HR 7971: Taxpayer Experience Improvement Act

HR 7971 in plain English: This bill requires the IRS to publicly post real-time phone wait times and call volume data on its website, and to give taxpayers online or mobile access to their tax returns, IRS notices, and refund status information.

Stated purpose

The bill aims to modernize and improve IRS services by requiring the agency to publicly display real-time call wait times and phone metrics, and by expanding taxpayers' online and mobile access to their own tax return, refund, and account information.

Key points

• Requires the IRS to show real-time caller wait times, queue sizes, and callback availability on its public website.
• Requires monthly reporting of average and median IRS phone wait times and call lengths.
• Expresses Congress's view that by 2028 the IRS should offer a callback option for any call not answered within five minutes.
• Requires the IRS to let taxpayers view their tax returns, IRS notices, and refund status via website or mobile app.

Arguments supporters make

• Taxpayers waste hours on hold with no information; this bill gives people real data so they can decide when to call or whether to wait, saving time and frustration.
• Publishing metrics like call disconnection rates and customer satisfaction holds the IRS publicly accountable and creates pressure to improve service over time.
• Expanding online access to returns, notices, and refund status reduces the need to call the IRS at all, helping everyone including those who cannot easily make calls during business hours.

Arguments opponents make

• Building a real-time public dashboard, an API, expanded online accounts, and a mobile app requires significant IRS investment at a time when the agency's budget and staffing are already under pressure.
• Displaying detailed call-volume and processing data publicly could be gamed or misused, and the bill requires the IRS to detect and screen automated calls, adding another technical burden.
• The callback target by 2028 is only a non-binding 'sense of Congress,' meaning the most impactful improvement for callers is aspirational rather than legally required.

Tradeoffs

Requiring the IRS to build and maintain these transparency and access tools may improve the taxpayer experience but demands resources and implementation time from an agency that would need to divert capacity from other functions to meet the new mandates.

Current status in Congress: Passed House.

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