Reports

Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration

American Rescue Plan Act: Assessment of the Expanded Child and Dependent Care and Earned Income Tax Credits

Audit | 6/15/2023

1 - Closed

On February 17, 2022, we notified the Director, Submission Processing, Wage and Investment Division, of our concern with three business rules and recommended that IRS management update the business rule programming to identify and evaluate returns for both refundable and nonrefundable CDCC claims.

2 - Closed

Ensure that programming is updated for Processing Year 2023 to identify taxpayers who reported an obviously invalid care provider TIN on Form 2441.

3 - Closed

Develop a tool or programming for Error Resolution to ensure that tax returns claiming prior year expenses are systemically identified to determine if the maximum CDCC had been claimed in the prior year, before processing the return and potentially releasing erroneous refunds.

4 - Closed

Work with the Department of the Treasury, Office of Tax Policy, to advance legislation to treat a tax return as filed only when it is accepted. This would remove the legal risks associated with rejecting tax returns with conditions that indicate the taxpayer is ineligible for refundable credits claimed on the return.

5 - Closed

If legislation is enacted, develop programming to reject e-filed returns meeting certain conditions, such as those noted in this report.

6 - Closed

The Commissioner, Wage and Investment Division, should ensure that the compliance filter criteria for identifying individuals claiming self-only EITC who are not eligible for work is updated to include the *************************.

7 - Closed

The Commissioner, Wage and Investment Division, should establish processes to compare subsequent legislative changes with compliance filter
programming to identify and make necessary changes, as needed.

8 - Closed

The Commissioner, Wage and Investment Division, should review the 774,559 returns with self-only EITC from potentially ineligible ******** and take actions needed to recover credits that are determined to be erroneous.

9 - Open

The Commissioner, Wage and Investment Division, should complete examinations for all 61 tax returns we identified to ensure taxpayers receive the correct CDCC amounts.

Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration

American Rescue Plan Act: Review of the Reconciliation of the Child Tax Credit

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 6/14/2023

1 - Open

Review all of the 6,833 taxpayers with excess Child Tax Credit identified during our review and take appropriate actions to ensure that the taxpayers receive the correct amount of the Child Tax Credit.

2 - Closed

Identify additional taxpayers after May 5, 2022, who received excess Child Tax Credit as a result of tax examiner error and take appropriate actions to ensure that these taxpayers receive the correct amount of the Child Tax Credit.

3 - Closed

Review the 105 taxpayers who potentially did not receive all of their eligible Child Tax Credit identified during our review and take appropriate actions to ensure that they receive the correct amount of the Child Tax Credit.

4 - Closed

Evaluate the priority of programming to ensure that processes and procedures are developed to identify and correct tax examiner entries input during the error correction process that exceed statutory limits, including a process to systemically reprocess corrected returns through Error Resolution programming before being released for processing.

5 - Closed

On February 17, 2022, we notified IRS management of our concerns with undeliverable payments that post after the processing of the tax return. In these instances, the IRS processed the tax return as if the payment was received by the taxpayer. As a result, the taxpayer would receive less Child Tax Credit than they are eligible to receive. We recommended that the IRS develop a process to identify undeliverable payments after
processing of the TY 2021 tax return.

6 - Closed

Identify taxpayers with advance payments who have yet to file a TY 2021 tax return and send a reminder notice, similar to the Department of the Treasury, using the advance payments as part of the criteria.

7 - Closed

Work with the Commissioner, Small Business/Self-Employed Division, to create a process to recover potentially erroneous advance payments from taxpayers who have not filed a TY 2021 tax return.

Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration

American Rescue Plan Act: Continued Review of Premium Tax Credit Provisions

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 6/14/2023

1 - Open

The Commissioner, Wage and Investment Division, and the Commissioner, Small Business/Self-Employed Division, should consider expanding the use of soft notices to address potentially erroneous PTC claims. These notices should provide individuals with information specific to the eligibility or reporting requirements related to the potential error the IRS identified and suggest the filing of an amended return, if an error has
occurred.

