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United States General Accounting Office: 
GAO: 

Report to the Ranking Minority Member, Committee on Small Business & 
Entrepreneurship, U.S. Senate: 

January 2002 

Tax Abatements: 

Better IRS Data Could Benefit Small Businesses and IRS: 

GAO-02-336: 

Contents: 

Letter: 

Results: 

Recommendations for Executive Action: 

Agency Comments: 

Appendix I: Briefing to the Staff of the Senate Committee on Small 
Business and Entrepreneurship: 

Appendix II: Comments From the Internal Revenue Service: 

Abbreviations: 

IRS: Internal Revenue Service: 

SB/SE: Small Business and Self-Employed: 

[End of section] 

United States General Accounting Office: 
Washington, DC 20548: 

January 31, 2002 

The Honorable Christopher S. Bond: 
Ranking Minority Member:
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship: 
United States Senate: 

Dear Senator Bond: 

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) abates hundreds of thousands of 
small business tax assessments annually because either the business or 
IRS made an error in calculating the taxes.[Footnote 1] As we stated 
in our March 2001 report, making and then abating tax assessments 
imposes costs on taxpayers and IRS.[Footnote 2] Preventing the errors 
that lead to the assessments would stop the need for such abatements 
and reduce costs in time and money for taxpayers and IRS. 

Because of your interest in reducing these costs to taxpayers and IRS, 
you asked us to determine (1) what IRS’ views are on the benefits and 
costs of collecting data on the errors related to small business tax 
assessments that have to be abated; (2) what data IRS has on the 
volume, nature (what tax issue was in error, who made the error, how 
did the error occur, and why did the error occur) and burden of 
various tax abatements for small businesses; and (3) what 
improvements, if any, IRS can make to its data on tax abatements for 
small businesses and what the related costs are in making them. 

To answer these questions, we analyzed IRS’ data on tax abatements for 
small businesses, extracted from IRS master files over a 2-½ -year 
period ending July 28, 2001. We also discussed with IRS officials any 
studies or research IRS had on tax abatements relating to small 
businesses and the benefits and costs of various steps to use and 
improve data on tax assessments and the abatement process. We 
conducted our work from May through December 2001 in accordance with 
generally accepted government auditing standards. 

On December 19, 2001, we provided a detailed briefing to your office 
on the results of this work. This report includes published briefing 
slides and transmits our recommendations to the Commissioner of 
Internal Revenue.[Footnote 3] 

Results: 

IRS’ Small Business and Self-Employed Division (SB/SE) officials said 
that to the extent that the volume of tax abatements was significant, 
having abatement data could be beneficial in providing services to 
small businesses. The officials said such data might help them find 
ways to prevent errors that result in abated tax assessments. However, 
the officials were not sure how much data they needed because they 
must first weigh the benefits against the costs of collecting, 
maintaining, and using the data. These benefits and costs depend on 
such variables as whether data are collected electronically or 
manually and to what extent the data will be useful in preventing 
errors. 

IRS has some data on tax abatements for small businesses. IRS’ master 
files contain information on taxpayers’ accounts, including 
abatements. In addition, IRS has paper documents on each abatement 
transaction. In 1999, IRS developed a data file on all abatements that 
it extracts and updates from the master files quarterly.[Footnote 4] 

We found various problems with IRS’ electronic abatement data: 

* Volume of Tax Abatements for Small Businesses—IRS cannot readily 
identify small business taxpayers from all other taxpayers because the 
abatement data file includes all types of taxpayers that fall under 
SB/SE. These include individual taxpayers who have no wage income, but 
have rent, royalty, partnership, or pension income. (See appendix I, 
pp. 16 and 17.) 

* Nature of Errors Related to Tax Abatements—IRS master files have 
limited electronic data on what tax issue was associated with the 
error but no electronic data on who caused the error or how the error 
occurred. However, these data can usually be identified by manually 
reviewing paper documents for each tax assessment. Data on why the 
error occurred are harder to find or not documented. (See appendix I, 
p. 18.) 

* Data on Taxpayer Burden and IRS Costs—IRS does not capture data on 
taxpayer burden or on IRS costs associated with assessing and then 
abating taxes on small business. The abatement process can be time-
consuming and burdensome to the taxpayer and costly to IRS. (See 
appendix I, p. 19.) 

* Use of Available Data on Tax Abatements—SB/SE officials did not know 
that the abatement data file existed. Although IRS Information 
Services analysts updated the abatement data file quarterly, the file 
was not distributed to anyone. (See appendix I, p. 20.) 

