Internal Revenue Service

National

The IRS is piloting new software that could let you file your taxes for free

5:00am January 29, 2024

by Joe Hernandez

Direct File will be open only to people with certain tax situations living in certain states at the outset. The free service has been criticized by Republicans and tax preparation companies.

A copy of an IRS 1040 tax form is seen at an H&R Block office in Florida in December 2017.

No, the IRS isn't calling you. It isn't texting or emailing you, either

6:00am April 07, 2023

by Kaitlyn Radde

Since 2018, over 75,000 victims have lost $28 million to IRS imposters over the phone, email, texts and more. Here's how the IRS actually contacts taxpayers and how you can spot imposters.

Marcus and Allyson Ward were paying off a debt dating back to the birth of their twins, Theo and Milo. They are among 100 million Americans with medical debt, according to a KHN/NPR investigation.

Medical debt affects millions, and advocates push IRS, consumer agency for relief

5:00am March 07, 2023

by Noam Levey

More than 50 consumer and patient groups want the Biden Administration to aggressively protect Americans from medical bills and debt collectors. The effort follows a KHN/NPR investigation.

A sign outside the Internal Revenue Service building in Washington, on May 4, 2021.

The IRS is increasing the standard deductions for 2023 as inflation intensifies

2:05am October 19, 2022

by Ayana Archie

The IRS is increasing energy-related tax breaks, as well as standard deductions for single and married people and heads of households.

Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo told NPR, "It is going to be, unfortunately, a frustrating tax season" this year.

It's likely to be a frustrating tax season, deputy treasury secretary says

3:17pm January 26, 2022

by Rachel Treisman

The understaffed and overworked Internal Revenue Service is bracing for difficulties. COVID-19 relief, child tax credits and a backlog of 2020 returns will only complicate matters.

Queue Listen Now

President Biden says an executive order he signed Monday will "make the government work more effectively for American citizens."

Politics & Government

Frustrated that you can't schedule an IRS callback? Biden signed an order to do that

6:39pm December 13, 2021

by Brian Naylor

The provision is part of an order Biden signed to make the government more consumer friendly. It also makes it simpler for disaster survivors to apply for help. The order covers 17 federal agencies.

Dozens of people in Micronesia are suing the Bank of Guam for seizing stimulus checks they deposited. The bank did so to help the IRS recover tax payments issued in error.

Overseas Bank Helped Recover IRS Stimulus Checks To Non-Americans. It Didn't Go Well

3:31pm June 05, 2021

by Sacha Pfeiffer

After accidentally sending stimulus checks to ineligible foreign citizens living overseas, the Internal Revenue Service is now asking some banks to help recover money, creating a legal mess.

Queue Listen Now

The pandemic shuttered day-care centers, after-school programs and camps this year, creating problems for some parents who put aside wages, pre-tax, to pay for those expenses.

Economy

Use It Or Lose It: Parents Set Wages Aside For Child Care. Now It's At Risk

6:22pm November 19, 2020

by Andrea Hsu

For many families, 2020 ended up being a year with fewer child-care expenses. Now parents with unspent funds in their dependent-care flexible spending accounts are trying to figure out what to do.

Queue Listen Now

The IRS has announced that with employer approval, employees will be allowed to add, drop or alter some of their benefits — including flexible spending account contributions — for the remainder of 2020.

IRS Rule Shift Lets Workers Make Benefits Changes Midyear — If Their Employer Agrees

5:00am May 29, 2020

by Michelle Andrews

The new guidance amounts to a midyear open-enrollment period and applies to firms that buy health insurance to cover their workers as well as to those that self-insure — paying claims on their own.

Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont says he is set to release his tax returns Monday. For the first time in his career, it's been revealed that Sanders is now, in fact, a millionaire.

Politics & Government

Democratic Candidates Are Releasing Tax Returns, Answering Big Questions For Voters

10:49am April 12, 2019

by Domenico Montanaro

President Trump has refused to release his tax returns. Many Democrats are using that against him, as they reveal their own personal wealth and financial interests.