IRS WORKS TO IMPROVE ITS TOLL-FREE TELEPHONE SERVICE

IRS is aiming to improve the level of service—its primary measure of providing taxpayers with access to an assistor—of its toll-free telephone program for the 2010 filing season, according to a Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) audit released on March 16. The agency's goal is to provide a 71.2% level of service which would be a marked improvement when compared to the last filing season. The level of service over the past four years was as follows: 82% for the 2006 filing season; 82.5% for the 2007 filing season; 77.4% for the 2008 filing season; and 64% for the 2009 filing season. The audit discussed several measures IRS is taking for this filing season. First, the agency plans to increase the number of assistors available during the fiscal year. Second; IRS has established six applications to handle American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 call volume. The toll-free lines are subdivided into categories called applications, each of which is staffed by assistors who have received specialized training on specific tax issues. Third, the agency has been developing a Web-based application for taxpayers who do not have their prior year adjusted gross income (AGI) or Personal Identification Number.