We identified several steps that IRS could take to improve existing 
data on tax abatements for small businesses and to obtain additional 
data on the volume, nature, and burden of tax abatements for small 
businesses. However, each step imposes some level of costs that IRS 
needs to weigh against the potential benefits. (See appendix I, p. 
23.) If IRS begins obtaining data step-by-step, insights into the 
potential benefits of improving and/or collecting additional data can 
be gained so more informed judgments can be reached concerning how 
much data to gather and how to minimize the costs of obtaining it. 
Even with improved electronic data, IRS may still need to manually 
review paper abatement documents to determine potential ways to 
prevent errors. 

Recommendations for Executive Action: 

To improve IRS’ ability to understand and address tax abatements for 
small businesses, we recommend that the Commissioner of Internal 
Revenue: 

* Evaluate the benefits and costs of various steps for improving 
existing data or collecting additional data on the volume, nature, and 
burden of small business tax abatements, and, 

* Use any improved or additional data to study cost-effective ways to 
reduce or eliminate the errors in tax assessments that have to be 
abated. Agency Comments In a letter dated January 29, 2002, from the 
IRS Commissioner, he stated that our audit provided valuable insights 
into steps IRS can take to assist small businesses. The Commissioner 
agreed with our first recommendation to evaluate the benefits and 
costs of various steps for improving existing data or collecting 
additional data on the volume, nature, and burden of small business 
tax abatements. The Commissioner said that the implementation of our 
second recommendation to use any improved or additional data to study 
cost-effective ways to reduce or eliminate the errors in tax 
assessments that have to be abated was dependent upon the outcome of 
IRS’ findings based on our first recommendation. The Commissioner’s 
view is consistent with our second recommendation. In addition, the 
Commissioner said that IRS has already taken some action to implement 
our recommendations. (See appendix II.) 

As arranged with your office, unless you publicly announce its 
contents earlier, we plan no further distribution of this report until 
30 days after its issuance. We will then send copies of this report to 
the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and 
Entrepreneurship and the Chairman and ranking Minority Member of the 
House Committee on Small Business. We will also send copies to the 
Secretary of the Treasury; the Commissioner of Internal Revenue 
Service; the Director, Office of Management and Budget; and other 
interested parties. We will make copies available to others on 
request. The report is also available on GAO’s home page at 
[hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov]. 

This report was prepared under the direction of Tom Short. Other major 
contributors were Thomas Bloom, Larry Dandridge, Marshall Hamlett, and 
Thomas Venezia. If you have any questions about this report, please 
contact Tom Short or me on (202) 512-9110. 

Sincerely yours, 

Signed by: 

Michael Brostek: 
Director, Tax Issues: 

[End of section] 

Appendix I: Briefing to the Staff of the Senate Committee on Small 
Business and Entrepreneurship: 

Briefing to the Staff of the Senate Committee on Small Business and 
Entrepreneurship: 
December 19, 2001: 

Better Data on Small Business Tax Abatements May Enable IRS to Reduce 
Taxpayer Burden and IRS Costs: 

Contents: 
* Objectives, Scope, and Methodology; 
* Background; 
* Using Data on Tax Abatements Could Be Beneficial, but Costs Must Be 
Considered; 
* IRS Has Some Data on Small Business Tax Abatements, but the Data 
Have Problems; 
* Steps to Improve Data on Small Business Tax Abatements; 
* Conclusions; 
* Recommendations. 

Objectives, Scope, and Methodology: 

Objectives: 

* What are IRS' views of the benefits and costs of collecting data on 
the errors related to small business tax assessments that have to be 
abated? 

* What data does IRS have on the volume, nature (what tax issue was in 
error, who made the error, how did the error occur, and why did the 
error occur), and burden of various tax abatements for small 
businesses? 

* What improvements, if any, can IRS make to its data on tax 
abatements for small businesses and what are the related costs? 

Scope and Methodology: 

* Analyzed IRS data on tax abatements for small businesses, as 
extracted from IRS master files for each quarter over a 2-½-year 
period ending July 28, 2001. 

* Discussed with IRS officials any studies or research IRS had on tax 
abatements relating to small businesses. 

* To determine IRS' views of the benefits and costs of collecting data 
on the errors related to tax assessments that have to be abated, we: 

- interviewed IRS officials about the benefits and costs of collecting 
data on tax abatements. 

