An official website of the U.S. GovThe IRS must reduce its heavy reliance on paper processing by prioritizing automation, improving service metrics, and enabling end-to-end digital workflows to reduce delays, bottlenecks, and taxpayer frustration.
To enhance taxpayer service through automation and accurate performance measurements, TAS recommends that the IRS:
Implement End-to-End Paperless Processing: Disclose to Congress and the public the full scope, objectives, milestones, and implementation timeline of its end-to-end paperless processing initiative by the end of FY 2025. Ensure that digitized data is fully compatible with IRS systems for automatic routing, work assignment, and resolution.
Quarter 1 Updates
TAS is reviewing how to incorporate this initiative into an existing or new Collaborative Team, a Systemic Advocacy Project, or a potential FY 2025 Annual Report to Congress Most Serious Problem. Progress during this period was affected by the lapse in appropriations and related operational impacts, including reduced staffing capacity, reassignment of work and priorities, and a reevaluation of TAS’s approach to managing systemic advocacy objectives and associated initiatives.
Quarter 2 Updates
Since the beginning of FY26, the IRS’s digital processing initiative has continued to make progress toward reducing paper-based operations and modernizing tax administration. More than 53 million pages have been digitized, and over 9 million paper returns have been converted into digital records, with nearly 7.7 million returns successfully accepted into IRS systems. The program has maintained strong processing performance, including an overall Optical Character Recognition (OCR) accuracy rate of approximately 86 percent and minimal aged inventory, demonstrating the IRS’s growing capacity to process paper submissions more efficiently.
Although the IRS has made meaningful advancements in its efforts to digitize tax returns, correspondence, and other paper-based workflows; including establishing enterprise-wide strategies and expanding scanning capabilities, significant work remains to fully realize a paperless environment and achieve the long-term goals of reducing manual processing, improving service delivery, and enhancing the taxpayer experience.
TAS will continue to monitor the IRS’s progress, provide feedback on ongoing zero paper initiative, and identify opportunities for improvement to help ensure these efforts deliver meaningful benefits to taxpayers and improve the overall taxpayer experience.
Adopt Enhanced Metrics for Phone Service: By the end of FY 2025, expand and analyze the Service Completion Rate measurement or other alternative measures of telephone service that evaluate the overall taxpayer experience. These metrics should assess the quality, accuracy, timeliness, and resolution of service, not just call connection rates. Adopt an alternate metric of service for phones that measures the taxpayer experience, including attributes related to the quality of service provided and whether the IRS resolved the taxpayer’s issue, and balance its resources to provide quality service more efficiently by the end of FY 2025.
Quarter 1 Updates
TAS is reviewing how to incorporate this initiative into an existing or new Collaborative Team, a Systemic Advocacy Project, or a potential FY 2025 Annual Report to Congress Most Serious Problem. Progress during this period was affected by the lapse in appropriations and related operational impacts, including reduced staffing capacity, reassignment of work and priorities, and a reevaluation of TAS’s approach to managing systemic advocacy objectives and associated initiatives.
Quarter 2 Updates
The IRS Accounts Management (AM) replaced the Level of Service metric with the Assistor Service Rate (ASR) on January 26, 2026. AM continues to use additional performance measures, including Average Speed of Answer, Average Handle Time, and quality metrics.
AM is also working with the Joint Operations Center to develop a new Customer Response Rate (CRR) metric that combines ASR data (telephone and live chat) with customer-driven paper case programs, including IMF/BMF adjustments, Identity Theft, Refund Inquiry, CAF/RAF, EIN, and miscellaneous account issues. The metric is intended to provide a broader measure of taxpayer inquiries resolved across multiple service channels. Pending leadership approval, implementation is scheduled for early FY27. TAS will continue to monitor and report out on progress.
Advance Conversational Routing of Calls: Continue developing intelligent call-routing technologies to improve automation in taxpayer service. Disclose to Congress and the public the initiative’s scope, milestones, and expected outcomes by the end of FY 2025.
Quarter 1 Updates
TAS is reviewing how to incorporate this initiative into an existing or new Collaborative Team, a Systemic Advocacy Project, or a potential FY 2025 Annual Report to Congress Most Serious Problem. Progress during this period was affected by the lapse in appropriations and related operational impacts, including reduced staffing capacity, reassignment of work and priorities, and a reevaluation of TAS’s approach to managing systemic advocacy objectives and associated initiatives.
Quarter 2 Updates
The IRS is moving to a new platform which will allow for AI capabilities in call routing. This effort has an anticipated completion of FY27 Q3. TAS is closing this activity as there is limited availability for advocacy until implementation; TAS will continue to monitor IRS progress.
Prioritize Taxpayer 360 Implementation: Expedite deployment of the Taxpayer 360 platform to enhance CSR access to taxpayer data, enabling quicker, more informed responses. Disclose the scope of Taxpayer 360, initiative details, and milestones to Congress and the public by the end of FY 2025.
Quarter 1 Updates
TAS is reviewing how to incorporate this initiative into an existing or new Collaborative Team, a Systemic Advocacy Project, or a potential FY 2025 Annual Report to Congress Most Serious Problem. Progress during this period was affected by the lapse in appropriations and related operational impacts, including reduced staffing capacity, reassignment of work and priorities, and a reevaluation of TAS’s approach to managing systemic advocacy objectives and associated initiatives.
Quarter 2 Updates
The IRS completed deployment of the Taxpayer 360 (TP360) Research Companion to all Accounts Management Customer Service Representatives (CSRs), Lead CSRs, and IMF/BMF Customer Experience Representatives on February 16, 2026, with access extended to CSR Frontline Managers on February 27, 2026. The tool provides integrated taxpayer data and research capabilities intended to improve the accuracy and timeliness of responses to taxpayer inquiries while supporting broader IRS modernization efforts.
The IRS is continuing to develop additional TP360 capabilities, including call management, disclosure functionality, access to select scanned images, and call note capture. Limited rollout of these enhancements is planned throughout 2026 based on operational and technical readiness. Planned integrations with the Finesse telephone platform and Accounts Management Services (AMS) system are also expected to improve call handling, reduce duplicate data entry, and support more efficient case resolution.
The IRS stated it will continue monitoring system performance and user feedback to guide future improvements and ensure the platform meets evolving taxpayer service needs. TAS will continue to monitor and report out on progress.
