Improve Automation and Metrics to Enhance the Taxpayer Experience

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.

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.

The IRS’s digital processing initiative continued to make significant progress toward reducing paper-based operations and modernizing tax administration. During the 2026 filing season, scanned paper returns represented more than 56 percent of all paper Forms 1040, 940, 941, 4868, and 7004 processed, including approximately 94 percent of Forms 940 and more than 83 percent of Forms 941. To date, the IRS has digitized more than 85 million pages and converted more than 10 million paper returns into digital records, with nearly 9.9 million returns accepted into IRS systems. The program reported an overall optical character recognition accuracy rate of approximately 95 percent and individual data-field accuracy exceeding 85 percent, while maintaining minimal aged inventory. Three of four vendors completed testing for Form 1040 processing, and all four completed testing for Forms 940 and 941.

Although the IRS has expanded digital processing and improved the efficiency of paper return processing, additional work remains to fully implement the Zero Paper Initiative. The IRS plans to add more forms, correspondence, and information returns to its scanning capabilities. These efforts should reduce manual handling, speed processing, and limit delays caused by paper-based workflows.

TAS will continue monitoring the IRS’s progress, providing feedback, and identifying opportunities to help ensure the initiative produces measurable improvements in service and the taxpayer experience.

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.

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.

The IRS’s Taxpayer Services, Accounts Management organization continues to collaborate with the Joint Operations Center to develop a Customer Response Rate (CRR). The proposed measure would combine Assistor Service Rate (ASR) data from telephone and live chat contacts with paper-based case programs, including Individual Master File and Business Master File account adjustments, identity theft cases, refund inquiries, authorization-file issues, employer identification number requests, and other account matters. The goal is to provide a more complete measure of whether the IRS resolves taxpayer inquiries across multiple service channels, rather than measuring only whether a call was answered.

Development of the CRR remains ongoing. Pending leadership approval, the IRS may begin establishing a baseline for the measure in fiscal year 2027. TAS will continue monitoring development of the measure and advocating for metrics that assess the quality, timeliness, accuracy, and resolution of taxpayer service.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The IRS continued expanding the Taxpayer 360 (TP360) platform by increasing use of artificial intelligence-powered research tools and adding features intended to help employees assist taxpayers more accurately and efficiently. On June 30, 2026, the IRS expanded TP360 research capabilities to tax examiners, leads, and managers in Taxpayer Services, Accounts Management. The IRS also added a freeze-code search feature on May 28, 2026, making it easier for employees to research account conditions that may delay or restrict action on a taxpayer’s account.

The IRS continues developing additional TP360 capabilities, including taxpayer authentication, access to scanned images and relevant account information through one interface, and expanded call-handling functions. Pilot users can now take taxpayer calls directly through TP360 rather than opening the separate Finesse telephone platform on another screen. These enhancements are expected to reduce system switching and duplicate data entry, improve call handling, and support faster case resolution.

TAS will continue monitoring implementation, system performance, and user feedback to assess whether TP360 produces meaningful and measurable improvements in taxpayer service.