* To determine what data IRS has on the volume, nature, and burden of 
various tax abatements for small businesses, we: 

- discussed the types of available data on tax abatements with IRS 
officials; 

- reviewed a nonstatistical sample of small business tax abatements 
for self-employed individual filers (Schedule C), small corporate 
income tax filers (Form 1120), and employment tax filers (Form 941); 

- reviewed a statistical sample of Schedule C abatements that were 
selected for our prior report--Tax Administration: IRS Can Help 
Taxpayers Reduce the Need for Tax Abatements (GAO-01-328, March 2001); 
and; 

- reviewed IRS manuals on electronic data files that had abatement 
data. 

* To determine what improvements, if any, IRS could make to its data 
on tax abatements for small businesses, we: 

- discussed the use and quality of available data on tax abatements 
with IRS officials; 

- identified tax abatement data that were captured on IRS master files 
but were not extracted quarterly; and; 

- obtained IRS comments on steps that IRS could take to use and 
improve existing data and to obtain additional data on the volume, 
nature, and burden of tax abatements for small businesses. 

* Conducted our review in accordance with generally accepted 
government auditing standards from May through December 2001. 

Background: 

* A tax abatement is a reduction of a tax assessment on a taxpayer’s 
account. 

* Tax abatements can result from actions initiated by either the 
taxpayer or IRS. 

* Tax abatements result in additional taxpayer burden and IRS costs 
because they require additional handling to correct the error in a tax 
assessment. 

* Errors in tax assessments can be caused by the taxpayer or IRS. Our 
prior abatement report on individual taxpayers, including self-
employed individual filers (Schedule C), showed that taxpayers made 
most of the errors. 

Using Data on Tax Abatements Could Be Beneficial, but Costs Must Be 
Considered: 

* IRS established the Small Business and Self-Employed (SB/SE) 
Division to better serve small businesses and to help them comply with 
tax law, thus reducing their burden. 

* To help meet such ends, SB/SE is establishing new data systems and 
determining what data it needs. 

* SB/SE officials said that having abatement data could be beneficial 
in finding ways to provide services to small businesses. 

* Preventing the errors that led to tax assessments could prevent the 
need for tax abatements, reducing costs in time and money for 
taxpayers and IRS. 

* Data on the nature of these errors are key to determining whether 
tax abatements can be prevented. 

* SB/SE officials were not sure how much data they needed because they 
had to weigh the benefits and costs associated with variables such as: 

- whether to collect the data electronically or manually and; 

- to what extent the data will be useful in preventing errors. 

IRS Has Some Data on Small Business Tax Abatements, but the Data Have 
Problems: 

* IRS master files contain data on all abatement transactions. 

* IRS also has paper documents on each abatement transaction. 

* In 1999, IRS developed a data file on all abatements that extracts 
some data from its master files on a quarterly basis to make abatement 
data more accessible. 

IRS has some electronic data on the volume of small business tax 
abatements. 

Our analysis of IRS’ abatement data file for the 2-½-year period 
ending July 2001 showed the following for small businesses.[A] 

Table: 

Type of tax abatement: Income: Individual (Form 1040--Schedule C)[B]; 
Number: 635,000; 
Percentage: 36%; 
Amount: $1,865,644,000; 
Percentage: 10%. 

Type of tax abatement: Income: Corporate (Form 1120) 
Number: 322,000; 
Percentage: 18%; 
Amount: $5,408,359,000; 
Percentage: 30%. 

Type of tax abatement: Employment (Form 940 and Form 941) 
Number: 680,000; 
Percentage: 39%; 
Amount: $6,778,840,000; 
Percentage: 38%. 

Type of tax abatement: Other Taxes 
Number: 114,000; 
Percentage: 7%; 
Amount: $3,790,502,000; 
Percentage: 21%. 

Total: 
Number: 1,751,000; 
Percentage: 100%; 
Amount: $17,843,345,000; 
Percentage: 100%. 

Note: Percentages may not sum to 100 because of rounding. 

[A] The number and amount of tax abatements from August 1999 to July 
2000 and August 2000 to July 2001 were about equal. 

[B] The number and amount of individual income tax abatements includes 
both business (e.g., rent) and nonbusiness issues (e.g., personal 
exemptions). 

[End of table] 
Problems exist in the electronic data on the volume of tax abatements. 

* IRS cannot readily identify small business taxpayers from all other 
taxpayers because the abatement data file includes all types of 
taxpayers that fall under SB/SE, including individual taxpayers who 
have no wage income, but have rent, royalty, partnership, or pension 
income. 