2 - Closed

The Commissioner, Wage and Investment Division, should notify the 317,418 taxpayers we identified, who potentially received less PTC than they were entitled or repaid more APTC than required, that they may qualify for additional PTC or overpaid APTC and encourage them to file an amended Tax Year 2021 return, if applicable.

2 - Open

3 - Closed

The Commissioner, Wage and Investment Division, should develop processes, such as the use of courtesy letters to notify individuals of their potential eligibility, to proactively assist taxpayers who, based on available tax return and Exchange data, potentially claimed less PTC than entitled or paid more APTC than required.

3 - Open

4 - Closed

On October 26, 2022, we notified the Director, Submission Processing, of our concerns regarding taxpayers who are potentially eligible for additional PTC based on their unemployment status during Tax Year 2021. We recommended that the Director, Submission Processing, notify these taxpayers that they may qualify for additional PTC or be able to reduce the amount of excess APTC they must repay and encourage them to file an amended Tax Year 2021 return, if they qualify.

5 - Closed

On October 25, 2022, we notified the Director, Submission Processing, of our concerns with the draft Tax Year 2022 Form 8962 instructions. We
recommended that the IRS revise the instructions to inform taxpayers that they have an option to set a domestic violence indicator on their tax return.

Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration

Recurring Identification Is Needed to Ensure That Employers Full Pay the Deferred Social Security Tax

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 5/22/2023

Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration

Additional Actions Are Needed to Reduce Accounts Management Function Inventories to Below Pre‑Pandemic Levels

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 5/10/2023

1 - Closed

Ensure that all sites understand and begin immediately stamping the ICT received date after correspondence screening is completed, and that individual and business documents are screened with equal importance.

10 - Open

Coordinate with the Information Technology organization to explore adding Taxpayer Relations inventories into the CII, so that all Accounts Management inventory is located in the same inventory management system.

11 - Closed

The Commissioner, Wage and Investment Division, should establish time frames for and a process to measure correspondence screening timeliness at each site.

12 - Closed

The Commissioner, Wage and Investment Division, should rescind the requirement that only the TEs and the CSRs perform correspondence
screening and encourage all sites to use mail clerks, after providing them with adequate training.

13 - Closed

The Commissioner, Wage and Investment Division, should ensure prompt completion of the ICT review to determine if additional scanners will be
purchased.

2 - Closed

Discontinue correspondence screening via telework and ensure at all sites that screening must be conducted in the same IRS facility where documents are being scanned by the ICT.

3 - Closed

Identify and address the cause of Accounts Management function employees incorrectly routing cases to other IRS functions and work with other IRS functions to update their Internal Revenue Manuals to make it clear that incorrectly routed documents should be returned to the
originating employee.

4 - Closed

We recommended that management take steps to hire as many mail clerks as possible.

5 - Closed

The Commissioner, Wage and Investment Division, should establish goals for each of the Accounts Management function’s inventory types and develop a plan for addressing those goals to ensure a timely return to pre-pandemic inventory levels.

6 - Open

The Commissioner, Wage and Investment, should prioritize funding and implementation of automated processing of Forms 1040-X to increase efficiencies and reduce taxpayer burden.

7 - Closed

The Commissioner, Wage and Investment Division, should implement temporary solutions for the processing of Forms 1040-X to reduce the backlogs, reduce taxpayer burden, and save IRS resources until an automated solution is implemented.

8 - Open

Coordinate with the Information Technology organization to prevent generating transcripts for manual refunds less than $100 and adjust the frequency that some transcripts are generated to help management get through the inventory more efficiently.

9 - Closed

Temporarily relieve employees in the Accounts Management function from having to complete paperwork for barred statutes, so they can focus on eliminating the backlogged inventory and prevent future barred statutes.

