đź’»Paperless Process
📨 For too long, paper-reliant processes have hindered the IRS’s operations and frustrated taxpayers. This reliance on paper creates two significant challenges: the inability of taxpayers to submit many forms and communications electronically beyond their annual tax return, and the IRS’s lack of capacity to digitally process paper returns received. For decades, cumbersome mail correspondence was required for tasks like document verification, while IRS employees had to manually input data from paper returns one number at a time – causing substantial delays and logistical difficulties.
đź“ťCurrently, the IRS receives approximately 76 million paper returns and forms annually, along with 125 million pieces of mail including responses, notices, and non-tax documents. The lack of digital submission and processing capabilities for these has prevented the IRS from delivering best-in-class taxpayer service and operational excellence. Additionally, over 1 billion historical records in storage cost $40 million per year to maintain.
🚀Thanks to resources from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), taxpayers can now respond to more notices electronically, and the IRS has made meaningful progress by adopting technologies to automate scanning for millions of paper returns. To build on this, the IRS is aggressively accelerating paperless processing efforts. Leveraging IRA funds, the IRS has launched an ambitious initiative to ensure taxpayers can choose to go paperless by filing season 2024. Furthermore, by filing season 2025, the IRS aims to achieve fully digital processing by converting all received paper returns into electronic form immediately upon receipt.
đź“… Filing Season 2024: Empowering Taxpayers to Go Paperless
• Taxpayers can digitally submit all correspondence, non-tax forms, and responses to notices. This enables over 94% of individual filers to completely avoid mailing documents to the IRS.
• Taxpayers can e-file 20 more tax forms, enabling 4 million additional documents to be submitted electronically per year. This includes common amended return forms like 940, 941, and more.
• At least 20 high-use non-tax forms will be mobile-friendly for simplified completion and filing. These will include forms like Requests for Taxpayer Advocate Assistance.
đź“… Filing Season 2025: Achieving Fully Digital Processing
• By 2025, 150 more non-tax forms will be mobile-friendly, ensuring accessibility for the 15% of Americans without home broadband.
• All paper-filed tax and information returns will be digitally processed – up to 76 million documents annually. This cuts processing times in half and accelerates refunds.
• Half of all paper correspondence and responses will be digitized, enabling 60 million documents to be processed digitally per year. Full digitization by 2026.
• Up to 1 billion historical records will be digitized, improving customer service, and saving $40 million in annual storage costs.
đź“… The Path to Better Service with Paperless Processing
• Digitizing returns eliminates errors from manual data entry, speeding up processing and enabling enhanced customer service capabilities.
• Digital access to return data helps customer service agents quickly and accurately answer taxpayer questions.
• Combined with an improved data platform, digitization facilitates advanced analytics to uncover tax evasion patterns.
🚀 At ZaraFinancials, we’re committed to providing our clients with unparalleled service while ensuring full compliance with tax laws and regulations.