* Tax abatements for self-employed individuals did not always relate 
to business issues. Some tax abatements related to individual issues, 
such as exemptions and itemized personal deductions. 

* Some employment tax filers were coded as small businesses, even 
though they were subsidiaries of large corporations. IRS Information 
Services (IS) officials were aware of this problem. 

* We also found that four data items were not being extracted 
correctly from the master files because of a programming error. For 
example, the asset classification code, which is used to categorize 
businesses based on the value of assets, was shown as “000” for all 
transactions. IRS IS officials were not aware of this programming 
error until we brought it to their attention. The officials agreed to 
start correcting the programming error. 

IRS has little electronic data on the nature of errors related to 
abatements. 

* IRS master files have limited electronic data on what tax issue was 
associated with the error but no electronic data on who caused the 
error, how the error occurred, or why the error occurred. 

* Data on what tax issue, who made the error, and how the error 
occurred usually can be identified by manually reviewing documents for 
each tax assessment being abated. Data on why the error occurred are 
harder to find or not documented. 

* Regarding what tax issue was associated with the error, the amount 
of electronic data varied by type of tax. 

- IRS captures error data under broad codes (e.g., business income or 
loss) for income tax issues. 

- IRS captures error data for each line item on the Form 941 for 
employment tax issues, such as taxable social security wages. 

IRS has no data on taxpayer burden or IRS costs for abatements. 

* Abating a tax assessment imposes burden on taxpayers. When an error 
in a tax assessment is identified and corrected by an abatement, small 
businesses usually have to supply additional data to correct the 
error. For example, small businesses often have to file amended tax 
returns or have multiple contacts with IRS. This can be time-consuming 
and burdensome to the taxpayer. 

* IRS does not have data on how often burdens are imposed on small 
businesses by abating tax assessments. 

* These and other steps in the assessment and abatement processes also 
create costs for IRS. For example, IRS may send out bills or make 
other attempts to collect the tax assessment that is ultimately 
abated. IRS does not capture data on such costs. 

RS did not utilize available data on small business tax abatements. 

* SB/SE officials were not aware that IS extracted the abatement data 
file from IRS master files on a quarterly basis. 

* Although IS analysts updated the abatement data file quarterly, the 
resulting file was not distributed to anyone. 

* When we showed SB/SE officials the file, they said that tax 
abatements were a significant issue worth reviewing. 

* SB/SE officials are designating a team to determine how to utilize 
available data on tax abatements in order to help identify errors in 
tax assessments. 

Steps to Improve Data on Small Business Tax Abatements: 

* We identified several steps that IRS could take to improve existing 
data and to collect additional data on the volume, nature, and burden 
of tax abatements for small businesses. (See p. 23.) 

* Each step would impose some level of costs to the extent that IRS 
uses and improves the existing data as well as collects, verifies, and 
uses additional data. Cost factors to consider include: 
- number of staff, 
- training of staff, and, 
- computer resources. 

* We could not determine the actual benefits and costs for each step 
because the data were not readily available. 

* If IRS begins obtaining data step-by-step, insights into the 
potential benefits of improving and/or collecting additional data can 
be gained so more informed judgments can be reached concerning how 
much data to gather and how to minimize the costs of obtaining it. 

* Even with improved electronic data, IRS may still need to manually 
review abatement documents to determine potential ways to prevent 
errors in tax assessments that need to be abated. 

Table: Steps to Improve Data on Small Business Tax Abatements: 

Step: Description; 
1. Start using and improving (e.g., clarifying business-related codes) 
the existing electronic data on the volume of tax abatements. 

2. Expand the collection of existing electronic data, when abating 
taxes, on what tax issues were related to the abatements. 

3. Collect new electronic data, when abating taxes, on who made the 
error and how the error was made. 

4. Collect new data on why the error occurred, taxpayer burdens 
created, and IRS costs incurred. 

Step: Potential benefits; 
1. Better identify the number and dollar volume of tax abatements for 
small business tax issues by type of tax and type of small business. 

2. Identify the specific business tax issues associated with the 
errors in order to focus on the line items associated with a higher 
volume of the tax abatements. 

3. In conjunction with electronic data on volume and tax issue, 
knowing who made errors (e.g., IRS, taxpayer, or third party) and how 
errors were made (e.g., left line blank, entered wrong amount, or 
entered right amount on wrong line) would provide insights on errors 
in the tax assessments being abated. 

