of taxpayers within 30 minutes of 
arriving at a TAC site. 

[26] Return-preparation accuracy is a measure of the accuracy of 
volunteer return preparation at volunteer sites and compliance with 
IRS's return-preparation procedures. This measure is an indication 
that tax law is being applied properly to critical items on tax 
returns, resulting in the proper application of tax law and the 
correct determination of tax obligations. 

[27] According to IRS, the number of taxpayers requesting direct 
deposits is a good measure of the success of the financial education 
and asset building program at bringing taxpayers who visit VITA sites 
into the banking system because it is a potential indicator that 
taxpayers are opening bank accounts and entering the banking system. 

[28] IRS reported that about $68 million of this is for new 
investments in the website and the rest is for annual costs, such as 
operations and maintenance. 

[29] We identified these criteria by reviewing Howto.gov, a federal 
website managed by the General Services Administration that compiles 
information on best practices for managing government websites; the 
Government Performance and Results Act Modernization Act of 2010; and 
GAO's Cost Estimating and Assessment Guide. See, GAO, Cost Estimating 
and Assessment Guide, [hyperlink, 
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-09-3SP] (Washington, D.C.: March 2009). 

[30] Viewing and updating personal account information includes, for 
example, the ability to view tax account balance and recent payments. 

[31] Other countries, such as Finland, have implemented online 
services that provide taxpayers with information on their tax 
accounts. Providing enhanced electronic services has been widely 
recognized in Finland as an approach for improving taxpayer service 
while reducing costs. See, GAO, Tax Administration: Information on 
Selected Foreign Practices That May Provide Useful Insights, 
[hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-439] (Washington, D.C.: 
May 24, 2011). 

[32] State officials we interviewed also said they expect to see a 
shift in call volume from tax-specific calls to account registration 
questions, which one state believes are easier calls to handle and 
take less time than more complex calls about account information. 

[33] According to National Institute of Standards and Technology 
Special Publication 800-63 and Office of Management and Budget 
Circular 04-04, federal agencies are required to develop security 
features that allow people to access information based on the level of 
risk associated with information being accessed. 

[34] On February 1, 2010, IRS's Privacy Office approved the use of e-
authentication--the process of confirming an online user's identity 
when he or she electronically attempts to log in to a remote 
information system. IRS plans to deliver the first release of e-
authentication in July 2012, which is expected to provide level-two 
identity proofing, which, according to industry standards, would 
require users to input their username and password to access secure 
information online. IRS officials told us that they are in the 
planning stages for level-three authentication, which allow users to 
access information with higher risks associated. 

[35] IRS, Prepared Remarks of IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman at the 
National Press Club (Apr. 6, 2011). 

[36] [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-33]. 

[37] [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-33]. 

[38] GAO, Adoption Tax Credit: IRS Can Reduce Audits and Refund 
Delays, [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-98] 
(Washington, D.C.: Oct. 20, 2011). 

[39] In 2011, IRS eliminated allowing return preparation companies to 
view the debt indicator that allowed the preparer to observe whether 
taxpayers had other debts to the federal government and would likely 
receive the full anticipated refund from IRS. As a result, most banks 
stopped funding RALs this year when banking regulators determined them 
to present too much risk to participating banks. 

[40] National Consumer Law Center, End of the Rapid Rip-Off: An 
Epilogue For Quickie Tax Loans (February 2011). 

[41] Urban Institute, Who Needs Credit at Tax Time and Why: A Look at 
Refund Anticipation Loans and Refund Anticipation Checks (Washington, 
D.C.: November 2010). 

[42] Treasury extended eight different offers to evaluate different 
program structures. 

[43] IRS facilitates the relationship between national bank partners 
and volunteer site partners interested in offering the debit cards at 
their sites. According to IRS officials, other than bringing banks and 
volunteer site partners together, IRS has no direct role in promoting 
or facilitating the distribution of debit cards at sites. 

[End of section] 

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