The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) maintains a useful but little-known index page of downloadable documents organized by topic area: irs.gov/downloads. Each folder in this directory links to a collection of files related to a specific issue area—like the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, new tax data and analysis from the Statistics of Income (SOI), and Freedom of Information Act reports—and can be a helpful way to monitor when new publications are posted.
That is, if you know what you’re looking at.
The structure of the page isn’t especially intuitive to casual users, and there’s no central explanation of what each folder contains or whether the content is still actively maintained. Even more frustrating: the directories aren’t RSS-compatible, so there’s no easy way to subscribe and get alerts when updates are made.
Despite these limitations, this page could be a valuable tool for researchers, reporters, and transparency advocates. To help decode the IRS downloads index, we’ve compiled a table of the main directories, including a short description of what you’ll typically find in each and the date of the most recently posted file. This resource can make it easier to find useful IRS publications—and see at a glance which areas are being regularly updated.
| IRS Index Link | Description of the Documents in the Index Link | Year of Most Recently Added Document (As of July 2, 2025) |
|---|---|---|
| cmpsrc | This includes data from the IRS’s 2013 Personal Wealth Study, focusing on individuals with high net worth. | 2017 |
| ebook | This includes eBooks covering a wide range of individual and business tax topics. | 2025 |
| epostcard | This index is empty. | N/A |
| fatca | This includes files related to the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. | 2025 |
| foia | This includes files related to the IRS’s compliance with the Freedom of Information Act. | 2025 |
| info_return | This includes Affordable Care Act (ACA) Information Return (AIR) program documents. | 2020 |
| irm | This index includes links to the Internal Revenue Manual source files, providing guidance and instructions for IRS employees about their responsibilities. | 2025 |
| irs-access | This index contains a collection of ZIP and PDF files related to IRS tax forms, schedules, instructions, and publications. | 2025 |
| irs-aod | This contains IRS Office Chief Counsel’s Actions on Decision memos that announce the future litigation position the IRS will take regarding the court decision addressed by each Decision. | 2025 |
| irs-apa | This page includes documents related to the international tax dispute resolution and transfer pricing agreements handled by the IRS’s Advance Pricing and Mutual Agreement (APMA) Program, which is a part of the Large Business and International (LB&I) Division. | 2025 |
| irs-ccbs | This contains Chief Counsel Tax Bulletins. | 2019 |
| irs-ccdm | This index contains IRS Chief Counsel notices, which are a source of information on interim guidance, temporary procedures, changing litigation positions, and administration. | 2025 |
| irs-dft | This index contains early release drafts of IRS tax forms, publications, and instructions. | 2025 |
| irs-drop | This index contains appendixes for IRS documents issued in 2025. Each filename has a prefix that identifies the type of guidance and a number system (sequential for the year). RP = Revenue Procedure, N = Notice, and RR = Revenue Ruling. | 2025 |
| irs-efile | This index contains e-File Provider Zip Files by state and region. | 2025 |
| irs-eta | This index is empty. | N/A |
| irs-il | This index contains an IRS Office of Chief Counsel memorandum, relating to a qualification for Sales Corporation (FSC) benefits and Earned Income Tax (EIT) credit exclusions. | 2013 |
| irs-irbs | This contains the Internal Revenue Bulletin, which is an authoritative instrument for announcing official rulings and procedures of the IRS and for publishing Treasury Decisions, executive orders, Tax Conventions, legislation, court decisions, and other items of general interest. | 2025 |
| irs-isp | This index is empty. | N/A |
| irs-lafa | This index includes IRS Generic Legal Advice Memoranda (GLAMs) that provide interpretive guidance on nuanced areas of tax law. | 2025 |
| irs-mssp | This index for the Market Segment Specialization Program (MSSP) contains a single document explaining the general and legislative background and gives a detailed description of the Rehabilitation Tax Credit. | 2016 |
| irs-news | This page includes sources on a variety of topics. | 2022 |
| irs-pdf | This index provides a variety of resources to taxpayers. It includes PDFs of tax forms, user guides for taxpayers who have a transfer request, and frequently asked questions from low-income communities. | 2025 |
| irs-pia | This contains Privacy Impact Assessments, which are information systems that collect personally identifiable information. | 2025 |
| irs-prior | This page contains PDF files covering random topics, and it includes tax forms and instructions on how to fill them out. | 2025 |
| irs-procure | This page provides PDF documents relating to procurement. | 2021 |
| irs-regs | This index contains random regulations. | 2017 |
| irs-sca | This index contains files relating to Service Center Advice (SCA), which is a type of IRS legal guidance issued by the Office of Chief Counsel. These address procedural or legal issues raised by service centers and are internal IRS legal memoranda. | 2017 |
| irs-schema | This contains Modernized e-File (MeF) program documentation. MeF is a web-based system that allows electronic filing of corporate, individual, partnership, exempt organization, and excise tax returns through the internet. | 2025 |
| irs-sgml | This contains files related to Standardized Generalized Markup Language (SGML), which is a precursor to Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) and eXtensible Markup Language (XML). At the IRS, SGML generally refers to electronic return formatting specs for legacy IRS systems, definitions of how data must be structured in e-file submissions (prior to the switch to full XML schema under MeF), and companion files used in parsing/form generation. | 2025 |
