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Tax Administration: Uses of and Problems With IRS' Non-Master File

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Report Type Reports and Testimonies
Report Date April 21, 1999
Report No. GGD-99-42
Subject
Summary:

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) maintains and processes most taxpayer accounts on its master file, which consists of separate files for various types of taxpayers, such as individuals, businesses, employee plans, and exempt organizations. The master file is incapable of handling some types of accounts, however, so IRS established the non-master file for those exceptions. In a congressional hearing in September 1997, one taxpayer recounted the many problems she had experienced in trying to resolve her non-master file account. This report provides information to enhance Congress' understanding of the non-master file. GAO discusses (1) the basic differences between the master file and the non-master file; (2) known problems that IRS and taxpayers have been experiencing with the non-master file, including the sources of such problems; and (3) recent IRS proposals and actions intended to address these problems.

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