Internal Revenue Service

What Internal Revenue Service does

The Internal Revenue Service is the sole federal tax administration agency of the United States, operating under the U.S. Department of the Treasury since its establishment by the Revenue Act of 1862 during the Civil War. Headquartered at 1111 Constitution Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the IRS serves approximately 134 million individual taxpayers, U.S. businesses of every structure, tax-exempt organizations, and international filers with U.S. tax obligations, processing tax returns, issuing refunds, administering payment plans, and enforcing compliance across all 50 states and territories.

The agency's digital product surface spans consumer self-service — IRS Direct Pay, EFTPS for businesses, IRS Free File for filers with AGI ≤ $89,000, the IRS2Go mobile application, and the Tax Withholding Estimator — alongside professional and entity platforms including Tax Pro Account, e-Services, and an expanding Business Tax Account. Compliance and enforcement infrastructure includes the Whistleblower Office (which paid awards on $1.2B+ of collected proceeds between FY2021–FY2024), Criminal Investigation, and a new Centralized Tax Fraud Reporting Portal launched February 2026. The Palantir SNAP and Lead and Case analytics platforms power audit candidate selection and financial crime analytics, integrating tax returns with bank, healthcare, and cryptocurrency datasets under contracts totaling roughly $200M since 2014.

As a federal agency, the IRS is funded through congressional appropriations rather than commercial revenue; it does not charge for most services, with fees restricted to specific programs such as installment agreement setups. GTM is fully direct-to-citizen via IRS.gov (321.5M visits during the 2026 tax season, up 53% year-over-year), telephone assistance, Taxpayer Assistance Centers in person, and the IRS Free File channel partnership. The agency's competitive position rests on statutory monopoly, the largest financial database in the Western Hemisphere, and the Security Summit public-private network of 42 state agencies and 24 industry partners combating identity theft refund fraud.

Name

Internal Revenue Service

Legal name

Internal Revenue Service

Website

https://irs.gov

Company type

Public

Founded year

1862

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

The Internal Revenue Service is the U.S. federal tax administration agency under the Department of the Treasury, founded in 1862. It collects federal taxes, processes refunds, and enforces compliance for approximately 134 million individual taxpayers and U.S. businesses via digital platforms, Palantir-powered analytics, and a public-private Security Summit network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Federal Tax Administration

NAICS

Public Finance Activities (921130)

akta.pro primary industry

Tax Return Filing, Processing & Assessment (BPAIADAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Revenue Systems, E-Filing & Digital Tax Administration (BPAIADAO), Withholding & Payroll Tax Administration (BPAIADAI), Taxpayer Registration, Identity & Account Management (BPAIADAB)

Keywords

• Federal tax administration
• Tax collection services
• Taxpayer assistance
• Tax compliance enforcement
• Refund processing

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Tax Collection: IRS collects federal taxes on behalf of the U.S. government including individual income taxes, corporate taxes, payroll taxes, and various excise taxes. Federal revenue from individual income taxes totaled $2.66 trillion in fiscal year 2025.
2. Enforcement Revenue: IRS collects penalties, interest, and additional amounts from tax enforcement actions including audits, examinations, and criminal investigations. Enforcement revenue increased 12% with roughly $2 billion collected from top five cases.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Internal Revenue Service administers and enforces U.S. federal tax laws, processing approximately 134 million tax returns annually and issuing over $221 billion in refunds in fiscal year 2026. It provides free electronic tax filing through IRS Free File and Direct File programs, electronic payment systems including Direct Pay and EFTPS, in-person assistance through Taxpayer Assistance Centers, and online account management through Business Tax Account and Tax Pro Account platforms. The agency also conducts tax enforcement, criminal investigations, fraud detection using AI-powered analytics, and administers whistleblower and identity protection programs.

Product overview

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is a U.S. government agency responsible for tax collection and tax law enforcement. The IRS operates a comprehensive suite of digital products and services including IRS Free File for free tax preparation, Direct Pay and EFTPS for electronic payments, Business Tax Account and Tax Pro Account for online account management, e-Services for tax professionals, the IRS2Go mobile app, and the Tax Withholding Estimator. For compliance and fraud prevention, the IRS maintains the Whistleblower Office with monetary awards of 15-30%, Criminal Investigation services, the Security Summit public-private partnership for identity theft prevention, and the Palantir SNAP analytics platform for AI-powered fraud detection and audit candidate identification. Recent product launches include a centralized tax fraud reporting portal, Form 1099-DA for digital assets, and updated guidance on the No Tax on Tips provision.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• IRS2Go: IRS mobile application for tax assistance and refund tracking
• Security Summit
• IRS Whistleblower Program