| irs-soi | This index includes files on the Statistics of Income (SOI), which scrutinizes data from individual, corporate, estate, nonprofit returns, and others to study and report on things like individual tax studies, including sources of income, exemptions, deductions, taxable income, income tax, tax credits, and tax payments. | 2025 |
| irs-tai | This index contains one file from TY 1997: Table 5a. Individual Income Tax Returns: Short-Term and Long-Term Capital Gains and Losses by Asset Type. | 2018 |
| irs-tege | This index contains resources relating to Tax-Exempt & Government Entities (TEGE), including IRM chapters specific to TEGE procedures and newsletters, compliance initiatives, and training materials relevant to TEGE clients. TEGE helps customers understand and comply with applicable tax laws. | 2025 |
| irs-tfop | This index is empty. | N/A |
| irs-tipss | This index for the tip sheet section contains a collection of IRS outreach PDFs meant to help taxpayers on various topics, and it is not a technical guidance system or regulation. | 2017 |
| irs-trty | This contains explanations and information on tax treaties with other countries. | 2025 |
| irs-utl | This index contains random documents, many of which are in other languages. | 2022 |
| irs-wd | This contains IRS Written Determinations, which are taxpayer-specific rulings or guidance that the IRS releases each Friday under IRC § 6110. These provide insight into how the IRS interprets and applies tax law to individual requests. | 2025 |
| languages | This page contains one document, and the link does not work. | 2016 |
| lanoa | This index contains files on Legal Advice/Notice of Advice with internal legal guidance issued by the IRS’s Chief Counsel team. | 2025 |
| mobile | This index includes 2 json files, one in English and the other in Spanish, which provide access to IRS payment processors that make paying with credit and debit cards secure. | 2023 |
| newmediaimages | This index contains New Media images from the IRS. | 2017 |
| newsroom | This index contains miscellaneous reports like Internal Revenue Service Advisory Council (IRSAC), Reductions in Force (RIF) information for IRS employees, and promotional materials for EITC and Direct File. | 2025 |
| notices | This index contains miscellaneous examples of deficiency notices to taxpayers. | 2019 |
| opportunities | This index is empty. | N/A |
| portlets | This index is empty. | N/A |
| rss | This index is empty. | N/A |
| ss8 | This index contains the IRS Form SS-8 titled Determination of Worker Status for Purposes of Federal Employment Taxes and Income Tax Withholding. It is a document used by either a worker or a business to request that the IRS determine whether a person is an employee or an independent contractor under U.S. common-law rules. | 2025 |
| tas | This index contains information on the Taxpayer Advocate Service. | 2025 |
| whistleblower | This page provides information on the Sequestration Rates for Whistleblower awards, Whistleblower contracts, and Interim Guidance. | 2024 |
| taxpros | This contains information for tax professionals. | 2025 |
| irs-counsel | This index contains Office of Chief Counsel advice and memorandums. | 2025 |
| irs-ci | This index includes Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement (j5) media releases and reports. | 2025 |
| irs-sbse | This index contains information on the Small Business/Self-Employed (SB/SE) Division. SB/SE helps small businesses and self-employed taxpayers understand and meet their tax obligations. It administers the tax laws as passed by Congress, educating and assisting taxpayers and tax professionals who want to comply and enforcing the law for those who do not. | 2025 |
| opr-taxpros | This index contains information about the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), which supports effective tax administration by ensuring all tax practitioners, tax preparers, and other third parties in the tax system adhere to professional standards and follow the law. | 2025 |
| irs-wi | This index contains information on Form 720 - Quarterly Federal Excise Tax Return, Form 2290 - Heavy Highway Vehicle Use Tax Return, and Form 8849 - Claim for Refund of Excise Taxes. | 2025 |
| irs-appeals | This index contains information on the Independent Office of Appeals. | 2024 |
| irs-npl | This index contains information on the IRS’s official outreach to tax professionals—delivering timely bulletins (NTFs), advisory committee outputs (IRSAC/ETAAC), and archival materials to inform taxpayers about IRS guidance, ethics, and enforcement trends. | 2025 |
| irs-lbi | This page includes the Large Business & International (LB&I) Division public folder. LB&I is responsible for tax administration activities for domestic and foreign businesses with a United States tax reporting requirement and assets equal to or exceeding $10 million, as well as the Global High Wealth and International Individual Compliance programs. | 2025 |
| rpo-taxpros | This index contains information on the Return Preparer Office, which oversees preparer tax identification numbers (PTINs), enrollment programs, IRS approved continuing education providers, and the Annual Filing Season Program for tax return preparers. | 2025 |
| irs-pgld | This index has information on the Privacy, Governmental Liaison, and Disclosure division (PGLD), which manages IRS privacy policies and ensures protection of taxpayer and employee data. PGLD operates Governmental Liaison programs, establishing and maintaining agreements with federal, state, and local agencies. It also handles disclosures (especially under FOIA), privacy safeguards, and timely release of taxpayer-related information when authorized by law. | 2025 |
| irs-6209 | This index contains information on Document 6208, titled “IRS Processing Codes and Information,” which is a reference guide containing ADP and IDRS data relative to various components of the IRS. It is updated annually. | 2024 |
| safeguard | This index contains information on the IRS Office of Safeguards, a division responsible for protecting Federal Tax Information (FTI) shared with federal, state, and local agencies. The IRS Office of Safeguards verifies compliance with IRC 6103(p)(4) safeguard requirements through the identification and mitigation of any risk of loss, breach, or misuse of Federal Tax Information held by external government agencies. | 2025 |