Submission Processing uses Balanced Measures to assess organizational performance at both the strategic level and the operational level. Business results are a balanced measure result element that shows how well the operations provide accurate and professional services to internal and external customers in a courteous, timely manner.

The following Internal Revenue Codes provide the authority for the Balanced Measure Reviews:

The Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TBOR) lists rights that already existed in the tax code, putting them in simple language and grouping them into 10 fundamental rights. Employees are responsible for being familiar with and acting in accord with taxpayer rights. See IRC 7803(a)(3), Execution of Duties in Accord with Taxpayer Rights. For additional information about the TBOR, seehttps://www.irs.gov/taxpayer-bill-of-rights

The Director of Submission Processing approves and authorizes policy related to this IRM.

Submission Processing’s Monitoring Section maintains the information in the IRM, issuing review guidelines and procedures for all Business Measure Improvement Team reviews. The Monitoring Section makes necessary changes and updates on a yearly basis.

The Monitoring Section manager ensures the IRM is timely submitted to Publishing each year.

Improvement Team Managers must maintain the integrity and quality of the Business Results Measures program.

Improvement Team Analysts perform an unbiased, consistent, and accurate review of all Business Results Measures sample cases.

Program Reports: National Business Measure reports are for internal and external customers, providing information about program goals.

Program Effectiveness: Goals are established for the fiscal year, monthly cumulativeness, and monthly period results. Those goals are compared with monthly results, cumulative monthly results, prior year monthly results and prior year cumulative monthly results throughout the current fiscal year. An analysis of the results provides insight to:

The Submission Processing Measures Analysis and Reporting Tool (SMART) Database is the system used to collect, analyze, and disseminate data about the Business Measure Results for Submission Processing Functions. The IT manager will decide the SMART permissions and then the employee will complete BEARS selecting the appropriate measure.

Below is a list of terms and acronyms used throughout this IRM:

Below are the Control-D reports for the measures:

Refund Interest reports can be found in the Business Results Measures for Submission Processing Functions Job Aid at Product Catalog Information (irs.gov)

Access Control-D reports at:
CONTROL-D/WebAccess Server - LOGIN (irs.gov)

The purpose of the Submission Processing Business Results Measures program is to collect data that provides a basis for measuring and improving our work products by:

Management officials may not use Submission Processing Business Results Measures reviews as the basis of evaluative recordation for bargaining team employees.

The success of the Submission Processing Business Results Measures Program depends on the participation of all the following:

The following information describes the most often used research tools for Business Results Measures reviews.

Monthly Business Results Templates maintains the FY results for the measures.

Before incorporating new letters or notices into the Correspondence Error Rate (CER) Measure, the Improvement Team conducts a courtesy review. To start this process, the headquarters analyst contacts the Improvement Team and requests they add the new product to the sample before the next month's review begins.

Take the following steps to incorporate a new letter or notice into the Correspondence Error Rate (CER) Measure after the headquarters analyst contacts you:

Improvement Teams ensure output and timely receipt of automated sampling runs for Business Results Measures programs. If you do not receive a sample, open an IRWorks ticket following local procedures. Inform the Headquarters analyst assigned to the program if you continue to experience problems receiving sample run output.

Improvement Team Managers contact the Headquarters analyst immediately when they identify problems with an automated sample run (for example, the sample size is much smaller or larger than expected).

Improvement Teams manually sample cases for the Deposit Error Rate (DER) measure, non-IDRS correspondence for the Letter Error Rate (LER) measure and closed cases from the Notice Review area for the Notice Error (NER)measure. The Headquarters analyst responsible for the measure will provide a monthly sampling plan. The Improvement Team manager is required to perform a biannual review of the Improvement Teams to ensure the procedures are followed and to see if updates are needed.

The Improvement Team provides the manual sampling procedures to any functional area instructed to pull a manual sample by SPC leadership. Improvement Team is required to perform a semi-annual review of the functional area's sampling to ensure the procedures are followed and to see if updates are needed.

To ensure a reliable and valid sample, you must follow the instructions below when manually sampling cases for Business Results Measures.

Certain paper Forms 1040, 940 and 941 are being scanned into the MeF System. These returns can be identified by the File Location Code (FLCs). These scanned paper returns can be accessed using the EUP.

This section applies only to sample cases that are in the computation of the Business Results Measures.
Defect Case Communication:

Provide Taxpayer error information to your Local Communication Office (e.g., Certified Public Accountant (CPA) trends, taxpayer trends, tax preparer trends).

Occasionally, you may not be able to resolve a defect rebuttal case at the SPC level. If this happens, the Improvement Team Manager will refer the disputed case to the responsible headquarters analyst.

The referral must have the Document Collection Instrument (DCI) number of the disputed case and an analysis of the defect from the Improvement Team analyst and the functional area. Provide any research material (e.g., IRM references) used when originally reviewing the case.

All disputed cases should be resolved prior to the monthly cutoff date. See Exhibit 3.0.275-2. for cut-off dates and report due dates for all Business Results Measures. SPCs should make every effort to ensure cases sent to Headquarters Measures Analyst are received no later than the Monday prior to the monthly cutoff date. If the cutoff date has passed, the cases will still be sent to the Headquarters Analyst for resolution. These cases will then be captured in the cumulative results.

The Headquarters Measures Analyst will respond to the SPC within five business days. The Headquarters Measures Analyst will consider both areas statements and will make the final determination of the defect.

