A new Senate bill is aiming to make taxpayers’ lives easier by requiring the Internal Revenue Service to create a dashboard that increases accessibility of online tax refund information by showing tax return backlogs and wait times.
The Improving IRS Customer Service Act was introduced by Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Mark Warner, D-Va., on Oct. 7. They said the bill would require the IRS to expand electronic access to provide taxpayers with “individualized, specific, and up-to-date information” regarding their tax returns and amended returns.
“The IRS has been the source of massive headaches for taxpayers for years,” Sen. Warner said in a statement. “I am glad to introduce this legislation that will ease some of this frustration by increasing clear communication and making IRS resources more readily available.”
Tax returns, documents, and notices from the latest six years would be available either through a website or an online application, according to the bill’s text. All online documents would be made available “as soon as is practicable” and as “prescribed by” the agency secretary.
The dashboard would also be available to tax preparers and other taxpayer representatives.
Other requirements of the bill include expanding call-back technology and requiring the IRS to return taxpayer phone calls that were not answered within ten minutes.
The Inflation Reduction Act – which was approved by Congress in 2022 and provided funding for the modernization of IRS systems – improved historically low response rates for the IRS when answering taxpayer call inquiries. Those rates had been running as low as ten percent for callers that received assistance from an IRS personnel.
During the 2023 tax filing season, the IRS provided live assistance to 87 percent of taxpayers who called – up from just 15 percent during the 2022 season.
“It should be easy for taxpayers to get the information they need from the IRS. Not every interaction with them has to be miserable,” said Sen. Cassidy in a statement. “We can streamline the process and give Americans the transparency they expect.”
The legislation would also require the IRS to identify individuals facing economic hardship and inform them of tax collection alternatives.
