Published: August 27, 2024 | Last Updated: November 25, 2025

Deploy a New Case and Systemic Issue Management System

Background

TAS’s current case and systemic issue management systems have not kept pace with innovations in technology such as the ability to interact with taxpayers. Developing a new system is essential for TAS to provide quality taxpayer service and enhance employee efficiency. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2024, TAS began a large-scale effort to design a new system that combines case and systemic management issues to improve TAS’s interactions with taxpayers and the quality of service. The new system and transformation of processes will use technology to improve the efficiency of providing taxpayer service, enhance electronic document management, and ensure employees have the tools necessary to successfully advocate and communicate with taxpayers, their representatives, and congressional offices in the manner requested. The system will provide enhanced analytics to support TAS in promptly identifying systemic issues to effectively influence tax administration. TAS has identified many new system requirements (i.e., statements that explain the desired functionality of the system) that will help to preserve our most precious resource of TAS employees’ time, support communication with taxpayers, and improve advocacy through enhanced knowledge sharing.

In FY 2025, TAS will continue to protect taxpayers’ right to quality service by deploying the new case and systemic issue management system to improve the customer experience. But deploying a new system is no small task. TAS will need to train employees and revise many policies and Internal Revenue Manual (IRM) sections. The new system will be transformational for TAS employees and taxpayers; it will modernize work processes, eliminate redundant steps, and most importantly, allow TAS employees to spend more time interacting with taxpayers and meeting our core mission of advocating for taxpayers.

Highlights

Status

Expected Completion Date

09/30/2025

Activities

Activity 1: Deploy a new case and systemic issue management system to improve the customer experience and provide employees the tools they need to advocate and communicate.

Activity 2: Implement efficiencies to case processing identified in assessment of case processing guidance and TAS’s case management system.

Activity 3: Leverage technology to improve TAS’s interactions with taxpayers and their authorized third parties, from case initiation to resolution, through the development of new case communication pathways. This may include expansion of the TAS virtual assistant and creation of automated case updates as well as enhancements to the Systemic Advocacy Management System.

Activity Updates:

Activity 1: Systemic Advocacy trained its employees and launched the new systemic issue system. Case Advocacy continued to partner with the vendor in the final pre-launch phase of the case management system development, incorporating employee feedback, and focusing on improving the customer experience by reducing administrative steps and improving the accuracy of data.

Activity 2: TAS incorporated tax topics into the knowledge base within the case management system to provide employees real-time technical knowledge and improve efficiencies through reduced swivel chairing. Employees will no longer have to leave the case management system to seek technical guidance, it will be available to them as issue codes are selected.

Activity 3: TAS is developing a congressional portal that will allow TAS to improve communications with congressmembers and their staff regarding casework.

1st Quarter Actions Completed

TAS Case Advocacy and Systemic Advocacy partnered with a vendor to develop the case and systemic issue management system. The build team consistently reviewed and incorporated employee feedback during each Sprint. The team focused on integrating internal IRS systems into Phoenix to improve the customer experience by reducing administrative steps and enhancing data accuracy.

Additionally, TAS began developing a knowledge base within the new system, which will provide employees with real-time technical guidance and reduce the need for ‘swivel chairing.’ Employees will no longer have to leave the case management system to seek technical guidance, it will be readily available as tax issues are selected.

The new system is expected to go live in the second quarter of FY 25 for Systemic Advocacy. The build team continues facilitating development and several other teams are working towards implementation. Areas of focus in TAS Operations Support are training, access to the system and support.

2nd Quarter Actions Completed

TAS Case Advocacy and Systemic Advocacy continues to partner with the vendor to develop Phoenix, the case and systemic issue management system.

The build team continues to review and incorporate employee feedback into the development of Phoenix. The team continues to focus on a system that will improve the customer experience by reducing administrative steps and improve accuracy of data. Systemic Advocacy launched Phoenix in the second quarter of FY 25.

The build team continues facilitating development and several other teams are working towards implementation. Areas of focus in TAS Operations Support are training, access to the system and support.

3rd Quarter Actions Completed

TAS deployed the systemic issue management system and is in the final developmental stage of the new case management system.

Next Steps

Ongoing efforts will focus on final calibration of the new case management system prior to its deployment in Q4.

Return to FY25 Objective Statuses