Department of Transportation OIG

FTA Can Enhance Its Controls To Mitigate COVID-19 Relief Funding Risks

What We Looked At Since March 2020, Congress has provided $69.5 billion in supplemental funding to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to help transit systems in the United States mitigate the impacts of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. As of August 1, 2022, FTA had obligated over $63 billion and expended over $46 billion. In addition to increased funding, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES), Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations (CRRSA), and American Rescue Plan (ARP) Acts permitted changes in how recipients use FTA funds...

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 10/12/2022

Social Security Administration OIG

The Social Security Administration’s Enumeration Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Objective: To determine whether the Social Security Administration (SSA) complied with its enumeration policies and procedures and had adequate controls over managing evidentiary documents submitted to support Social Security number (SSN) card applications during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 9/30/2022

1 - Closed

Develop and periodically conduct comprehensive refresher training on topics including but not limited to:
- processing original Social Security Number (SSN) cards for individuals aged 12 or older and emphasize requirements and documentation of the in-person interview;
- acceptable forms of evidentiary documents, and
- processing new (different) and replacement SSN cards when adoption

10 - Open

Complete the privacy assessments for the WorkTrack application.

2 - Open

Update quality control reviews to include comparison of SSNAP inputs to an applicant-submitted Form SS-5 and evidentiary documents, and provide feedback to the technicians who made input errors (such as race and ethnicity) or did not use the appropriate evidentiary documents.

3 - Open

Revise enumeration policy to include clear instructions for when Form SSA-5002 is required and how to properly document the form.

4 - Closed

Update Program Operations Manual System (POMS) to provide current instructions for enumeration notices and archive outdated policy.

5 - Open

Retain enumeration notices in the Online Retrieval System for individuals with assigned SSNs.

6 - Open

Create and implement automated tools to assist staff in navigating through enumeration evidentiary document requirements.

7 - Closed

Take corrective action on all keying errors and cross-referencing errors we identified.

8 - Open

Require managers to verify that incident reports are submitted through the Personally Identifiable Information (PII) Loss Reporting Tool before they approve reimbursement to customers for replacing lost original documents.

9 - Open

Update the National Mail Handling Business Process to include standard Agency-wide mitigation steps for misdirected mail including original documents.

Small Business Administration OIG

COVID-19 and Disaster Assistance Information Systems Security Controls

This report presents the results of our audit to determine whether the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) maintained effective management control activities and monitoring of the design and implementation of third-party operated SBA systems. SBA needed information technology systems from third-party service providers that could improve the system efficiency and productivity to process high transaction volumes, transmit data between other information systems, and safeguard the integrity and confidentiality of the personally identifiable information processed by the programs. We found the...

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 9/27/2022

1 - Open

Ensure the existing SBA System Development Methodology is updated to include supply chain risk-management practices as required by OMB Circular A-130 and high-value asset system designation guidance. Also, ensure high-value asset system risks are incorporated into the enterprise risk management framework, as recommended by OMB M-19-03 and SBA SOP 90 47 6.

10 - Open

Implement an automated process to document and monitor system changes as recommended by NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5.

2 - Open

Communicate and enforce the SBA System Development Methodology in which a traceability matrix is used to ensure that system requirements can be tested and demonstrated in the operational system. Ensure all requirements are aligned with the contractual acceptance criteria.

3 - Open

Implement in updated agency guidance, the requirements of OMB Circular No. A-123 that stipulate a SOC 1 Type 2 report is needed for all new and existing financial systems. This guidance should also require confirmation at least annually that the controls are functioning as designed.

4 - Closed

Enforce the requirement to establish and implement internal controls to ensure appropriate program officials perform and document contract reviews to ensure that information security is appropriately addressed in the contracting language, as required by OMB Circular A-130 and SBA SOP 90 47 6.

5 - Open

In conjunction with the Enterprise Risk Management Board, implement enterprise-wide privacy risk mitigation practices that can be assimilated into new and existing system program designs.

