| It was a busy week for us, as we issued lots of reports covering a wide range of IRS operations - from assessing cybersecurity to ensuring taxpayer rights are protected. We know you're just as busy as us, so here's a quick rundown to keep you up to date on all that's happening at the IRS. Fiscal Year 2025 Statutory Review of Restrictions on Directly Contacting Represented Taxpayers The IRS is prohibited by law from contacting a taxpayer about collection matters if the IRS knows the taxpayer is represented. If taxpayer representatives are bypassed, then representatives may be unable to offer the advice and assistance that taxpayers need. What you need to know: Based on the results of our sample review, we estimate there were more than 13,600 examination cases from July 2023 through June 2024 where an IRS examiner did not consistently follow procedures to protect the taxpayer's right to representation. The IRS's Cybersecurity Program Was Not Effective for Fiscal Year 2025 Offices of Inspectors General (like us) are required to perform an annual assessment of each federal agency's information security programs and practices. What you need to know: The IRS's Cybersecurity Program was considered not effective because three function areas were not at an acceptable maturity level. Specifically, the IDENTIFY, PROTECT, and DETECT function areas were rated not effective Despite Previous Recommendations, Contract Documentation Issues Persist From August 2022 through June 2024, the IRS obligated $470 million in Inflation Reduction Act funds on 193 non-information technology contracts. What you need to know: Pre-award and post-award documentation was incomplete in a sample of 28 non-information technology IRA contracts totaling approximately $309 million. These recurring issues indicate a general lack of proper managerial oversight in the contract documentation process. This limits transparency, increases the risk that management makes uninformed decisions, and could lead to improperly paid invoices. Fiscal Year 2025 Mandatory Review of Disclosure of Collection Activity With Respect to Joint Returns Taxpayers who filed a joint return and are no longer married or no longer reside in the same household are entitled to information, e.g., whether the IRS has attempted to collect the balance due from the other individual, the general nature of the collection activities, and the amount collected. What you need to know: Based on a sample of case history files from the Small Business/Self-Employed Division, we determined that disclosure requirements were not followed in 32% of the cases we reviewed. Taxpayers were either potentially burdened with additional delays in resolving their respective tax matters or potentially had their right to privacy violated.
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