what is the irs 
the internal revenue service irs is the division of the u s treasury department tasked with enforcing the internal revenue code irc administering federal tax laws and collecting federal taxes from u s individual and corporate taxpayers the irs collects gift excise estate and income taxes and routinely conducts audits to ensure that taxpayers comply with tax laws investopedia joules garciahistory of the internal revenue service irs president abraham lincoln created the office of commissioner of internal revenue in 1862 to collect taxes levied to fund the civil war in 1913 congress was given the power to enact income tax laws paving the way for the bureau of internal revenue the agency s name was changed to the internal revenue service in the 1950s 1collecting revenuethe irs collects estimated taxes from wage earners throughout the year via payroll deductions and quarterly estimated tax payments from businesses based on quarterly tax filings an annual filing usually due by april 15th for the previous tax year reconciles the amounts paid by each individual and business and the actual amounts owed if the taxpayer has overpaid the irs issues a tax refund if the taxpayer owes money the payment is due with the annual tax return the irs website explains how federal tax laws work u s taxpayers must comply with tax laws passed by congress and meet tax obligations 2the amount of tax revenue collected by the irs in the 2023 tax year this represents about 99 of the country s gross receipts 3tax returnstaxpayers may file their tax returns by mail or electronically using tax preparation software designed for consumer use a taxpayer may use the services of tax professionals such as tax preparers or accountants nearly all individual taxpayers use form 1040 u s individual tax return definition types and use or form 1040 sr tax return for seniors in 2023 the irs received 162 0 million individual returns and issued 105 7 million refunds totaling 334 9 billion 4many individuals complete and attach additional forms and documents to support the numbers they record on the main forms including the w 2 and 1099 supplied by the companies that paid money to the taxpayer schedule d is used to report capital gains received from the sale of stocks properties and other taxable income sources and schedule a records the details of tax deductions claimed by the taxpayer corporations use form 1120 u s corporation income tax return to report their income and tax liabilities there are variations of the form depending on the type of corporation including irs auditsthe irs audits a percentage of income tax returns annually as part of its enforcement mission the agency randomly selects taxpayers to audit or singles out those whose returns are related to others audited while there is no single factor that determines who gets an irs audit each year there are some red flags that may trigger a review the audit process begins with a review of the return by an auditor the auditor may either accept the return or request a further review by an examination group in the latter case the taxpayer is notified by mail the audit involves reviewing paperwork and may be conducted by mail or in person at an irs office or another location such as the taxpayer s home business or accountant s office 6the irs reported 708 309 audits as of the end of its 2022 fiscal year out of all of these audits the irs audited 0 49 of individual returns and 0 84 of corporate returns 7contacting the irsa list of mailing addresses for the irs is available on the irs website 8individuals can contact the irs by phone at 800 829 1040 monday through friday 7 a m to 7 p m local time there are other toll free numbers for businesses and other purposes 9for online assistance try the interactive tax assistant on the irs website 10in person appointments are also available at a local irs office 11