Seeking to improve its service to taxpayers and the overall experience for customers, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has established the new Taxpayer Experience Office, identifying from the outset the scope of efforts and the key areas of change that the new office will undertake.

In an official statement, the IRS says the Taxpayer Experience Office will focus on all aspects of taxpayer transactions with the agency , as well as on compliance and other program areas. The new office will work in conjunction with all IRS business units while also coordinating closely with the Taxpayer Advocate Service, an independent organization within the IRS that offers free assistance to taxpayers having trouble resolving problems with the agency on their own. Moreover, the Taxpayer Experience Office will be taking additional steps soon to expand its efforts, the IRS statement notes.

“As the IRS continues taking immediate steps this filing season including adding more employees to address the significant challenges facing a resource-constrained IRS, it’s critical that we work going forward to equip the IRS to be a 21^st-century resource for Americans,” says IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig. “The formal establishment of this office will help unify and expand efforts across the IRS to improve service to taxpayers.”

The Taxpayer Experience Office is part of the effort begun last year to include input and feedback from taxpayers, tax professionals, and the tax community, culminating in a report to Congress that identified more than a hundred different programs and tools to help taxpayers. Those tools included expanded e-File and payment options, 360-degree views of taxpayer accounts, digital signatures, secure two-way messaging, and online accounts for businesses and tax professionals.

The new office will identify changing taxpayer expectations and industry trends, focus on customer service best practices, and promote a consistent voice and experience across all taxpayer segments by developing agency-wide taxpayer experience guidelines and expectations. To help support its mission, additional staff will be hired in the coming months, the office says.  

Ken Corbin, the head of the Taxpayer Experience Office, says the IRS will be steadfast in its commitment. “Whether checking the status of a tax return, meeting with a revenue agent for an audit, or receiving a tax credit to their bank account, improving service delivery and customer experience are fundamental priorities for us,” says Corbin, who is also the IRS Wage and Investment commissioner.

Areas of Improvement

To help drive the IRS strategic direction for improving the taxpayer experience, the Taxpayer Experience Office has identified key activities the IRS is focusing on over the next five years, including those commitments outlined in the President’s Executive Order on Transforming Federal Customer Experience and Service Delivery to Rebuild Trust in Government.

Areas identified for improvement in the near term include customer callback, payment options, secure two-way messaging, and services for multilingual customers, all of which call for expansion in providing assistance to taxpayers.

The enhancements being sought build on recent IRS improvements, such as online chat capabilities, online accounts for tax professionals for power of attorney and tax authorization requests, and digital tools to support the federal government’s Economic Impact Payments and Advance Child Tax Credit programs for financial assistance.