If a systemic problem is identified during the review process for Notice or Letter Error, complete the Problem Reporting Template (PRT) using the following steps.

Email the completed template for IMF or BMF Notices/Letters to the CER Analyst - Stuart Simpson. Encrypt the correspondence when sending.

The HQ analyst will share with all SPCs.

When reviewing a sample case for a Submission Processing Business Results Measure, you may consider local procedures that do not conflict/deviate with the appropriate IRM instructions. Share all local procedures with the appropriate HQ IRM analyst. Follow the instructions in IRM 1.11.2.2 and IRM 1.11.10 to request an IRM deviation including temporary procedures. Do not implement these procedures until you receive approval from the IRM owner.

The unavailability of any program (e.g. QRADD, Computer Assistance Review of Error Resolution System (CARE), percent reviews, managerial reviews) that could improve the quality of work will not remove a sample case from the Business Result Measures reviews. If non-systemic errors are identified, they must be charged to the appropriate functional area, and not as Systemic, unless it can be proven that the quality system was directly responsible for the error. These reviews are enhancements to the initial processing of the return and are only tools to improve the results.

When a defect is identified, the analyst must determine what type of defect to charge. The following definitions should assist in ensuring consistency of coding:

When coding any sample case for a Submission Processing Business results Measure, DO NOT include sensitive data into the SMART database. This includes taxpayers’ names, phone numbers, addresses, and taxpayer identification numbers. This type of information is considered privileged and would be unauthorized disclosure.

For cases to be included in the monthly (period) report, the cut-off date for inputting these cases is the close of business on the 22nd day of the month following the end of the sample month. Therefore, the period rates shown may represent only a subset of the entire monthly sample and can only be considered preliminary in nature. To ensure that the monthly report represents the actual error rate for your center, enter as many cases as possible before the Monthly Report Run date. It is recommended to input the review information into the SMART database within one business day after coding.

Cases input after the cut-off date will be included in the following months cumulative rate (not the period) (e.g., June cases coded after the 22nd day of July will be reflected in the cumulative rate of the month it was input). Therefore, the only figure that includes all coded cases to date is the current month's cumulative.

Updates and edits for NER, LER, DER, and RTER are allowed to the SMART database for two months after the monthly report run date. Additionally, for Deposit Error, Notice Error, and Letter Error any additional cases from the original sample month can be added for two months after the Monthly Report Run date. However, no additional cases can be added for the Refund Timeliness and Error measures. Edits or additions made after the Monthly Report Run date, are reflected in the cumulative result. Any cases not coded after the two-month period are deleted from the database.

Finalize reports for the fiscal year by October 22nd of the FY. Input all August and September updates/edits/additional cases by October 22. The Fiscal Year Narrative report is due four working days after the September Monthly Report narratives are due to Headquarters. The final report should include:

National Reports generate on the 23rd of the month following the end of the sample month data cut-off date and will be posted to the Submission Processing Web Page on or about the last business day of the month. See Exhibit 3.0.275-2.

Narratives are due to Headquarters for all measures by Close of Business (COB) on the “Narratives to HQ” date in Exhibit 3.0.275-2. Send narratives to the Headquarter Monitoring Section Manager and Lead with a carbon copy to the Headquarters Measures Analyst assigned to the measure. The Business Results Measures Monthly Narrative Report will include and address the following:

Comments must include:

Five full years of data will be kept on the database. After 5 years, the data will be stored on an Austin storage server.

The IMF and BMF Improvement Teams must retain, on site, six months of case files for each Business Results Measure. After six months, the case files can be sent to the Record Retention area. See Document 12990, "Records and Information Management Records Control Schedules" Number 20, Quality Review Forms, Reports and Records (1), as a guideline/reference for retention of the Business Results Measures data. On the paperwork to be submitted under "sample control" indicate DCI forms, as the type of record. DO NOT send case files to Federal Record Center. The Record Retention area can destroy these case files after one year. If a SPC is ramping down contact Headquarters for direction on destroying cases prior to the SPC shutdown.

Required Documentation for Business Results Measures Case Files:

See IRM 3.30.20 Organization, Function, and Program (OFP) Codes (irs.gov)for Business Results Measures work performed in the Submission Processing Improvement Teams.

The OFP 880-08120 (Program Business Results Measures Review) with a 5th digit will identify the Business Results Measures reviewed:

The OFP 880–08190 (Improvement Team-Clerical) with a 5th digit will identify the clerical time spent on each Business Results Measures:

All centers, if Functional areas are performing additional (or increased) reviews to improve Business Results Measures use OFP 880-08040.

IMF completes a proximal match on taxpayer’s Name Control (N/C) and their TIN used when filing to determine if a mismatch condition exists. In order for IMF to obtain a “proximal match” on the taxpayer’s IMF N/C and TIN, the conditions that must be met can be found at 3.13.5.13 Proximal Match on IMF Name Control (irs.gov)

The FINALIST program is standardization software used by the USPS to ensure addresses are valid and correct. FINALIST knows if building numbers are valid.

FINALIST is used to ensure the IRS’s outgoing mail, notices, tax packages, etc. comply with the USPS address standards.

An address that is entered into IDRS and does not meet the USPS standards WILL NOT update and/or post with the input address.

The USPS allows thirteen characters (including spaces) for city names. FINALIST will abbreviate city names if needed to reduce the number of characters to thirteen.

