IRS privacy policy

The various inquiries made of individuals by the IRS during tax administration are part of a single process. Rather than include the same Privacy Act notice information in many forms or letters that are repeated contacts with the same individual about the same situation, the IRS has adopted an “umbrella” approach where the first contact of a series includes a notice that the individual may keep and that would apply to all future inquiries related to that situation. This approach spares the recipient from receiving repetitious and unnecessary identical notices.

Disclosure, Privacy Act, and Paperwork Reduction Act Notice

The IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998, the Privacy Act of 1974, and the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 require that when we ask you for information, we must first tell you our legal right to ask for the information, why we are asking for it, and how it will be used. We must also tell you what could happen if we do not receive it and whether your response is voluntary, required to obtain a benefit, or mandatory under the law.

This notice applies to all records and other material (in paper or electronic format) you file with us, including this tax return. It also applies to any questions we need to ask you so we can complete, correct, or process your return; figure your tax; and collect tax, interest, or penalties.

Our legal right to ask for information is Internal Revenue Code sections 6001, 6011, and 6012(a), and their regulations. They say that you must file a return or statement with us for any tax you are liable for. Your response is mandatory under these sections. Code section 6109 requires you to provide your identifying number on the return. This is so we know who you are and can process your return and other papers. You must fill in all parts of the tax form that apply to you. But you do not have to check the boxes for the Presidential Election Campaign Fund or for the third-party designee. You also do not have to provide your daytime phone number or email address.

You are not required to provide the information requested on a form that is subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act unless the form displays a valid OMB control number. Books or records relating to a form, or its instructions must be retained as long as their contents may become material in the administration of any Internal Revenue law.

We ask for tax return information to carry out the tax laws of the United States. We need it to figure and collect the right amount of tax.

If you do not file a return, do not provide the information we ask for, or provide fraudulent information, you may be charged penalties and be subject to criminal prosecution. We may also have to disallow the exemptions, exclusions, credits, deductions, or adjustments shown on the tax return. This could make the tax higher or delay any refund. Interest may also be charged.

Generally, tax returns and return information are confidential, as stated in Code section 6103. However, Code section 6103 allows or requires the Internal Revenue Service to disclose or give the information shown on your tax return to others as described in the Code. For example, we may disclose your tax information to the Department of Justice to enforce the tax laws, both civil and criminal, and to cities, states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. commonwealths or territories to carry out their tax laws. We may disclose your tax information to the Department of Treasury and contractors for tax administration purposes; and to other persons as necessary to obtain information needed to determine the amount of or to collect the tax you owe. We may disclose your tax information to the Comptroller General of the United States to permit the Comptroller General to review the Internal Revenue Service. We may disclose your tax information to committees of Congress; federal, state, and local child support agencies; and to other federal agencies for the purposes of determining entitlement for benefits or the eligibility for and the repayment of loans. We may also disclose this information to other countries under a tax treaty, to federal and state agencies to enforce federal nontax criminal laws, or to federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies to combat terrorism.

Please keep this notice with your records. It may help you if we ask you for other information. If you have questions about the rules for filing and giving information, please call or visit any Internal Revenue Service office.

We welcome comments on forms

We try to create forms and instructions that can be easily understood. Often this is difficult to do because our tax laws are very complex. For some people with income mostly from wages, filling in the forms is easy. For others who have businesses, pensions, stocks, rental income, or other investments, it is more difficult.

If you have suggestions for making these forms simpler, we would be happy to hear from you. You can send us comments through IRS.gov/formscomments. Or you can send your comments to Internal Revenue Service, Tax Forms and Publications Division, 1111 Constitution Ave. NW, IR6526, Washington, DC 20224. Don’t send your return to this address. Instead, see the addresses at the end of these instructions.

Although we can't respond individually to each comment received, we do appreciate your feedback and will consider your comments as we revise our tax forms and instructions.

Estimates of taxpayer burden

The following table shows burden estimates based on current statutory requirements as of November 2023 for taxpayers filing a 2023 Form 1040 or 1040SR tax return. Time spent and out-of-pocket costs are presented separately. Time burden is broken out by taxpayer activity, with recordkeeping representing the largest component. Out-of-pocket costs include any expenses incurred by taxpayers to prepare and submit their tax returns. Examples include tax return preparation and submission fees, postage and photocopying costs, and tax return preparation software costs. While these estimates don’t include burden associated with post-filing activities, IRS operational data indicate that electronically prepared and filed returns have fewer arithmetic errors, implying lower post-filing burden.

