The IRS has been making serious strides this year, as outlined in its latest quarterly update to the Strategic Operating Plan released on December 12. From cracking down on tax evasion among high-income earners to advancing digital services, the IRS’s new initiatives are transforming operations and protecting billions of taxpayer dollars.
$4.7 Billion Recovered and Counting
So far, the IRS has recovered $4.7 billion through various efforts, including:
- $1.3 billion collected from high-income individuals with overdue tax debt or unfiled returns.
- $2.9 billion linked to IRS Criminal Investigations tackling tax and financial crimes, such as drug trafficking, cybercrime, and terrorist financing.
- $475 million generated from whistleblower tips leading to both criminal and civil cases.
These efforts highlight the IRS’s renewed focus on closing the tax gap and ensuring everyone—particularly high-wealth individuals—pays their fair share.
Renewed Focus on High-Income Non-Filers
A key milestone in the IRS’s enforcement efforts is its success with high-income non-filers who haven’t filed tax returns since 2017. By leveraging third-party data sources (like W-2s and 1099s), the agency has identified and targeted over 28,000 non-filers who earned anywhere from $400,000 to over $1 million annually but skipped filing their taxes.
As of December, the IRS has collected $292 million, a significant jump from $120 million in September 2024. This initiative gained traction only recently, as budget and staffing shortages had stalled such efforts since 2016. With additional funding, the IRS was able to resume this critical compliance work earlier this year.
Transforming Services and Enforcement
IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel underscored the progress:
“The IRS continues to show dramatic progress on a wide array of the agency’s transformation efforts, producing real-world improvements to help taxpayers and businesses while also taking important steps in the law-enforcement and compliance arena to protect billions from ongoing schemes, ensure high-income individuals file returns and pay their taxes and penalties, and battle everything from terrorist financing to drug traffickers.”
The results are clear: the IRS’s combined focus on digital modernization, taxpayer services, and enforcement is paying off, strengthening compliance, and protecting taxpayer dollars from abuse.
From modernizing digital systems to cracking down on financial crimes, the IRS’s transformation is a major win for taxpayers and the agency alike.
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