FINALIST will also abbreviate street names. However, a list of abbreviations used by FINALIST is not available.

If you see an address that appears to be an abbreviation of the street name or city name, you can research the USPS Zip Code look up screen at ZIP Code™ Lookup | USPS to see if the abbreviation is accepted by the USPS.

Letter Error Rate is defined as the percentage of incorrect letters issued to taxpayers by Submission Processing employees. The number of letters that are inaccurate, unprofessional, or unclear is divided by the sample size to determine the percentage of inaccurate letters.

The Letter Error Rate program uses a daily sampling of letters to determine a monthly error rate. The sample includes all IDRS letters and some non-IDRS letters issued by Submission Processing employees.

The Letter Error Rate sample is automated by the CRX program. Access to Control-D reports is necessary to obtain the CRX and CRXR Sample Reports. Contact your functional coordinator if you do not have access to Control-D.

The following reports are posted to Control-D daily and provide the Sample Reports and a Summary Report:

Paper copies of the selected letters are printed and provided to the Improvement Team daily as part of the CRX run. CRX01S14 produces copies of the IMF letters, and CRX01S15 produces copies of the BMF letters. Coordinate the delivery of these letters to the Improvement Team with your local Enterprise Help Desk (IT) function.

After obtaining the copies of the selected letters, an Improvement Team employee must visit the appropriate Submission Processing Center teams to find the associated return or case file. See IRM 3.0.275.5.3.1 if you cannot locate the document in the originating area.

Photocopy the return or case file for use in the review process.

Secure all research material before beginning case review. Due to the use of the CRX program for the automated sample, Command Codes QRIND and RVIEW can be used for Letter Error Rate review if the review is performed within two days from input. Use Control-D to determine if the letter was deleted or a duplicate by selecting from the Project List either CRX (two reports "Daily Letter Error List" or "Daily Delete Request List" ) or End of Day (EOD) (two reports "Duplication Transaction" or "Quality Review Index Transaction" ). In addition, use CC LLIST to see if a letter was created earlier in the day. Use Command Codes INOLE, ENMOD, TXMOD, IMFOL, BMFOL, BRTVU, and RTVUE when reviewing the taxpayer's letter and account, if needed.

The Employee User Portal (EUP) can be used to view MeF returns required to review a notice or letter. See IRM 3.0.275.2.4 for additional information on EUP.

Review each sample letter against the source document and research that you have obtained. See IRM 3.0.275.3 and IRM 3.0.275.4 for Entity and Address Reviews. Determine the IRM requirements and procedures for the case you are reviewing using the following IRM:

Refer to the IDRS Letter Correspondex to determine if the appropriate letter and selected paragraphs were used.

Review each RAIVS return envelope against the source document (Form 4506, "Request for Copy of Tax Return" or Form 4506T, "Request for Transcript of Tax Return" ). Compare the address of the envelope against lines 1a, 2a, and 3, of Form 4506/4506T for correctness. Taxpayers may also use line 5 to have the information mailed to a third party.

Input the results of your case review into the SMART database.

Two sets of reports are available for Letter Error Rate (National and Service Center).

The Service Center Reports are:

The National Weighted Reports are:

Deposit Error Rate is defined as the percentage of errors made by the Submission Processing Center during remittance processing. These errors result in the inaccurate processing of deposits and may have a negative impact on the taxpayer.

Improvement Team employee(s) pull the sample from the deposit function, after Extracting and prior to leaving Pre-Batch (before payment is perfected and input). Samples from the Field Offices and Lockbox can be pulled earlier in the process. The sample must reflect the entire universe of remittances processed.

The SPC’s history of receipts determines the monthly sampling mix. The monthly mix of eight daily samples is created by SOI and provided by the W&I HQ analyst. from the following areas: Remittance Processing System (R-RPS), Transport, Payment Perfection, Lockbox, Field Office, and Non-transport.

Follow these procedures after the sample is identified:

Do not include the following in your Accuracy sample:

Each Submission Processing Center Deposit Accuracy Coordinator sets up any necessary local procedures for obtaining sample documents. You must review security procedures before accessing restricted areas in Receipt and Control. . The Coordinator must review the availability of photocopy machines in the sampling area and make arrangements to provide additional photocopy facilities if they are needed. Improvement Team employee(s) may also require a workstation within Receipt and Control to complete their work.

You may choose to begin your initial review (including a print of IDRS) when creating the DCI. One to two weeks later, review IDRS to determine if the payment was applied and posted correctly using CFOL command codes. Remittance Transaction Research (RTR) may also be utilized. If the payment is found on the correct account with no errors, close the case as perfect.

IRM 3.8.44and IRM 3.8.45 are the major source of processing procedures for remittances. In addition, check with the functional areas in the Receipt and Control Operation for any local procedures and additional processing guidelines. However, review the Accuracy of the sample case based solely on IRM guidelines (IRM 3.0.275.2.9).

The Extraction Function in Receipt and Control Operation performs the initial sort in "perfect" and "imperfect" remittance categories. You will determine the payment processing data for coding purposes based on the information contained in IRM 3.10.72

You may need to research the General Fund Remittance Recap Report or the Residual Remittance Processing System (RRPS) by deposit date to verify that the payment was applied to the correct Treasury Account Symbol (TAS). See IRM 3.17.63 for a complete listing of Treasury Account Symbols.

