APA Creates Workgroup on IRS Forms

In February, the Government Relations Task Force (GRTF) Federal Issues Subcommittee created a workgroup to review IRS forms. The IRS Forms Workgroup’s primary goal is to improve electronic filing and processing of forms at the IRS. A secondary goal is to speed the process of communication with payroll professionals.

Steps to Achieve Workgroup Goals

The first step will be to create a comprehensive list of the forms used by payroll departments and to prioritize them by importance. Forms used frequently by the majority of payroll professionals will take priority over forms used only occasionally.

In a second step, workgroup participants will identify which forms can be filed electronically. Some forms can be delivered electronically by employers to the IRS but cannot be processed by the IRS electronically. Other forms must be filed and processed only on paper.

A third step will be to contact the IRS to share this information and determine if the agency can allocate resources to create electronic opportunities for a particular for in previous communication with the IRS, members have learned it could take years for the IRS to move a paper form to electronic management. Thus, the workgroup also will seek short-term solutions for form management. These potential solutions are not ideal but could help make some improvements for filing federal information and tax returns with the IRS.

Contact Information

APA members interested in joining the GRTF Federal Issues Subcommittee and the IRS Forms Workgroup should contact APA’s Government Relations Division at [email protected].

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Adam Prinzo is the Assistant Manager of Government Relations at APA.