It traces to the Civil War income tax of 1862 and processes more than 260 million returns a year. Because it runs refundable credits like the EITC, it is also the government's biggest benefits processor.
Open the interactive page for IRS →Created byOffice of Commissioner of Internal Revenue created by the Revenue Act of July 1, 1862 (12 Stat. 432); agency restructured by the IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 (Pub. L. 105-206)
Head appointed26 U.S.C. § 7803(a)(1): Commissioner of Internal Revenue appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, for a 5-year term (terms run from Nov. 13, 1997, per RRA 1998) (PAS)
Removal standardno protection despite the term — 26 U.S.C. § 7803(a)(1)(D): 'The Commissioner may be removed at the will of the President'
Funded underappropriated — Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, Department of the Treasury title (Taxpayer Services, Enforcement, and Operations Support accounts); supplemented by user fees under 31 U.S.C. § 9701
Congressional oversightHouse Committee on Ways and Means · Senate Committee on Finance
Inspector generalTreasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) — PAS IG created by RRA 1998 amending the IG Act (former § 8D, now 5 U.S.C. § 412; appointed under 5 U.S.C. § 403(a)); Treasury OIG covers non-tax Treasury matters
Judicial reviewPre-enforcement suits barred by the Anti-Injunction Act (26 U.S.C. § 7421(a); reporting-mandate carve-out, CIC Services); deficiencies redetermined in U.S. Tax Court (26 U.S.C. § 6213); refund suits in district court or Court of Federal Claims (28 U.S.C. § 1346(a)(1), 26 U.S.C. § 7422); IRS regulations reviewable under the APA (Mayo Found., 562 U.S. 44)
Comment on IRS rules implementing the tax code; bring an unresolved problem to the Taxpayer Advocate Service, an independent unit inside the IRS that reports to Congress; vote for Congress, which writes the tax code in statute.