IRS Expands Voice Bot Options for Faster Service, IR-2022-127

The IRS has expanded voice bot options to help eligible taxpayers easily verify their identity to set up or modify a payment plan while reducing wait times. The IRS has been using voice bots on many toll-free lines since January, enabling taxpayers with simple payment or notice questions to get help they need quickly.

Eligible taxpayers who call the Automated Collection System (ACS) and Accounts Management toll-free lines and want to discuss payment plan options can authenticate or verify their identities through a personal identification number (PIN) creation process. To set up a PIN, taxpayers will need their most recent IRS bill and some basic personal information. Additional voice bot service enhancements are planned in 2022 that will allow taxpayers with established or newly created PINs to get account and return transcripts, payment history, and current balance owed. Voice bots also help people who call the Economic Impact Payment (EIP) toll-free line with general procedural responses to frequently asked questions. The IRS added voice bots for the Advance Child Tax Credit toll-free line in February to provide similar assistance to callers.

“This is part of a wider effort at the IRS to help improve the experience of taxpayers,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig. “We continue to look for ways to better assist taxpayers, and that includes helping people avoid waiting on hold or having to make a second phone call to get what they need. The expanded voice bots are another example of how technology can help the IRS provide better service to taxpayers,” he added.