Jory Heckman, Federal News Network, July 28, 2025
The IRS is trying to modernize a more than 50-year-old IT system that’s critical to its work every filing season.
Internal documents obtained by Federal News Network show the agency is working on a “future state” of its Integrated Data Retrieval System (IDRS), a massive clearinghouse of taxpayer data.
IDRS allows IRS employees to review an individual’s tax information when they call asking for help, or send tax notices to individuals. The system also makes it possible for taxpayers to track the status of their federal tax return refund check. . . .
However, this project also comes at a time when the IRS is sharing its sensitive data with officials from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and immigration officials at the Department of Homeland Security — unusual decisions for an agency with strict policies limiting data sharing.
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