IRS RESPONSE TO RECOMMENDATION: The IRS already seeks input from our stakeholders and the taxpayers they serve by connecting with our stakeholders and the public, conducting partner and site visits, and administering the Stakeholder Partner Survey and Volunteer Experience Survey. On certain platforms, the IRS can develop metrics that gauge the success of tax literacy outreach efforts within the limited population addressed by our partnership services.

The volunteer tax preparation programs (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE)) provide free tax services to various communities, including low-to-moderate income taxpayers, the elderly, immigrants, and individuals with disabilities at churches, schools, libraries, senior centers and other locations. The IRS has customized tax literacy outreach and education materials (including platforms inside and outside IRS.gov), for specific types of taxpayers and their individual circumstances. The IRS consistently highlights important information available on IRS.gov, such as, Get Free Tax Prep Help (https://www.irs.gov/individuals/free-tax-return-preparation-for-qualifying-taxpayers), VITA/TCE Locator Tool (https://irs.treasury.gov/freetaxprep/), IRS tax volunteers (https://www.irs.gov/individuals/irs-tax-volunteers), and other online resources for partners, volunteers, and taxpayers. In 2023, education and outreach materials were developed for the Back-to-School campaign, which featured flyers and stickers that used a QR code directing parents to several of the IRS.gov resources mentioned above.

CORRECTIVE ACTION: The IRS already seeks input from our stakeholders and the taxpayers they serve by connecting with our stakeholders and the public, conducting partner and site visits, and administering the Stakeholder Partner Survey and Volunteer Experience Survey. On certain platforms, the IRS can develop metrics that gauge the success of tax literacy outreach efforts within the limited population addressed by our partnership services.

The volunteer tax preparation programs (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE)) provide free tax services to various communities, including low-to-moderate income taxpayers, the elderly, immigrants, and individuals with disabilities at churches, schools, libraries, senior centers and other locations. The IRS has customized tax literacy outreach and education materials (including platforms inside and outside IRS.gov), for specific types of taxpayers and their individual circumstances. The IRS consistently highlights important information available on IRS.gov, such as, Get Free Tax Prep Help (https://www.irs.gov/individuals/free-tax-return-preparation-for-qualifying-taxpayers), VITA/TCE Locator Tool (https://irs.treasury.gov/freetaxprep/), IRS tax volunteers (https://www.irs.gov/individuals/irs-tax-volunteers), and other online resources for partners, volunteers, and taxpayers. In 2023, education and outreach materials were developed for the Back-to-School campaign, which featured flyers and stickers that used a QR code directing parents to several of the IRS.gov resources mentioned above.

TAS RESPONSE: TAS acknowledges the IRS’s ongoing engagement with stakeholders and its administration of programs such as VITA and TCE, which provide crucial community-based services. However, these actions, while commendable, remain fragmented and insufficiently aligned with a formalized, data-driven strategic vision for nationwide tax literacy improvement. The IRS’s response falls short of what is needed to meet the growing complexity of the tax system and the increasing reliance on self-prepared returns, gig economy reporting, and digital tax administration tools.

A core deficiency is the absence of uniform outcome-based metrics to measure literacy improvements. The current IRS approach largely relies on process metrics, for example, the number of flyers distributed, or sessions held, which do not gauge taxpayer understanding, behavioral change, or downstream effects for taxpayers.

TAS is asking the IRS to build upon its current outreach activities by going a step further to create a strategic plan to develop metrics that gauge the success of the efforts in place and to establish a task force with the public and private stakeholders the IRS is currently communicating with. A coordinated strategic plan, backed by data, interagency consultation, and stakeholder engagement, would not only reduce preventable errors (e.g., Earned Income Tax Credit disallowances, self-employment misreporting) but also advance core taxpayer rights under the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TBOR), particularly the Right to Be Informed and the Right to Quality Service.

ADOPTED, PARTIALLY ADOPTED or NOT ADOPTED: Not Adopted

OPEN or CLOSED: Open

DUE DATE FOR ACTION (if left open): 11/5/2025

IRS RESPONSE TO RECOMMENDATION: The IRS continues to explore opportunities to increase financial literacy in middle school, high school, and higher education. The IRS currently provides two e-learning applications: Link & Learn Taxes (LLT) and Understanding Taxes (UT). Available on www.irs.gov, UT helps educators prepare students for their federal tax responsibilities. It introduces students to tax education, tax terminology, tax history, politics, and the economics of taxation. The UT application addresses various levels of education and training. It includes several effective curriculum courses: History, Math, Economics, Vocational Education, Government, Civics and Business. It also presents several taxpayer simulations for an interactive experience with return preparation. High schools in two states currently use the IRS Link & Learn Taxes certification tests to support their coursework related to tax preparation.

The IRS will continue to work with state boards of education and individual school districts to establish VITA/TCE sites in high schools as part of their overall financial literacy coursework. If funding is available, the IRS will work with the UT vendor to update existing content to bring it up to date and make it more interactive for students.

CORRECTIVE ACTION: The IRS will continue to work with state boards of education and individual school districts to establish VITA/TCE sites in high schools as part of their overall financial literacy coursework. If funding is available, the IRS will work with the UT vendor to update existing content to bring it up to date and make it more interactive for students.