Products and services

• IRS Direct Pay

Quantifiable outcome

• Processed 134 million tax returns and issued over $221 billion in refunds in 2026 filing season
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability6 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Palantir TechnologiescoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2025IRS expanded its use of Palantir's SNAP AI platform to identify high-value audit candidates among tax returns. Palantir has received approximately $200 million in IRS contracts since 2014, including an $11.8 million contract awarded in January 2025.
• Palantir TechnologiescoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2018Palantir provides its Lead and Case analytics platform to the IRS since 2018 to help analyze financial and personal data for financial crime investigations. The system integrates millions of records across federal databases including tax returns, bank transactions, healthcare data, and cryptocurrency activity. The contract is reportedly worth over $130 million.
• State Tax AgenciescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner42 state tax agencies participate in the Security Summit public-private partnership formed in 2015 to protect taxpayers and the tax system against identity theft refund fraud. Partners include IRS, state tax agencies, and the tax community including tax preparation firms, software developers, payroll and tax financial product processors, tax professional organizations and financial institutions.
• Tax Preparation IndustrycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSecurity Summit includes 24 industry offices in addition to IRS, comprising tax preparation firms, software developers, payroll and tax financial product processors, tax professional organizations and financial institutions. The partnership facilitates information sharing and analytics necessary to detect, prevent, and deter identity theft refund fraud.
• Financial InstitutionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSecurity Summit includes major financial institutions participating in the public-private partnership to combat tax-related identity theft and refund fraud through data sharing and coordinated response mechanisms.
• Identity Theft Tax Refund Fraud Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCreated in 2017 by IRS, state tax agencies and the tax industry to facilitate information sharing consistent with applicable law. ISAC provides a forum for participants to discuss real-time responses to fraud schemes and promotes advancement of data analysis methodologies to detect, reduce, and prevent identity theft refund fraud.

Scale indicators16 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC): UK's national tax authority responsible for collecting income tax, corporate tax, VAT, and customs duties. Closest functional counterpart to the IRS, with analogous tax-administration, enforcement, and digital-service mandates at national scale.
• Canada Revenue Agency (CRA): Canada's federal tax administrator handling income tax, GST/HST, payroll, and benefits administration. Direct peer to IRS in scope of statutory tax collection, digital self-service platforms, and enforcement functions.
• Australian Taxation Office (ATO): Australian federal tax authority administering income tax, GST, excise, and superannuation. Comparable to the IRS in administering a federal tax system with digital lodgement, analytics-driven compliance, and large-scale taxpayer services.
• Federation of Tax Administrators (FTA): U.S. association of state tax agencies that collaborates with IRS through the Security Summit. Functions as the coordinating body for the 50+ state revenue departments that administer state income, sales, and corporate taxes alongside the IRS.

Broad incumbents

• Intuit (TurboTax): Largest U.S. consumer and small-business tax-preparation platform with TurboTax. Operates in the IRS tax-filing ecosystem as a major IRS Free File partner and shapes the taxpayer experience for the majority of U.S. filers.
• H&R Block: Major U.S. tax preparation retailer offering DIY, assisted, and professional tax services. Competes with IRS Free File/Direct File for filer mind-share and is a Security Summit industry partner alongside the IRS.
• Thomson Reuters: Provides tax compliance, tax research, and professional software (ONESOURCE) used by corporations and tax professionals interacting with the IRS. Indirect peer via the tax-administration ecosystem rather than consumer filing.
• Wolters Kluwer: Global provider of tax compliance software (CCH), federal and state tax research, and workflow tools used by accounting firms and corporations navigating IRS rules. Comparable as enterprise tax-compliance infrastructure adjacent to IRS operations.

Emerging players

• TaxSlayer: Smaller U.S. consumer tax-preparation software provider participating in the IRS Free File program. Comparable as a niche competitor in the same IRS filing ecosystem targeted at lower-AGI filers.
• Sovos: Tax-compliance software vendor serving businesses with filing, withholding, and reporting obligations to the IRS (1099, 1099-DA, W-2). Adjacent peer building the digital reporting infrastructure that feeds IRS systems like Form 1099-DA.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/IRSnews
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/irsvideo
• Facebookfacebook.com/IRS
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/internal-revenue-service
• Instagraminstagram.com/irs_gov

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments12 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Internal Revenue Service