Thoroughly examine the copy of the remittance and all associated posting documents to determine the Accuracy of processing each sample case. Base your identification of processing errors on the taxpayer's intent and IRM procedural instructions.

You may also identify and record taxpayer errors that contribute to misapplied payments. However, these errors will not be used to calculate your SPCs error rate. If a sample case contains both IRS and taxpayer errors, always code IRS errors first. Code the DCI for all errors you identified during case review.

Deposit Error Rate Site Coordinators must develop local procedures for Improvement Team access to research records that are maintained in the Accounting functions.

See Exhibit 3.0.275-5. for a series of "Frequently Asked Questions" about the Deposit Error Rate review process.

To open the Home Page for Deposits:.

Select the "DCI input form" action from the main Deposit Error Rate menu and enter "search record" and the DCI number. Enter the information from either the paper DCI or case in the corresponding fields of the database screen. Edit any of the three original input fields as needed.

Enter the following case identification fields for every sample case:

Enter the following error identification fields only if you have identified an error on the sample case:

When all case information is entered and verified, select the "Update" button.

When the "Update" button is pressed, the DCI record undergoes validity checks. If the record fails a validity check, an error message displays. Your cursor will be placed in the invalid field. Correct your entry and select the "Update" button again. This process continues until all validity checks are passed.

When a valid DCI is submitted to the database, the status code of the case record changes to "Closed" (C).

Two sets of reports are available for Deposit Error Rate, National and Service Center.

The National Non-Lockbox Reports are:

The Service Center Reports are:

Refund Timeliness is defined as the percentage of refunds from current year Form 1040 family paper returns issued in 40 days or less.

Timeliness is measured using the number of days from two days prior to the day the taxpayer's return is received through the day the taxpayer receives their refund. Since timeliness is measured from the taxpayer's perspective, we subtract two days from the IRS received date to approximate the date the return was mailed. For paper refund checks, we assume the taxpayer receives their refund the day after the Refund Pay Date shown on the taxpayer's Master File account. For direct deposit refunds, the taxpayer received their refund on the Refund Pay Date. For paper checks, the Refund Pay Date is 6 business days after the return posts to Master File. For direct deposit, the Refund Pay Date is 4 business days after the return posts to Master File.

Refund Error Rate is defined as the percentage of current year Form 1040 family paper returns that have an error in the entity portion or in the refund amount. "Systemic" errors (those that are caused by IRS systems) are counted as an error.

Samples are generated for Refund Timeliness and Error Rate (RT&E) review through a system of automated Generalized Mainline Framework (GMF) runs at Martinsburg and Tennessee Computing Centers. The sample is generated once a week, and output files are sent to the Submission Processing Center. These runs also automate document and Master File transcript requests. See Document 6209 for GMF Production Cycles or IRM 3.30.132

If you discover problems with the sampling runs, report the problems on IRWorks following local procedures.

Improvement Team Clerks must establish a suspense filing system for the Refund Timeliness and Error Rate program. Since the sample is selected from good tape, there is a delay of approximately three weeks until the refund is issued before the sample returns can be reviewed.

Form 1040 returns processed to the Individual Master File (IMF). The term "IMF" or "CADE 2" mean the same thing.

The Refund Pay Date field is displayed on IMFOL and TXMOD. The Refund Pay Date will display as RFND-PAY-DATE on IMFOL. The Refund Pay Date will display as RFND-PYMT-DT on TXMOD.

The 2024 ECC-MTB Positing Cycles chart is in IRM 3.30.123 Processing Timeliness: Cycles, Criteria and Critical Dates Exhibit 2. Posting cycles (e.g., the TC 150 and TC 846 cycle) normally carry 5 days except for weeks with holidays or weeks that had an elongated cycle. A regular cycle would have day 01 (Friday), 02 (Monday), 03 (Tuesday), 04 (Wednesday) and 05 (Thursday). If there was a holiday that Monday, then the cycle days for the week would be 01, 03, 04 and 05. Please note the last day of a cycle is always referred to as Day 05.

Record the Refund Pay Date from IMFOL or TXMOD into the Refund Pay Date field in SMART. Do not enter Received Dates or Refund Pay Dates if:

Enter the Refund Method Code in the "M/D" field of the SMART database for each sample case, except for the exclusions listed in (1) above.

If there is an Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) indicator of "0" on the IMFOL screen, determine if there is a bank account number and routing transit number shown on the IMFOL screen (Command Code IMFOB with definer "T" will show the bank account number and routing transit number if entered by Integrated Submission and Remittance Processing (ISRP). If these are present, code "D" in the M/D field. If the codes are not present, code "M."

The Date Difference field on the SMART DCI screen is a calculated field based on the calendar date difference of the dates entered in the Received Date field and the Refund Pay Date field, and whether the return had a paper refund check issued or a direct deposit refund check issued.

There are instances where taxpayers originally attempt to electronically file, are rejected, and subsequently file a paper return. A paper return received after the return due date will be considered timely filed by Submission Processing if the filer indicates an unsuccessful electronic filing attempt and the paper return is received within 10 days of the rejection notice. However, for Refund Timeliness purposes, if using the Return Due Date makes the return untimely, then use the Receipt & Control date stamp on these returns as the IRS Received Date on SMART. In the Memo portion of the SMART DCI screen, enter "MeF Rejected" and the return due date used on the return.

The Improvement Team Analyst will fully review each sample case for Entity and refund amount errors and will record the review results using the SMART database.