TAS RESPONSE: Establishing VITA/TCE sites in high schools is a tremendous accomplishment and a vital community resource for lower income taxpayers and seniors. However, the primary function of these programs is to assist those taxpayers with their return preparation needs and does not incorporate tax and financial literacy into middle school, high school, or higher education coursework that is needed to equip students with a basic understanding of tax and financial literacy.

While TAS acknowledges the IRS’s use of e-learning tools such as Understanding Taxes (UT) and Link & Learn Taxes (LLT), the IRS’s reliance on these static tools without active curriculum integration or updates fails to meet the scale and scope of the national financial literacy challenge. The UT webpage is a great resource for promoting tax and financial literacy for students and teachers, however as Taxpayer Services acknowledges, the site has not been updated or maintained since 2013, rendering its interface outdated and non-compliant with modern Section 508 accessibility standards or with adaptive learning design principles required for varied learning environments.

Additionally, the IRS’s efforts do not reflect a strategic outreach effort to partner with state departments of education or local education agencies. While the IRS has promoted LLT in two states for school curriculums, TAS recommends that the IRS do more to reach out to the other 48 states and their school districts who may not be aware of the unique educational opportunities available through UT and LLT to help their students to become more financially savvy citizens. The IRS should develop memorandums of understanding with state education boards to incorporate tax simulations into financial literacy graduation requirements, as many states are increasingly mandating such coursework.

TAS encourages Taxpayer Services to promote these e-learning applications that have already been developed and to create more. By increasing tax and financial literacy education early on in students’ academic lives, it contributes to a more informed public, which creates more financial stability, greater wealth, and ultimately increases tax compliance. To build a financially resilient taxpayer base and reduce first-time filing errors, TAS urges the IRS to create a formal educational outreach strategy for K–16 institutions, inclusive of teacher training modules, youth-oriented tax simulations, and alignment with career technical education pathways in fields such as accounting, law, and economics.

ADOPTED, PARTIALLY ADOPTED or NOT ADOPTED: Partially Adopted

OPEN or CLOSED: Open

DUE DATE FOR ACTION (if left open): 11/1/2025

IRS RESPONSE TO RECOMMENDATION: The IRS currently works with several federal agencies to share information related to tax education and outreach and will continue to review opportunities to partner with additional agencies, based on available agency resources. The IRS will determine if any adjustments are needed to identify other suitable agency partners for sharing tax education materials and will work through the individual Territory Offices to share content with existing state partners and identify any new agencies for future collaboration.

​CORRECTIVE ACTION: The IRS currently works with several federal agencies to share information related to tax education and outreach and will continue to review opportunities to partner with additional agencies, based on available agency resources. The IRS will determine if any adjustments are needed to identify other suitable agency partners for sharing tax education materials and will work through the individual Territory Offices to share content with existing state partners and identify any new agencies for future collaboration.

TAS RESPONSE: TAS appreciates the IRS’s recognition of its limited existing engagements with other federal agencies. However, the IRS response fails to articulate a deliberate framework for how such partnerships are leveraged to promote proactive and sustained tax literacy education across critical lifecycle moments. Current interactions are episodic and reactive, triggered primarily by changes in tax law or program eligibility credits rather than representing a durable educational strategy. While the IRS does maintain relationships with other federal agencies and state governments, it needs to do more to leverage these relationships to broaden the public’s knowledge of tax and financial literacy broadly, rather than focusing primarily on recent changes in law and procedure.

TAS appreciates Taxpayer Services’ current efforts to provide specific information and education on evolving tax topics to federal and state agencies, as well as the intention to share broader educational information. However, we are asking that the IRS pursue a wider coordinated effort in its partnerships with other agencies and states.

ADOPTED, PARTIALLY ADOPTED or NOT ADOPTED: Partially Adopted

OPEN or CLOSED: Open

DUE DATE FOR ACTION (if left open): 11/1/2025

IRS RESPONSE TO RECOMMENDATION: The IRS stated this recommendation has already been implemented.

The IRS is responsible for the administration of the tax code. In general, information of a broader level for the use of money within the full Federal government would be something addressed at the Department of Treasury or higher. However, the IRS annually provides taxpayers with a graphic as part of the Form 1040 instructions that identifies the major categories of federal income and outlays for the fiscal year.

CORRECTIVE ACTION: N/A

TAS RESPONSE: While TAS acknowledges that the IRS meets the minimal statutory obligation by publishing a single annual allocation graphic in Form 1040 instructions, this limited effort is misaligned with modern expectations for fiscal transparency and civic engagement. Given the IRS’s responsibility to assist taxpayers in understanding the law and promoting compliance, the should agency expand its explanatory content to contextualize the role of taxes in sustaining government functions. This does not require the IRS to explain Congressional appropriations or policy rationale but simply to present facts regarding revenue sources and outlays in plain language formats, infographics, interactive dashboards, and short videos, which enhance public comprehension.

By providing the public with additional useful resources and information about how the U.S. tax system works and its role in our society through vehicles such as IRS.gov, IRS social media pages, and other platforms, the IRS can create a greater awareness helping to educate and inform that in turn improves tax administration. IRS’s current approach misses a profound opportunity to strengthen taxpayer trust and promote the Right to Be Informed. TAS urges the IRS to embrace this educational role, not as an ancillary function, but as central to its modern service mission.

ADOPTED, PARTIALLY ADOPTED or NOT ADOPTED: Partially Adopted

OPEN or CLOSED: Cloased

DUE DATE FOR ACTION (if left open): N/A