The IRS recently announced a realignment of its compliance operations that will have an impact on individual and small business taxpayers. Effective October 20, tax compliance operations in the Wage and Investment and Small-Business/Self-Employed divisions will be realigned to enhance efficiency and reduce redundancy. According to an October 8th IRS release, “the goal of the realignment is to primarily focus SB/SE on post-filing compliance and W&I on pre-refund compliance.”
This change creates a much needed division between W&I and SE/SE for examination and collection procedures. Specifically this plan: 1) moves pre-filing compliance programs to W&I; 2) moves post-filing compliance programs to SB/SE; 3) creates two new functions in SB/SE—one focused on collection work and the other one examination work; 4) centralizes identity theft victims’ assistance work into W&I; and 5) aligns SB/SE and W&I compliance headquarters and support staff to consolidated support functions.
The IRS notes that while organizational lines may shift, no employee jobs will be lost. At the same time, due to an “exception-only hiring freeze” across the IRS, no new jobs likely will result from realignment.