March 4, 2026
Chairman Jason Smith
Ranking Member Richard Neal
House Committee on Ways and Means
1139 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Chairman Smith, Ranking Member Neal, and Members of the Committee,
Thank you for hosting today’s important and timely hearing with Frank Bisignano, CEO of the Internal Revenue Service. Mr. Bisignano has hit the ground running at the IRS, with good operational progress since he took the helm. However, many challenges remain to be dealt with, including successfully navigating the many changes in tax law made by the Working Families Tax Cuts (WFTC).
To help the Committee receive the information needed to assess how the IRS is faring, we have drafted recommended questions to ask Mr. Bisignano at the hearing today. These questions are listed below. Thank you for the opportunity to submit a letter for the record—we look forward to the hearing today.
Sincerely,
David Timmons
Senior Policy Manager
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Modernization
The Government Accountability Office currently lists almost 200 open recommendations for the IRS in various areas, including modernization, Alternative Dispute Resolution programs, and tax gap estimation methodologies. How are you prioritizing implementation of these recommendations?
In your role as Social Security Administration Commissioner, you have credited many customer service improvements to technology. We are pleased to hear that the IRS will put greater emphasis on technology under this Administration. Please describe the specific technologies driving customer service improvements at the Social Security Administration and whether those tools could be applied at the IRS. Furthermore, please describe any instances where the IRS has already begun to implement new technologies following successful use at the Social Security Administration.
The IRS has been trying to replace the outdated Individual Master File for more than a decade—and still hasn’t finished the job, despite numerous deadlines and tens of millions in funding. How will you ensure this critical project finally gets done—and what will success look like?
How is the IRS incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) into its operations without compromising quality of service or respect for taxpayer rights? Scholars have noted the dangers of “symplexity” with regard to IRS use of AI chatbots, where the use of plain language to explain complex tax law sometimes misconstrues the actual law. While taxpayers welcome innovation at the IRS, new tools must be implemented transparently and with safeguards for taxpayers who communicate with AI tools.
Taxpayer Service
The IRS routinely allowed the National Taxpayer Advocate to hire her own counsel rather than rely on attorneys from the Office of Chief Counsel until an Obama-era decision by the Department of the Treasury ended this practice. Allowing the National Taxpayer Advocate to hire counsel independent of the IRS is a critical protection for taxpayers during the appeals process. Would you commit to restoring the National Taxpayer Advocate’s ability to hire attorneys independently?
As CEO, what is your perspective on the prioritization of resources to the Independent Office of Appeals and the Taxpayer Advocate, which could avoid costly and protracted litigation in the courts as well as bolster taxpayer confidence in the fairness of the system?
With the Treasury Department having wisely ended the Direct File program due to concerns about cost and duplication, what steps is the IRS taking to increase awareness of and participation in the Free File program?
NTU Foundation’s research shows that the IRS reports “zero” out-of-pocket costs under the Paperwork Reduction Act for hundreds of tax forms, even though a closer review indicates the Service lacks sufficient data to produce a reliable estimate. What concrete steps will the IRS take to address these data gaps, strengthen its burden-estimation methodology, and ensure Congress and taxpayers receive accurate and transparent assessments of compliance costs?
Enforcement
Taxpayers with cases in Tax Court currently face delays up to several years, in part because the IRS is pursuing litigation in many areas and not using settlement offers or binding arbitration. Will the IRS be changing its strategy to help clear the Tax Court docket more quickly?
If IRS guidance is meant to be binding on taxpayers, will you promise that it will follow the same Administrative Procedure Act notice-and-comment process that all other federal agencies must follow