Reported time and cost burdens are national averages and don’t necessarily reflect a “typical” case. Most taxpayers experience lower than average burden, with taxpayer burden varying considerably by taxpayer type. For instance, the estimated average time burden for all taxpayers filing a Form 1040 or 1040SR is 13 hours, with an average cost of $270 per return. This average includes all associated forms and schedules, across all tax return preparation methods and taxpayer activities.

Within this estimate, there is significant variation in taxpayer activity. For example, nonbusiness taxpayers are expected to have an average burden of about 9 hours and $150, while business taxpayers are expected to have an average burden of about 24 hours and $560. Similarly, tax return preparation fees and other out-of-pocket costs vary extensively depending on the tax situation of the taxpayer, the type of software or professional preparer used, and the geographic location.

For more information on taxpayer burden see Pub. 5743. If you have comments concerning the time and cost estimates below, you can contact us at either one of the addresses shown under We Welcome Comments on Forms.

Estimated average taxpayer burden (in hours) for individuals by activity

We protect your privacy in online and in-person meetings just as we do with all other interactions. We make sure we authenticate all attendees’ identity, their authorization to be in the meeting, and their need to know. The IRS might need to record a meeting you attend, with your consent. Designated IRS hosts may record meetings. If we do so, we will notify all participants we are recording. By joining and staying in the recorded meeting, you consent to the recording. To opt out of recording, you may leave a recorded meeting. If this is an in-person meeting about your tax account, we follow IRC 7521(a). In such a meeting, you may request to record, with prior notice to the IRS, and the IRS may also record. All such recordings become federal records, which we protect and keep following federal privacy, security, and records requirements. If we use a third-party application or service, we still protect your privacy. Our agreement with that vendor requires that IRS privacy policies apply and override those of the application or service. For more detailed information, please refer to these Internal Revenue Manual sections:

• 10.5.1.6.14.2, Recordings in the Workplace
• 10.5.1.6.15, Contractors
• 10.5.1.6.18.2, Online Meeting Tools
• 4.10.3.4.7, Requests to Audio Record Interviews
• 5.1.12.3, Taxpayer Recording of Interviews
• 25.5.5.4.4, Right to Make an Audio Recording of the Proceeding

Ensuring the IRS preserves and enhances public confidence by properly protecting, retaining and disclosing taxpayer information is the main purpose of the IRS Privacy Program Plan PDF.

The plan provides an overview of the:

• IRS’s privacy protection responsibilities
• A description of the structure of the privacy program
• Resources dedicated to the privacy program
• Role of the Senior Agency Official for Privacy (SAOP) and other privacy officials and staff
• Strategic goals and objectives of the privacy program
• Management controls in place or planned for meeting applicable privacy requirements and managing privacy risks
• Information necessary by the agency’s privacy requirements

To request to access your Privacy Act records electronically, complete Form 15603, IRS Request for Individual Access to Non-Tax Records Protected under the Privacy Act PDF, and submit it on the FOIA and Privacy Act Public Access Portal.

To give consent to disclose your Privacy Act records electronically, complete Form 15293, Consent for Disclosure of Non-Tax IRS Records Protected under the Privacy Act PDF, and submit it on the FOIA and Privacy Act Public Access Portal.

The IRS FOIA Public Access Portal is a secure portal that allows requesters to electronically submit a FOIA and Privacy Act request(s), check the status of submitted request(s), and securely send and receive messages to and from the agency.

If you use these forms, they include all the required elements from How to write a Privacy Act request (U.S. Department of Treasury).

Or, you may mail or fax your request(s) above, or a signed written request with the required elements, to:

Internal Revenue Service
FOIA Public Liaison Line: 312-292-2929
IRS FOIA/Privacy Act Request
HQ FOIA
Stop 211
PO Box 621506
Atlanta, GA 30362-3006
Fax: 877-807-9215

IRS employees

Should follow instructions in IRM 10.5.6.6 - Privacy Act Request for Non-Tax Records