IRS sets up Taxpayer Experience Office

The Internal Revenue Service is looking to highlight the “service” in its name with the creation of its first Taxpayer Experience Office.

The new office will focus on “all aspects” of taxpayer interactions with the IRS.

“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,” stated chief taxpayer experience officer Ken Corbin, whose position was created at the beginning of last year. (He also serves as the commissioner of the Wage and Investment Division.)

The office will coordinate with the Taxpayer Advocate Service as part of the effort envisioned in the “Taxpayer First Act Report to Congress” last year. That report identified programs and tools to help taxpayers, including expanded e-File and payment options, digital signatures, and secure two-way messaging.

Near-term improvements from the new office will likely include some of those, as well as expanded customer callback and more services for multilingual customers.

The plans to add staff to the new office in the coming months.

“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 21st century resource for Americans,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig in a statement.