6 - Open

Complete an initial assessment and authorization for each information system and all agency-designated common controls before operation.

7 - Open

Transition information systems and common controls to an ongoing authorization process (when eligible for such a process) with the formal approval of the respective authorizing officials or reauthorize information systems and common controls as needed, on a time or event-driven basis in accordance with agency risk tolerance, as required by OMB Circular No. A-130 and SOP 90 47 6.

8 - Open

Review and update POA&Ms at least quarterly as required by SOP 90 47 6.

9 - Closed

Ensure data-sharing agreements are reviewed annually as required by SBA SOP 90 47 6.

Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration

Reporting on the Use of Coronavirus Response Funding Could Be Enhanced

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration

American Rescue Plan Act: Accuracy of Advance Child Tax Credit Periodic Payments

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 9/21/2022

1 - Closed

As detailed previously, we provided the Director, Return Integrity and Compliance Services, Wage and Investment Division, with notifications and files detailing erroneous payments we identified and recommended that the IRS evaluate the discrepancies to identify why the payments were made to prevent additional periodic payments to ineligible taxpayers. In addition, we recommended that the IRS add a stop payment
transaction code to taxpayer accounts to prevent them from receiving additional improper advance Child Tax Credit payments.

2 - Closed

On August 9, 2021, we notified the Director, Return Integrity and Compliance Services, Wage and Investment Division, of our concerns related to
eligible taxpayers who did not receive their advance Child Tax Credit payments. We recommended that the IRS evaluate the discrepancies to identify why periodic payments were not made to eligible taxpayers.

3 - Closed

On June 29, 2021, we notified the Director, Return Integrity and Compliance Services, Wage and Investment Division, that the messaging provided on the IRS’s eligibility assistant tool and the presentation of information related to the advance Child Tax Credit payments on IRS.gov may be confusing to taxpayers. For example, the link to “Get Answers on the Advance Child Tax Credit” that is located on the IRS.gov main page takes taxpayers to the Advance Child Tax Credit Payments in 2021 web page; however, the links to get the questions and answers is at the bottom of the screen. We recommended that the IRS consider revising the messaging and presentation of information on its platforms to make it clear for taxpayers.

4 - Closed

On January 28, 2022, we notified the Director, Return Integrity and Compliance Services, Wage and Investment Division, that we identified 2.2 million taxpayers who had their direct deposit information updated by the IRS between August 23 and October 5, 2021. We recommended that the IRS conduct an outreach effort to inform taxpayers of the possibility that their advance payments may have been sent to payroll allotment accounts. This outreach effort could include sending a separate letter to the impacted taxpayers.

5 - Closed

The Director, Return Integrity and Compliance Services, Wage and Investment Division, should develop and implement processes and procedures to include data validation on incoming files from third-party sources prior to their use.

Date Range

Report Type

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Submitting Agency

State/Local Agency

State (State and Local Reports)

Fraud Type

Agency Reviewed

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Management Challenges

Any Recommendations

Any Open Recommendations

Reports

American Rescue Plan Act: Assessment of the Expanded Child and Dependent Care and Earned Income Tax Credits

American Rescue Plan Act: Review of the Reconciliation of the Child Tax Credit

American Rescue Plan Act: Continued Review of Premium Tax Credit Provisions

Recurring Identification Is Needed to Ensure That Employers Full Pay the Deferred Social Security Tax

Additional Actions Are Needed to Reduce Accounts Management Function Inventories to Below Pre‑Pandemic Levels

FTA Can Enhance Its Controls To Mitigate COVID-19 Relief Funding Risks

The Social Security Administration’s Enumeration Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic

COVID-19 and Disaster Assistance Information Systems Security Controls

Reporting on the Use of Coronavirus Response Funding Could Be Enhanced

American Rescue Plan Act: Accuracy of Advance Child Tax Credit Periodic Payments

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