Identify and record all discrepancies between the Entity information and the refund amount shown on the taxpayer's return as submitted and the data posted to Master File.

Refer to the appropriate Submission Processing IRMs for procedural instructions. Identify an error whenever IRM instructions were followed and there is either an entity or refund discrepancy.

Input case review data to the SMART database.

From the Refund Timeliness and Error Rate main menu, click on the button "DCI Input Form."

Enter the appropriate information into each field of the electronic form from the review documents or from a paper DCI, depending on local procedures. The Sequence Number, Form, Type, and Date Difference fields will generate automatically. You must fill in all other fields by typing or by selecting from a pull-down menu.

Enter the following case identification information for all sample cases:

Enter the following fields only if you have identified an error on the sample case:

When all fields have been entered for the sample case, click on the "Add" button. The database will perform the following validity checks:

If any validity checks fail, a window will display the validity problem found and your cursor will be placed in the invalid field. Correct the invalid data and press the "Add" button again. Repeat this procedure as necessary until all validity checks pass.

Cancel - Use this button to exit a record when the data was incomplete or should not have been selected.

Select the reports you want to display or print by clicking the National or Service Center Reports menu from the Refund Timeliness and Error Rate main menu:

When prompted, enter the appropriate Service Center and period (month, fiscal year, or beginning and ending dates) to generate the report.

The "Print DCIs by Service Center and Weekending" report will display the DCI entries for each record input to the database for the period selected. Each DCI record will display on a separate page. You can use these prints to validate data entry and as an audit trail for your historic files.

Sites conduct sample reviews of 300 cases per month of all SP CP notices and provide data to the Balanced Measurement System.

For Notice Review cases, NER samples closed cases using a "skip interval."

Automated sampling programs will sample non-select and never select notices using a systematic random sampling technique. The programs generate copies of the selected notices and Form 4251, Document Request, (using the controlling DLN on the account). The print list of samples are found on Control D.

Some of our notices are going through notice conversion which uses the software called Expression to create taxpayer notices. This new software will eventually replace autograph notices. The following are the new run numbers for IMF and BMF Expression notices:

The following are the run numbers for ITIN notices:

You must manually sample notices from released work in Notice Review. See Exhibit 3.0.275-11., Notice Error Submission Processing Notice CP Numbers, for a list of notices that are required to be sampled. This includes the sampling of associated notices. Use the skip interval provided by Headquarters when completing daily pulls. Do not sample voided cases.

If the sample pulls the Taxpayer notice and the associated notices (CAF/RAF notice) these notices will be excluded from the sample. Only code the taxpayer notice and load into the SMART database. If errors are identified on the associated notices send feedback to the Operation.

In September 2009, AUSPC began the review of Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) with BMF ITIN to follow.

You will fully review each sample case for Accuracy and Professionalism errors and will record the review results using the NER Data Collection Instrument (DCI). Submission Processing Notice Error Rate cases are entered into the SMART Database.

You can enter up to five (5) Who, What, Where, and Explanation of Error (EXPOE) Codes for any given case record.

If during your review a Systemic Professionalism error was identified, do not code. See IRM 3.0.275.2.8, Problem Reporting Instructions for Notice and Letter Error Rate.

If the dollar amounts on the notice when compared to the taxpayer figures on the return differ by $5.00 more/less (excludes math errors) then fax the case to Headquarters for a determination of coding.

When a defect is identified, determine the type, and then the responsible party. The following is the priority:

You must secure the return for each sample case to determine the presence of Entity defects.

Check the entity update cycle and make sure the return reflects the updated entity. Otherwise, secure an additional return to verify the entity. Do not use CFOL command codes to verify entity. CFOL reflects what posted to the account, not necessarily what was on the return. Otherwise, secure an additional return to verify the entity. There is no need to request the Doc. 63 because it will only show the information that was input.

For IMF and BMF, if an additional return was requested to verify the entity of a current processing year return and the return requested was from a prior year processed return, which had an entity error, take the following action:

For IMF and BMF, if reviewing a current processing year return for entity and the entity does not match the master file, take the following action:

If you have access to AMS, review the history file to see if taxpayer called to update their address. Again, you will have to accept what change was made if it is more current than the address shown on the return. To view the History section, input the TIN on the "Case Management" screen and click on "GO" . The "Account Summary" screen will appear. Scroll down until you see Last History at the bottom of the screen. If no information is present in Last History, click Exit the Account. If information is present, look to the left of the screen and you will see Function. Under Function – select History. The History screen will display. You can view the details for each of the history items individually or at the same time. To View Details for an individual item, click on View Details to see the actual narratives left by the person working on the account. To View Details for all items, click on the first item displayed. The item will then be highlighted. On the keyboard, hold the Control Key and Shift Key and highlight the last item displayed by clicking on the mouse; this highlights all items. Click on View Details and all details will be seen.

For CP 211A, the entity cannot be reviewed using the notice. The notice is considered an extension notice and not a filed tax return. In these cases, we will verify the filing requirements are correct for the notice and code as with return.

Route cases that require entity corrections to the Entity Team following local procedures.

Refer to the appropriate Submission Processing IRMs for procedural instructions that should be followed in generating the notice. Only code defects resulting in an incorrect notice when an employee does not follow IRM instructions. See IRM 3.0.275.2.9"Business Results Measures Review Guidelines," for additional information on local procedures.

Two sets of reports are available for Deposit Timeliness (National and Service Center).

