TIGTA Says IRS Isn’t Properly Controlling Sensitive Tax Information

The IRS is not adhering to its own internal guidelines when sending large volumes of sensitive taxpayer information to and from its tax processing centers, according to a new report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, the watchdog entity that oversees the nation’s tax agency.

Specifically, the report found that required tracking documents, such as Forms 3210, Document Transmittal, are not included with these shipments and/or not prepared properly. For example, during the period August to November 2022, TIGTA conducted on-site inspections of 31 incoming packages with large quantities of sensitive taxpayer information received via private delivery carrier at the Tax Processing Centers. Twenty-two of the 31 packages did not include copies of the completed Forms 3210. Further, TIGTA conducted inspections of 40 packages with large volumes of sensitive taxpayer information that were ready for shipment from the Tax Processing Centers via private delivery carrier.

Thirty-nine of the 40 packages did not include copies of the completed Forms 3210. Further, Submission Processing Files function managers at the three Tax Processing Centers are not completing the required quarterly audits of the Forms 3210 Acknowledgment process to ensure compliance with internal guidelines.