Internal Revenue Service Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Computerization (1959–present)=== By the end of the Second World War, the IRS was handling sixty million tax returns each year, using a combination of mechanical desk calculators, [[accounting machine]]s, and pencil and paper forms. In 1948 [[Punched card|punch card]] equipment was used. The first trial of a computer system for income tax processing was in 1955, when an [[IBM 650]] installed at [[Kansas City metropolitan area|Kansas City]] processed 1.1 million returns. The IRS was authorized to proceed with computerization in 1959 and purchased [[IBM 1401]] and [[IBM 7070]] systems for local and regional data processing centers. The [[Social Security number]] was used for taxpayer identification starting in 1965. By 1967, all returns were processed by computer and punched card data entry was phased out.<ref name=PC03>Paul Cenuzi, ''A History of Modern Computing'', MIT Press, 2003. {{ISBN|0-262-53203-4}}. pp. 119–122.</ref> Information processing in the IRS systems of the late 1960s was in batch mode; microfilm records were updated weekly and distributed to regional centers for handling tax inquiries. A project to implement an interactive, realtime system, the "Tax Administration System", was launched, that would provide thousands of local interactive terminals at IRS offices. However, the [[Government Accountability Office|General Accounting Office]] prepared a report critical of the lack of protection of privacy in TAS, and the project was abandoned in 1978.<ref name=PC03 /> In 1995, the IRS began to use the public Internet for electronic filing. Since the introduction of [[IRS e-file|e-filing]], self-paced online tax services have flourished, augmenting the work of tax accountants, who were sometimes replaced. By 2002, more than a third of all tax returns were filed electronically. This led to a decline in the number of paper returns being processed each year.<ref>{{cite web |title=Another Record-Breaking Number of Taxpayers Choose to Electronically File |url=https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-news/ir-07-185.pdf |publisher=United States Internal Revenue Service |access-date=15 October 2022 |date=Nov 7, 2007}}</ref> As a result, the IRS implemented a consolidation plan for its paper tax return processing centers, closing five of its ten processing centers between 2003 and 2011.<ref>{{cite web |title=Further Consolidation of Processing Centers Is Underway in Response to Continued Increases in Electronic Filing |url=https://www.treasury.gov/tigta/auditreports/2018reports/201840038fr.pdf |publisher=United States Internal Revenue Service |access-date=15 October 2022 |date=31 May 2018 |archive-date=15 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221015032238/https://www.treasury.gov/tigta/auditreports/2018reports/201840038fr.pdf |website=Department of the Treasury }}</ref> The agency closed two more centers - one in 2019 and another in 2021 - as e-file use continued to expand.<ref>{{cite web |title=A Strategy Is Needed to Address Hiring Shortages As Efforts Continue to Close Tax Processing Centers |url=https://www.treasury.gov/tigta/auditreports/2020reports/202040019fr.pdf |publisher=United States Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration |access-date=15 October 2022 |date=11 March 2020 |archive-date=15 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221015032240/https://www.treasury.gov/tigta/auditreports/2020reports/202040019fr.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Plans to Close the Austin Tax Processing Center Should Be Halted |url=https://www.treasury.gov/tigta/auditreports/2022reports/202240015fr.pdf |publisher=United States Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration |access-date=15 October 2022 |date=7 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221015032239/https://www.treasury.gov/tigta/auditreports/2022reports/202240015fr.pdf |archive-date=15 October 2022 }}</ref> E-filed tax returns accounted for 90% of all returns submitted during the 2021 filing season.<ref name="IRS 2021">{{cite web | title=Filing Season Statistics for Week Ending December 3, 2021 | website=Internal Revenue Service | date=2021-12-03 | url=https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/filing-season-statistics-for-week-ending-december-3-2021 | access-date=2022-10-15}}</ref> In 2003, the IRS struck a deal with tax software vendors: The IRS would not develop online filing software and, in return, software vendors would provide free e-filing to most Americans.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.irs.gov/uac/Free-File:-Do-Your-Federal-Taxes-for-Free |title=Free File: Do Your Federal Taxes for Free |publisher=Irs.gov |date=January 29, 2013 |access-date=February 4, 2013}}</ref> In 2009, 70% of filers qualified for free electronic filing of federal returns.<ref>{{cite news |last=Murray Dixon |first=Teresa |date=February 21, 2010 |title=As e-filing turns 20, IRS trying to win over remaining third of taxpayers from paper returns |url=http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2010/02/as_e-filing_turns_20_irs_tryin.html |work=[[The Plain Dealer]] |location=Cleveland |access-date=August 9, 2010}}</ref> According to an inspector general's report, released in November 2013, identity theft in the United States is blamed for $4{{spaces}}billion worth of fraudulent 2012 tax refunds by the IRS. Fraudulent claims were made with the use of stolen taxpayer identification and Social Security numbers, with returns sent to addresses both in the US and internationally. Following the release of the findings, the IRS stated that it resolved most of the identity theft cases of 2013 within 120 days, while the average time to resolve cases from the 2011/2012 tax period was 312 days.