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MONITORING IRS EMPLOYEE CONTACTS WITH TAXPAYERS:

MONITORING IRS EMPLOYEE CONTACTS WITH TAXPAYERS:

A new policy statement, on monitoring IRS employee contacts with taxpayers to ensure the highest quality interactions and service, was released by the IRS on June 17. Taxpayer contacts, either by the toll-free telephone lines or in-person at Taxpayer Assistance Centers, are subject to monitoring and/or recording for customer service, quality assurance, employee evaluation and training purposes, the IRS stated. Taxpayers are notified of such recordings and have the choice to opt-out. All recorded contacts are encrypted, and access is restricted only to authorized personnel.

New Policy Statement 21-6, Monitoring Employee Contacts with Taxpayers

Effective: June 8, 2022

(1) Monitoring Employee Contacts with Taxpayers

(2) Quality customer service is contingent on the IRS’ ability to provide correct answers to customer inquiries, timely correction of errors, and identification of trends for strategic planning purposes. An important aspect is the ability to assure taxpayers that IRS employees are providing correct answers in a courteous and professional manner.

(3) Taxpayer contacts, either by the toll-free telephone lines or in-person at Taxpayer Assistance Centers, are subject to monitoring and/or recording for customer service, quality assurance, employee evaluation and training purposes. Toll-free telephone contacts are captured with the use of telephone recording software and Taxpayer Assistance Center contacts are captured with desktop recording tools.

(4) Taxpayers are notified of such recordings at the beginning of each phone call and at the start of each in-person visit. Telephone contacts to the toll-free line are notified by a recorded message prior to speaking with a representative. For contacts at the Taxpayer Assistant Centers, clearly posted signs notify customers in the office that their contact may be recorded.

(5) All taxpayers subject to monitoring will have the choice to opt-out of such recordings at the beginning of each contact simply by notifying the representative they prefer not to be recorded.

(6) All recorded contacts are encrypted, and access is restricted only to authorized personnel. As such, all recorded contacts will be available for a temporary length of time as determined by the IRS.

(7) Taxpayers may view the IRS Privacy Policy at https://www.irs.gov/privacy-disclosure/irs-privacy-policy.

(8) Signed: /s/ Douglas W. O’Donnell, Deputy Commissioner for Services and Enforcement