Wage & Investment division at-a-glance

 

Mission

To provide top quality service by helping taxpayers understand and comply with applicable tax laws and to protect the public interest by applying the tax law with integrity and fairness to all.

Strategic priorities

The Wage and Investment Division (W&I) supports the IRS' strategic goals and objectives through initiatives that:

  • Address the increasing demand for timely, accurate service, and reducing taxpayer burden.
  • Address the increasing demand for electronic products and services.
  • Improve enforcement programs to reduce the risks of non-compliance.
  • Balance compliance and outreach activities to enhance delivery of Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) initiatives.
  • Leverage new technology and reengineer business processes to maximize delivery of new business services.
  • Ensure human capital strategies contribute to quality and productivity.
  • Continue to evaluate the tax administration support needs of individual taxpayers as part of its overall. management of their portfolio of services and delivery channels.
  • Increase preventive and corrective actions to reduce vulnerability to identity theft.
  • Balance compliance and outreach activities to ensure cost effective delivery of the health coverage tax credit.

Taxpayer profile

  • Most pay taxes through withholdings
  • More than half prepare their own returns
  • Most interact with the IRS once a year
  • Most receive refunds

Key W&I functional operations

Provides customers with the information, support and assistance they need to understand and fulfill their tax obligations. CARE is focused on educating and assisting taxpayers before they file their returns, assisting in filing returns and offering face-to-face assistance after filing through a three-pronged strategic approach:

  • Media and Publications focuses on meeting customer needs through the development of plain language notices, forms and publications, which facilitate tax administration and ease of compliance by taxpayers, and to supply media production services to customers.
  • Stakeholder Partnerships, Education and Communication provides assistance to W&I customers by building and maintaining partnerships with key stakeholder groups. This unit also is responsible for developing educational materials for use in pre-filing, filing and post-filing customer interactions and developing products for use in marketing and working with local and national media to ensure that our customers are aware of tax law changes and IRS services.
  • Field Assistance manages the Taxpayer Assistance Centers located throughout the country. Field Assistance provides comprehensive face-to-face assistance to taxpayers as well as assistance through telephone and written correspondence.

Looking for tax help?

Assistance is fast and easy by using online tools such as the Interactive Tax AssistantTax Trails or Tax Map. You can track your refund by using Where’s My Refund? Please allow 21 days for delivery. Taxpayers may order current and prior year forms, instructions and publications by calling 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676). Taxpayers may ask tax questions by calling the toll-free customer service line at 800-829-1040. TTY/TDD users may call 800-829-4059 to ask tax questions or to order forms and publications.

IRS Taxpayer Assistance Centers are a source for personal face-to-face tax help and solutions to tax problems, every business day.​

Responsible for taxpayer relationships through filing, including processing submissions and payments; providing taxpayers with information on the status of their returns and resolving the majority of problems and inconsistencies. CAS provides trouble-free filing, faster refunds, and efficient resolution of inquiries and issues. It is composed of the following offices:

  • Submission Processing processes tax returns, related documents and payments at seven processing centers — Andover, Atlanta, Austin, Cincinnati, Fresno, Kansas City and Ogden.
  • Accounts Management responds to taxpayer inquiries for advice on a variety of tax law and procedural questions, account inquiries and adjustments, and responses to notices that are received via the telephone, correspondence and email at 25 Account Management sites.
  • Joint Operations Center provides service, support and technology for Operating Divisions and Functional Organizations to achieve their desired service levels for all telephone, correspondence and electronic media inquiries within agreed resource and staffing parameters.

Comprised of organizations that strengthen revenue protection and pre-refund compliance, administer refundable credits and prevent and detect tax-related identity theft fraud.

  • Integrity and Verification Operations detects, evaluates and prevents improper refunds.
  • Refundable Credits Policy and Program Management provides program oversight for refundable credits such as Earned Income Tax Credit through an approach that encourages eligible taxpayers to apply for the credit and reduces the number of claims paid in error.
  • Business Performance Laboratory develops, tests and perfects innovative, forward-thinking solutions to pre-refund revenue protection challenges.
  • Refundable Credits Examination Operations conducts pre-refund examination activities, focusing on EITC and other refundable credits.

Headquarters

401 W. Peachtree Street, NW
Atlanta, GA 30308

W&I Headquarters provides overall strategic and operational direction and manages internal support processes. The Headquarters Operations and functional operations work together to manage the full cycle of interaction with W&I customers. They have the authority, responsibility and expertise to oversee current operations and improve business practices and strategies.

The headquarters of W&I provides only those services that cannot be provided practically at lower levels of the organization. This philosophy reflects the IRS organizational direction of moving accountability closer to the front line.

In addition to the key W&I functional operations, key operations in W&I headquarters include:

  • Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
    • Works to ensure equal opportunity to all employees, applicants, and members of the public who seek to participate in IRS programs, activities and services
  • Communications and Liaison
    • Helps W&I achieve its long-term goals and day-to-day business objectives through results-driven, organizationally integrated internal and external communications
  • Office of Program Coordination & Integration
    • Responsible for the capital management and oversight, implementing business improvement strategies and solutions, and delivering modernized business systems.

Management team

Ken Corbin, W&I Commissioner
Phone: 470-639-3500

Kevin Morehead, W&I Deputy Commissioner
Phone: 470-639-3500

Stephen J. Schaeffer, Acting W&I Division Counsel
Phone: 202-317-4379

Tracey Walker-Carter, Director, Customer Assistance, Relationships and Education
Phone: 470-639-2975

Dietra Grant, Director, Customer Account Services
Phone: 470-639-3504

Pamela McBride, Director, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
Phone: 470-639-3468

James Clifford, Director, Return Integrity and Compliance Services
Phone: 470-639-3505

Karin Rice, Director, Communications and Liaison
Phone: 470-639-3298

Karen Truss, Director, Operations Support
Phone: 470-639-3503