DOGE Getting IRS Data Like Giving Custodians Vault Keys: Werfel

My father-in-law, retired and living in Ohio, recently asked me, “If the IRS already gives access to tax data to many IRS employees, why is it such a big deal to give access to one DOGE staffer?”

It’s a good question. The government often does things that, at first blush, confuses and even angers the public. But if you take a moment to ask why, your confusion can dissipate.

I told my father-in-law to envision the following scenario at a local bank: A new custodian is hired and on Day One tells the bank manager about spilled soda in the lobby. “Please give me the keys to the vault, and the key to every safe deposit box in the vault,” the custodian asks.

The bank manager, of course, refuses. “I’ll give you key to the closet where we keep the mop. And nothing else.”

Now imagine the local fire safety chief walks through the bank’s front door the next day for the annual sprinkler inspection, then proceeds to ask for the key to the vault and every safe deposit box.

The bank manager would likely offer the key to the vault only for the time needed to inspect the sprinklers inside of it. “You can’t have the key to the safe deposit boxes because you don’t need to see the private contents of our customers’ safety deposit boxes to inspect our sprinklers.”

A day later, the bank’s CEO shows up and tells the bank manager to hand over the keys to the vault and the safe deposit boxes.

Believe it or not, the bank manager, if following the correct protocols, would decline the request and remind the CEO that when customers sign a legal contract for a safe deposit box, nothing in that contract allows the CEO to riffle through their private papers and belongings.

So, yes, the IRS over the years has given some of its employees access to taxpayer data. But they could only access one “closet” of data if they needed to look inside of it as part of tax administration. The IRS provided access to a larger “vault” of data if the employee needed to be in that “vault” for a legitimate tax administration purpose, such as looking for similar areas of math errors to better instruct taxpayers on common mistakes made.

But it was rare for anyone at the IRS to have access to all the data—the keys to every safe deposit box. Those who were granted such comprehensive access had a compelling or urgent need, such as a major power outage at a primary data center. When all the systems need to be ported to a backup system, a comprehensive view ensures the effort was completely successful.

Those given comprehensive access also underwent extensive background checks and had the experience and training in dealing with sensitive information, such as bank account information for taxpayers who select to receive their refund through direct deposit.

If I, as the former IRS commissioner, had requested access to all the data in the IRS systems, the agency’s data security team would rightfully say “no.” I would have no compelling need, and there was no legal basis for me to demand it.

A DOGE staffer apparently walked into the IRS “bank” on their first day of work and asked for the keys to all the safe deposit boxes.

If the IRS did what they are trained and required to do when an employee makes such a request, they would have asked whether there was a compelling reason why these individuals acting on behalf of the administration needed to see inside every person in the country’s private safe deposit box.

They would have raised legal concerns. They would have asked what background investigations had been carried out to confirm the employee’s proven trustworthiness and prior experience or training in handling sensitive data.

As a private citizen taxpayer (or a customer with a safe deposit box at the IRS), I’m glad the IRS is asking these questions. The queries have paved the way for the courts to hear a diverse array of informed perspectives and then weigh in to help clarify the legal limits of access to data.

Looking ahead, I hope, in the face of growing layoffs, the IRS retains people with the insight and experience to ask the right questions before just handing over all the keys.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg Industry Group, Inc., the publisher of Bloomberg Law and Bloomberg Tax, or its owners.

Author Information

Danny Werfel served as the 50th commissioner of the IRS from March 2023 to January 2025.

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