4. In conjunction with the other electronic data, IRS could uncover 
the root causes for errors and the related burdens and costs, which 
could guide IRS to solutions that would help prevent the errors. 

Step: Potential costs; 
1. Some costs and time will be spent to use and improve the existing 
abatement data file. 

2. Costs would include those to add codes to the existing data file as 
well as to enter and ensure the accuracy of the codes. 

3. Types of costs would be similar to step 2. Depending on the costs, 
IRS might decide to collect such data for a random sample of tax 
abatements rather than electronically. 

4. Types of costs would be similar to step 2. Because of the costs, 
IRS might decide to collect the data for a random sample of tax 
abatements rather than electronically. 

[End of table] 

Conclusions: 

* IRS abates hundreds of thousands of small business tax assessments 
totaling billions of dollars annually because either the business or 
IRS made an error in calculating the taxes. 

* IRS SB/SE officials acknowledged that such a volume of tax 
abatements was a significant issue. 

* IRS does not have adequate data on the volume of tax abatements, 
nature of related errors, and the related burden and costs. 

* If IRS had such data, it would be better positioned to research cost-
effective ways to prevent the errors related to tax assessments that 
are abated. 

Recommendations: 

* To improve IRS’ ability to understand and address tax abatements for 
small businesses, we recommend that the Commissioner of Internal 
Revenue: 

- Evaluate the benefits and costs of various steps for improving 
existing data or collecting additional data on the volume, nature, and 
burdens of small business tax abatements, and; 

- Use any improved or additional data to study cost-effective ways to 
reduce or eliminate the errors in tax assessments that have to be 
abated. 

[End of Appendix I] 

Appendix II: Comments From the Internal Revenue Service 

Department of the Treasury: 
Internal Revenue Service: 
Commissioner: 
Washington, D.C. 20224: 

January 29, 2002: 

Mr. Michael Brostek: 
Director, Tax Issues: 
United States General Accounting Office: 
Washington, D.C. 20548: 

Dear Mr. Brostek: 

I reviewed your draft report titled "Tax Abatements - Better IRS Data 
Could Benefit Small Businesses and IRS" and believe your audit 
provided valuable insights into steps we can take to assist small 
business taxpayers. After reviewing your report and recommendations, 
we have consulted various areas of the IRS that perform tax 
adjustments. We have also collected additional data to assist us in 
determining our course of action. 

I agree with the first recommendation, to evaluate the benefits and 
costs of various steps for improving existing data or collecting 
additional data on the volume, nature, and burden of small business 
abatements. I believe implementation of your second recommendation, to 
use any improved data to study cost-effective ways to reduce or 
eliminate the errors in tax assessments that have to be abated, 
depends upon the outcome of our findings based on your first 
recommendation. 

The Commissioner, Small Business/Self-Employed (SB/SE) has established 
a team to study both your findings and any additional data developed 
by the IRS on this issue. The team will study various alternatives for 
compiling more usable data or to improve the data already available. 
We will also consider the costs associated with these alternatives. 
The team is tentatively scheduled to hold its initial meeting the week 
of March 4, 2002. 

Your report highlighted an opportunity for improvement. I expect to 
use that information, along with additional data we gather, to 
determine the course of action that would best assist our taxpayers 
while also maintaining fiscal responsibility. 

If you have any questions, please contact John Ressler, Director, 
Customer Account Services, Small Business/Self-Employed Division at 
(859) 669-5557. 

Sincerely, 

Signed by: 

Charles O. Rossotti: 

[End of Appendix II] 

Footnotes: 

1. A tax abatement is a reduction of a tax assessment on a taxpayer’s 
account. Not all abatements arise from errors with tax assessments. 
For example, a taxpayer can carry back a net operating loss to an 
earlier tax year to abate a correct tax assessment. Because we focused 
on abatements of assessments associated with an error in determining 
the amount of tax assessed, we excluded tax abatements due to net 
operating loss carrybacks, substitute returns that IRS prepares using 
income information from third parties, and debt discharges, such as 
for bankruptcy, that are used to offset correct assessments. 

2. Tax Administration: IRS Can Help Taxpayers Reduce the Need for Tax 
Abatements [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-01-328], March 
30, 2001. 

3. See appendix I for the briefing handout. 

4. IRS developed the data file for our report entitled Tax 
Administration: IRS’ Abatement of Assessments in Fiscal Years 1995-
1998 [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO/GGD-99-77], June 4, 
1999. 

[End of section] 

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