In the annual IT review, TIGTA also noted a lack of progress on providing taxpayer access to accounting information online, as called for under the Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998.
The IRS missed a 2006 deadline to provide this functionality as part of its wider e-Authentication project and now plans to launch its Get Transcript application in January as a first step toward expanding transcript access online.
However, so far the IRS has not made adequate progress in allowing taxpayers to access tax accounts through various approaches and currently, taxpayers cannot review account information electronically, the IG said.
It said one reason is that the IRS has not prioritizeddevelopment of applications that meet the requirements of RRA 98, and instead it has spent time and money developing certain applications that fall short of the law’s intent.
For example, in August 2012, the IRS deployed an e-Transcripts for Banks application, which allowed a small number of taxpayers to request that their tax account and tax return transcripts be sent to their lending institution electronically versus a hardcopy request – but that application does not provide the ability to view, print, or perform any other functions, as called for in the law.
In March 2013, the IRS also deployed a “Where’s My Amended Return?” application, but it did not directly meet the requirements of account review either (although both applications did provide some ancillary benefit to taxpayers).
TIGTA added that with both applications the e-Authentication project team did not perform complete capacity testing, and it said cost information is obtained in an unreliable way – such as by calling people or manually tracking expenses.