The National Reports are:

The Service Center Reports are:

Deposit Timeliness National and Service Center Reports provides the Monthly and Cumulative Data for the following: Office, Deposits, Dollars, Lost Opportunity Cost (LOC), Lost Opportunity Cost per Million, Average Lost Opportunity Cost per Transaction and any Comments from the centers.

Deposit Timeliness is the measure of the percentage of timely deposits. All deposits received by the IRS and deposited by the next business day will be considered timely. Payments not deposited by the next business day are considered late. The volume of timely deposits is divided by total deposits for the timely deposit percentage. The timely deposit percentage will include all product lines: electronic, Integrated Submission and Remittance Processing (ISRP), non-ISRP manual, Lockbox bank, and Remittance Strategy for Paper Check Conversion (RSPCC).

The measure is based on work performed at the Submission Processing Centers, through the ISRP system. ISRP report ISR0544 captures the transaction date and the deposit date systemically. Information from this report is passed to the Remittance Transaction Research (RTR) system, which generates a report showing the daily, monthly, and yearly total and timely deposits. Each SP site generates their own monthly reports, and enters their site’s result into the SMART database which calculates the Lost opportunity Cost (LOC).The Financial Facts (FIN-Facts) report, Deposit Activity Report and RTR are used in the computation of the timely deposit percentage.

The Improvement Team Analyst will continue to enter the RTR data into SMART by the 1st business day following the end of the month. SMART is programmed to compute LOC, but not timely deposits. Lost opportunity cost will be monitored.

Prior to FY2016, the Deposit Timeliness Balanced Measure quantified the interest the United States Treasury loses if the IRS does not deposit remittances received within one business day "of the IRS Received Date" .

Prior to FY2016 the definition of Deposit Timeliness was the "lost opportunity cost (interest value) of money received by the IRS but not deposited in the bank by the next day, per $1 million of deposits, using a constant 8 percent annual interest rate."

The opportunity cost is calculated by multiplying the dollar amount deposited, the number of days between the day after the transaction date and the deposit date, and the daily interest rate (using a constant annual baseline interest rate of 8 percent). The figure is divided by the cumulative total dollars deposited and is multiplied by $1 million. Beginning in January 2004, weekends and holidays are excluded from determining if the deposit is late. After determining that a deposit was late, the LOC is calculated including intervening weekends and holidays. This is retroactive to the beginning of FY 2004.

Improvement Teams and Functional areas are responsible for analyzing the results of the Deposit Timeliness measure and researching the RTR system to identify untimely deposits. Forward your findings, recommendations, and information about local deposit timeliness improvement projects to the Headquarters Deposit Timeliness analyst each month.

No adjustment will be granted because of weather-related SPC closure or weather-related delay in receipts from Lockbox banks, Field Offices or Campus Support.

The purpose of the Refund Interest Business Results Measure is to quantify the amount of interest IRS pays on refund returns.

The reviews ensure that IRS Lockbox Sites work meets the standards in the Lockbox Processing Guidelines (LPG). Each review examines critical elements that are used to provide information to the Lockbox Processing sites. Complete the reviews daily. They will be used to assess the overall performance of each Lockbox site.

Each review is associated with a data collection instrument (DCI) created in Microsoft Excel. Results from these reviews will be incorporated into the Lockbox Performance Standard. Refer to the sections below for general and specific guidelines for the review process and DCI usage.

The DCIs reflect the work to be sampled, sample size, error descriptions and other review information. Read both the instructions and the DCI carefully before beginning.

Document all pertinent comments relating to charged errors in the "other" column. Write them in the comments area on the DCI or on the main comments sheet.

Forward completed DCIs to the LFC by the fifth working day of the following month. LFC maintains these reports for the length of the contract.

Perform a 100 percent review of the mail-out package, daily, upon receipt.

In the column entitled "Package Contents," answer "complete" if the packages include all the required items, answer “incomplete” if the package is missing required items.

In the column entitled "Lockbox Document Transmittal (LDT) Acknowledgement Page Correct? (Items other than with remit)," answer "YES" if the LDT was correct and answer "NO" if it was not.

In the column entitled "With-Remit - Tamper Proof Bag serial numbers reconciled?" Answer "YES" if the reconciliation was successful and answer "NO" if it was not.

For any "Incomplete" or "NO" provide an explanation in the comments column.

When an error is found provide copies of the sampled case to the LFC.

Forward the DCI to the LFC by the fifth working day of the following month.

An employee from the Improvement Team function will perform sample reviews on all unprocessable (with remittance and non-remittance) work in Receipt & Control daily.

To sample, randomly select 15 with remittance documents and 15 non-remittance documents to review.

Record the number of processible items found, record the number of incomplete items found and record the number of common processing requirements not met among the unprocessable items. The DCI has a list of the codes and corresponding processing requirements.

If the "other" category is selected, explain the error in the comments column.

When an error is found provide copies of the sampled case to the LFC.

Forward the DCI to the LFC by the fifth working day of the following month.

IMF returns will only be reviewed January through April at IMF sites. BMF work will be reviewed year-round at BMF sites.

An employee from the Improvement Team function will perform a sample review from each category of returns in Receipt and Control daily.

To sample, randomly select six batches from each category. Randomly select three returns from each sampled batch. If six batches are not available in a category, randomly select three returns from each batch that is available. If sampled batches have less than three returns, review all returns available, do not sample another batch.

