Priority Open Recommendations: Internal Revenue Service

What GAO Found

In September 2025, GAO identified 26 priority recommendations for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Since then, IRS has implemented one of those recommendations.

In June 2026, GAO identified an additional two priority recommendations, bringing the total to 27. GAO is highlighting the following three areas that warrant timely and focused attention:

• Managing agency transformation,
• Addressing the tax gap, and
• Improving the taxpayer experience.

Addressing GAO's recommendations in these areas can help inform IRS's transformation efforts, strengthen its tax enforcement and revenue collection while reducing taxpayer burden, and inform its resource decisions to best improve the taxpayer experience. Taking action to implement all of GAO's open priority recommendations could significantly improve operations across IRS.

Why GAO Did This Study

Priority open recommendations are the GAO recommendations that warrant priority attention from heads of key departments or agencies because their implementation could save large amounts of money; improve congressional and/or executive branch decision-making on major issues; eliminate mismanagement, fraud, and abuse; or make progress toward addressing a high risk or duplication issue, among other benefits. Since 2015, GAO has sent letters to selected agencies to highlight the importance of implementing such recommendations.

For more information, contact Jessica Lucas-Judy at at lucasjudyj@gao.gov or James R. McTigue, Jr. at mctiguej@gao.gov.