Taxpayer Advocate Service’s (TAS) FY25 Objectives Statuses

The National Taxpayer Advocate (NTA) submits two Congressional reports annually, including the Annual Report to Congress (statutorily due on Dec 31 each year) and the Objectives Report to Congress (statutorily due in June of each year). In the Annual Report, she highlightes the most serious problems in tax administration, makes legislative recommendations, and discusses the most litigated issues. In the June report, she sets advocacy Objectives explaining how TAS will advocate in the coming fiscal year to improve tax administration. The objectives are designed to publicly share where TAS will focus its external advocacy efforts to influence tax laws and policies in ways that improve the tax system, protect taxpayer rights, and assist taxpayers in meeting their obligations. The information on this page provides the current status our Objectives for the 2025 fiscal year.
Objective
Work with the IRS as the IRS implements plans to modernize processing through the Paperless Processing Initiative.
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Objective
Advocate for improvements in IRS employee hiring, recruitment, retention, and training processes.
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Objective
Advocate for the IRS to be fully transparent and provide specific details on its progress toward implementing the Strategic Operating Plan (SOP), including its efforts to modernize technology and strategically implement AI, and to produce clear and timely guidance and information to taxpayers, tax professionals, industry, and other stakeholders.
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Objective
Work with the IRS to improve taxpayer access to telephone and in-person assistance.
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Objective
Increase awareness of the risks inherent in the current lack of oversight of paid federal return preparers.
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Objective
Work with the IRS to identify ways to reduce Identity Theft Victim Assistance (IDTVA) case processing times.
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Objective
Work with the IRS to incorporate the digital-first public experience best practices for online accounts available to individuals, businesses, and tax professionals.
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Objective
Advocate to end systemic assessment of international information return penalties and to develop a first-time abatement waiver specific to these penalties.
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Objective
Identify compliance challenges for taxpayers abroad and make administrative recommendations to minimize burdens imposed on this population.
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Objective
Advocate for improved Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) access for all eligible taxpayers, enhanced data collection and analysis for continuing program improvement, and the reduction of administrative hurdles to taxpayer participation.
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Objective
Monitor the IRS’s handling of Employee Retention Credit (ERC) claims and protect taxpayer rights by advocating for transparency, and the timely processing of all claims, and the issuance of refunds on legitimate claims.
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Objective
Analyze systemic issues with an emphasis on reducing taxpayer burden and protecting taxpayer rights.
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Objective
Refine and conduct Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) research to accurately target taxpayer community needs
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Objective
Partner with IRS Taxpayer Services to analyze survey results about taxpayer experiences verifying their identities via the IRS’s identity authentication processes.
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Objective
Provide a report to the National Taxpayer Advocate detailing whether TAS case receipts, case quality, and problem relief are consistent among taxpayers regardless of their demographic classification.
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Objective
Provide a report to the National Taxpayer Advocate that explores changes to the structure of the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Other Dependent Credit, the economic impact of potential changes in the structures of these credits, and how such changes would impact the IRS’s ability to administer these credits.
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Objective
Describe the IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) process, quantify the taxes paid and credits received by ITIN filers, and estimate the revenue lost due to undocumented workers who do participate in the tax system by obtaining and using an ITIN.
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Objective
Provide a report to the National Taxpayer Advocate estimating the volume and amount of tax year 2020 refund returns still held by the IRS because of taxpayer non-response with a goal of advocating for the IRS to implement additional procedures to release legitimate refund claims to taxpayers
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Objective
Continue recruitment efforts to increase staffing levels focusing on targeted areas, i.e., external applicants, second career professionals, and realign TAS’ services to better meet taxpayer needs
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Objective
Work with the IRS to identify problems and suggest changes to Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) processing that will reduce delays negatively impacting taxpayers
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Objective
Evaluate how the IRS is protecting the taxpayer’s right to confidentiality, and preventing unlawful uses and disclosures of their tax return information and advocate to ensure waivers follow IRS rules and regulations; are clear, concise, and written in plain language; and provide taxpayers an avenue by which they can hold parties accountable if their return information is disclosed to a third party without their consent
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Objective
Collaborate with the IRS to identify and implement strategies for increasing e-file rates for individual and business taxpayers
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Objective
Advocate for improvements and increased independence within the Independent Office of Appeals
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Objective
Explore past IRS collection data and outcomes to recommend guidelines to the IRS for determining under what circumstances it should generally not initiate enforcement actions such as issuing a levy or filing a lien
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Objective
Continue identifying case process efficiencies, including requesting expansion of our delegated authorities and partnering with Enterprise Case Management to modernize processes
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Objective
Continue to conduct a comprehensive analysis of TAS’s intake process with emphasis on identifying ways to enhance customer intake in the future
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Objective
Review the operations, metrics, and results of other large incoming call telephone service providers through both direct and indirect means to develop benchmarks and recommended metrics and goals for IRS consideration
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Objective
Continue to support and expand TAS leadership development programs to provide employees tools and opportunities to grow in their careers
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