IRS Secure-Messaging Audit Tool to Be Expanded, Officials Say

The Internal Revenue Service is looking to expand what it says is a well-received pilot program offering taxpayers a secure-messaging option to resolve correspondence audits of their tax returns.

The Taxpayer Digital Communications pilot, launched in December 2016, allows taxpayers to answer correspondence-audit notices electronically without having to mail in responses. It’s part of an IRS effort to improve audit efficiency, a pair of IRS speakers said Dec. 7.

About 3,000 taxpayers have signed up, out of 28,000 invited in audit notices sent from the agency’s Philadelphia campus, said Michael Landsmann, an IRS digital communications manager.