Record the number of returns found in error on the DCI. An error results when:

Review the cover sheets associated with each sampled batch. On the DCI, record the number of cover sheets reviewed and the number of cover sheets in error. Cover sheets with the wrong received date or wrong form are considered in error. Each cover sheet can only be charged one error, even if it contains multiple errors. Use the additional columns to show the number of each error type found. Results filter to the cover sheets summary tab in the worksheet.

When an error is found, provide copies of the sampled case to the LFC.

Forward the DCI to the LFC by the fifth working day of the following month.

A daily sample will be performed by an employee from the Improvement Team during March and April.

To sample, randomly select six batches of 1040X work. Randomly select three returns from each sampled batch. If six batches are not available, randomly select three returns from each available batch. If sampled batches have less than three returns, review all returns available. Do not sample another batch.

Record the number of returns found in error on the DCI. An error will result when:

Review the cover sheets associated with each sampled batch. Record the number of cover sheets reviewed and the number of cover sheets in error. Each cover sheet can only be charged one error, even if it contains multiple errors. Use the additional columns to identify the number of each error type found. Results will filter to the cover sheets summary tab in the workbook.

When an error is found provide copies of the sampled case to the LFC.

Forward the DCI to the LFC no later than the fifth working day of the following month.

An employee from the Improvement Team function will review a sample of prior year and delinquent returns in Receipt and Control.

To sample, randomly select a total of six batches of prior year returns and a total of six batches of delinquent returns. Randomly select three returns from each sampled batch. If there are not six batches available within a category, randomly select three returns from each batch that is available. If sampled batches have less than three returns, review all returns available. Do not sample another batch.

Record the number of returns in error on the DCI. An error will result when:

Review the cover sheets associated with each sampled batch. On the DCI, record the number of the cover sheets reviewed and the number of cover sheets in error. Consider cover sheets with the wrong received date or wrong form in error. Each cover sheet can only be charged one error, even if it contains multiple errors. Use the additional columns to show the number of each error type found. Results filter to the cover sheets summary tab in the workbook.

When an error is found, provide copies of the sampled case to the LFC.

Forward the DCI to the LFC no later than the fifth working day of the following month.

Each lockbox site pulls a random sample of 12 envelopes for each day that they receive mail.

All copies are placed in a larger envelope labeled "Deposit Error Sample, Improvement Team Staff," along with the appropriate Mail Stop number. This package is put in Box #1 of the daily Lockbox Shipment.

An employee from the Improvement Team Function reviews the selected samples provided by the lockbox. The sample could include either IMF or BMF items.

RTR Instructions:

Record the number of cases received on the DCI using the received date from the sample.

Do not enter zeros for days when the review is not performed.

Record the number of cases found in error on the DCI. Use the "Lockbox Error" column to document these errors.

Use the error codes on the DCI to identify the types of errors found.

If the "other" category is used, record an error and use the Comment column to explain the error.

Provide a copy of the case that is in error and the associated RTR data screen print to the LFC.

Forward the DCIs to the LFC no later than the fifth working day of the following month.

Retain all sample Lockbox Deposit Error Rate (DER) cases for a rolling six month.

Lockbox Error - Used to document Lockbox errors.

Taxpayer Error - Used when an error occurred due to information provided by the taxpayer. This may include illegible or unclear information. For taxpayer errors, no errors will be notated in the categories under "Types of Errors" .

Unprocessable - Used when a case is a true with-remittance unprocessable and was handled correctly by the bank. If the bank incorrectly sent the case to the center as an unprocessable, the case should not be entered in this column. It should instead be marked as a "Lockbox Error" .

Residual - Used when the sample case does not involve a remittance. No errors will be notated on residual cases.

Taxpayer Impact - Used when a case that is marked as a lockbox error will result in a notice, letter, penalty, and/or interest charge to the taxpayer. The type of impact must be described in the comments column.

Each IMF Lockbox Site will pull a daily random sample of twelve envelopes from the Form 4868 PO Box if available.

The Lockbox site will place all photocopied items in a larger envelope labeled with: Improvement Team, appropriate Mail Stop, and "Lockbox Form 4868 Review" . The package will be put in Box #1 of the daily Lockbox Shipment. If no sample package is received, annotate No sample package received in the comments column and contact the Lockbox Field Coordinator.

An employee from the "Improvement Team" will review the selected samples provided by the Lockbox Site.

Errors will be charged when an extension was processed incorrectly as approved or incorrectly as unapproved or if an extension was processed as approved with a RTR transaction date later than 4/22 (or 4/15 for items received 4/23 through 5/7 subject to the postmark review) or processed with an incorrect transaction date.

All other errors identified (SSN, name control, etc.) may be recorded in the comments column, but will not be recorded in the "Lockbox Error" column.

Daily, whenever an error is identified or suspected notify the LFC IMMEDIATELY via their cell phone. It will be necessary to contact your LFC on their cell phone as they will be at the Lockbox site during the review period.

Sample Date - The "Sample Date" is the received date of the sample case.

Lockbox DLN - For each case, enter the Lockbox DLN (xxxxx-xxx-xxxxx). The Lockbox DLN can be determined via Remittance Transaction Research System (RTR) research and will have a valid Lockbox File Location Code (FLC) from the chart below. If the case is a 'residual' enter the taxpayer's name control in place of the DLN.