<ref>{{cite news|title=IRS refunded $4 billion to identity thieves last year, inspector general's report says|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57611384/irs-refunded-$4-billion-to-identity-thieves-last-year-inspector-generals-report-says/|access-date=November 10, 2013|publisher=CBS News|date=November 7, 2013}}</ref><ref name="foxnews.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/01/15/irs-chief-warns-refund-delays-poor-customer-service-this-tax-year/|title=IRS chief warns of refund delays, poor customer service this tax year|publisher=Fox News|date=January 15, 2015}}</ref> In September 2014, IRS Commissioner [[John Koskinen]] expressed concern over the organization's ability to handle [[Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act|Obamacare]] and administer [[premium tax credit]]s that help people pay for health plans from the health law's insurance exchanges. It will also enforce the law's [[Individual shared responsibility provision|individual mandate]], which requires most Americans to hold health insurance.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Howell|first1=Tom|title=Bipartisan doubts emerge on IRS ability to handle Obamacare |website=[[The Washington Times]]|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/sep/10/irs-cant-escape-lerner-scandals-obamacare-hearing/|access-date=September 11, 2014}}</ref> In January 2015, [[Fox News]] obtained an email which predicted a messy tax season on several fronts. The email was sent by IRS Commissioner Koskinen to workers. Koskinen predicted the IRS would shut down operations for two days later that year which would result in unpaid [[furlough]]s for employees and [[Fan service|service cuts]] for [[taxpayer]]s. Koskinen also said delays to [[IT]] investments of more than $200{{spaces}}million may delay new taxpayer protections against [[Identity theft in the United States|identity theft]].<ref name="foxnews.com" /> Also in January 2015, the editorial board of ''[[The New York Times]]'' called the IRS budget cuts penny-wise-and-pound-foolish, where for every dollar of cuts in the budget, six were lost in tax revenue.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/18/opinion/sunday/irs-already-hobbled-likely-to-be-further-damaged.html |title=The Dangerous Erosion of Taxation |author=The Editorial Board |date=January 17, 2015 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=March 6, 2017}}</ref> A 2020 Treasury Department audit found the IRS had improved its [[Identity verification service|identity verification]] system offerings for taxpayers, but was still behind in fully meeting digital identity requirements.<ref name="Treasury-2022">{{cite web |title=While Progress Is Being Made on Digital Identity Requirements, Completion Dates to Achieve Compliance With Identity Proofing Standards Have Not Been Established |url=https://www.treasury.gov/tigta/auditreports/2020reports/202020012fr.pdf |website=www.treasury.gov |publisher=US Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration |access-date=17 October 2022}}</ref> The following year, the IRS announced a new login and ID verification process for several of its online tools, including general account access, Identity Protection (IP) [[Personal identification number|PIN]] setup, and payment plan applications.<ref name="IRS ID 2021">{{cite web | title=New identity verification process to access certain IRS online tools and services | website=Internal Revenue Service | date=2021-11-17 | url=https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/new-identity-verification-process-to-access-certain-irs-online-tools-and-services | access-date=2022-10-17}}</ref><ref name="SADI 2022">{{cite web | last=Houston | first=Chamille | title=Tax Tip: Verifying your identity to access certain IRS systems | website=Taxpayer Advocate Service | date=2022-01-19 | url=https://www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/news/tas-tax-tip-verifying-your-identity-to-access-certain-irs-systems/ | access-date=2022-10-17}}</ref> As part of the agency's Identity, Credential, and Access Management (ICAM) initiative, the process included the use of third-party [[Facial recognition system|facial recognition technologies]] to confirm taxpayer identities. The facial recognition requirement was dropped in 2022, however, following privacy concerns from government officials and the public.<ref name="IRS-Face-ID-2022">{{cite web | title=IRS announces transition away from use of third-party verification involving facial recognition | website=Internal Revenue Service | date=2022-02-07 | url=https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-announces-transition-away-from-use-of-third-party-verification-involving-facial-recognition | access-date=2022-10-17}}</ref> Alternative ID verification options have since been introduced with the goal of making IRS online tools accessible to more people.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Singletary |first1=Michelle |title=Despite privacy concerns, ID.me nearly doubled the number of people able to create an IRS account |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/02/25/irs-idme-account-success-rate/ |access-date=17 October 2022 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=25 February 2022}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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