Lockbox Error - Place an "X" in the "Lockbox Error" column for the following error conditions:

Postmark Date - Enter the earliest postmark date from the envelope or "missing" or "illegible" .

RTR Transaction Date - Input the transaction date from RTR. Use the RTR instructions below to locate the transaction.

Transaction Date Correct - Select "yes" or "no" from the dropdown menu. Items received April 23 through May 7 are subject to a postmark review and should have a 4/15 transaction date if the earliest postmark is timely. Items with missing, illegible, and untimely postmarks should carry the transaction date annotated on the sample.

IDRS Date - Enter the IDRS date of the Lockbox transaction. Use the IDRS instructions below to determine how the extension was processed.
IDRS

Processed as approved/not approved - Place an "X" in the appropriate column indicating how the extension was processed. If the payment was processed as approved, there will a transaction code 460 and transaction code 670 with the Lockbox DLN present on the module.

Comments - Include any pertinent comments, including transactions processed with an incorrect TIN, name control, etc.

The Correspondence Error Rate is defined as the percentage of incorrect letters and notices issued to taxpayers by Submission Processing. The number of correspondences that are inaccurate, unprofessional or unclear, as a direct result of an employee's action and/or the result of an automation/computer generated/IRM process is divided by the sample size to determine the percentage of inaccurate correspondence. This sample is comprised of 60 percent notices and 40 percent letters.

The Letter and Notice Error sampling, review procedures, data gathering, and data entry will be based upon the current guidelines established for these measures.

After the data is entered into the Letter and Notice Error Rate SMART databases an extract of the combined data will be loaded into the Correspondence Error Rate Reports.

There will be four reports that will provide information on the Correspondence Error Rate. They are:

The Headquarters Analyst reports the results to management. The sites prepare their monthly reports and narratives using the current Letter and Notice Error Rate procedures.

This review is performed to ensure a 10 workday limit from suspense date to letter input date and a 10 workday limit from No Reply/Correspondence Received Date to Reject case closure date. If either of these two timeframes exceed 10 days, consider the case untimely. Review guidelines, as outlined in IRM 3.0.275.2.9 Retain case records consistent with procedures in IRM 3.0.275.2.11.

Follow IRM 1.11.2.2.4 to request executive approval for any deviation from the following IRM procedures and coordinate request with headquarters analyst.

Improvement Team specialists use a Skip Interval and Random Start Number Tool which assists them with the random selection of returns where letters were issued to the taxpayer by Submission Processing. Selected cases are loaded into a DCI housed on an Excel spreadsheet. This data is used to produce a monthly report, reflecting the timeliness for each SPC. Use the chart below to identify Cut-Off dates and due dates for the Monthly Reports.

Use the cycle chart in Exhibit 3.0.275–23 when completing the Weekly Population Counts for a given month within your DCI tab. These volumes will be used when computing the weighted results, so it is very important the Cycle chart is followed.

Reject Timeliness is calculated by SOI using a ratio of timely issued correspondence compared against the total number of correspondence cases in a sample. The result is weighted against the entire volume of correspondence cases a SPC processed each day. The monthly results are tabulated to determine the performance rating for each SPC. Current expected levels of performance are at least 75 percent for IMF and 80 percent for BMF SPCs.

Each month, the site will submit a completed Skip Interval and DCI Tool to HQ containing all daily closed case information for that month. Sites use one DCI file for the entire fiscal year and include all case data from previous months. Some of the closed cases entered may be late cases sampled around the end of the prior month. Cases closed more than one month prior to the sample date should be excluded. When the SPCs submit their monthly DCI to HQ, all current cases entered are added to all cases previously submitted. The list of all cases is used by SOI to produce the weighted report. (The weighted report will include all cases that the SPC has submitted to date.)

Do not update previously created reports. Therefore, sample volume from month to month may not match unless the current month included no cases from the prior month.

Improvement Team analysts are required to enter data in all yellow highlighted fields of the template. These fields are mandatory to ensure the Excel file is correctly maintained.

When necessary, request any additional documentation from Files no less than 3 times if required data cannot be obtained thru research. If the document still cannot be secured, the case may be removed from sample and captured on the template as missing documentation if accompanied by the reason it cannot be located in Files in the Monthly Timeliness Detail Report of the DCI Tool.

Exclude cases from the sample with the following characteristics:

Follow procedures in IRM 3.0.275.2.6 - Business Results Measures Communication of Defective Case(s) - for providing error data or daily feedback to the responsible functional areas.

Send required feedback on all untimely cases to the responsible area if the monthly DCI tab indicates a case was late for either correspondence (Days Late to Correspond Column) or Reject Case Closure (Days Late in Rejects Column).

Complete the Comments tab of the DCI by addressing each of the 5 items listed concerning review characteristics at your processing site.

Reject Timeliness reports submitted by the SPC’s are to use a predetermined naming scheme, including SPC, month and calendar year (i.e., Austin Rejects Timeliness December 2019).

The SPCs monthly weighted report will be based on the DCIs completed and submitted for a particular (period) month and will include any prior month’s cases loaded into a current month’s report.

The monthly weighted report includes all cases submitted to date (at the time the report is run). Included in the weighted report deliverable is a separate tab for each SPC that lists all the cases included in each SPCs weighted results.

Do not used prior month cumulative information input by the SPCs when generating weighted reports.

After case analysis is completed on each case, provide the results of the review to the appropriate operations and department managers. Follow local reporting procedures.