United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2002-01-15 monographic deposited born digital 26 p. GA 1.13:GAO-02-92 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-92 P0b002ee1803a2dc5 f:d0292 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-92 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-92 GAO-02-92 Delinquent taxes Collection procedures Tax nonpayment Tax violations Government collections Small business Income taxes Electronic Federal Tax Payment System IRS Automated Collection System IRS Business Master File IRS Customer Account Data Engine Program IRS Federal Tax Deposit Project IRS Mentoring and Monitoring Program FTD Soft Letter Program ABC's of FTDs Program FTD Alert Program Other Written Product A02663 Employers are required to withhold amounts from their employees' salary to cover individual federal income tax, Social Security, and Medicare taxes; match the amounts for Social Security and Medicare taxes; and deposit these amounts with the U.S. Treasury. In fiscal year 2000, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) collected $1.3 trillion in this manner. Most employers withhold and deposit these taxes as required; however, the amount of unpaid employment taxes, penalty, and interest has grown significantly. IRS data show that in 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000, delinquent employers owed about $3.2, $3.5, $4.4, and $5 billion, respectively, in unpaid employment taxes, penalties, and interest. The time IRS takes to notify employers of delinquent payment of employment taxes varies. On average, IRS takes about five weeks to initially notify employers regarding employment tax delinquencies after the Form 941 return is received. When employers fail to file Form 941 returns, IRS normally takes from 14 to 28 weeks to notify them of this delinquency. Aside from its usual efforts to educate and inform taxpayers of their responsibilities, IRS has four programs to prevent or reduce employers' tax delinquencies. Two of these programs were designed to achieve early contact with employers, and two were designed to identify employers with existing, multiple employment tax delinquencies and help them to return to compliance. To evaluate the effectiveness of these programs and to support informed judgments about whether to adopt new ones, IRS planned to compare compliance rates of test and control groups and to use customer surveys and focus groups. IRS' efforts to evaluate these programs are being adversely affected by, among other things, delays in obtaining reliable data. IRS officials did not identify any specific programs to improve employment tax intervention under IRS' ongoing effort to modernize its organizational structure, management processes, and information technology systems. However, certain aspects of its modernization effort have some future potential to improve intervention. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-92/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-92.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-92/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-92.pdf GAO-02-92 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-92 Other Written Product GAO-02-92; Tax Administration: IRS's Efforts to Improve Compliance With Employment Tax Requirements Should Be Evaluated; Delinquent taxes Collection procedures Tax nonpayment Tax violations Government collections Small business Income taxes Electronic Federal Tax Payment System IRS Automated Collection System IRS Business Master File IRS Customer Account Data Engine Program IRS Federal Tax Deposit Project IRS Mentoring and Monitoring Program FTD Soft Letter Program ABC's of FTDs Program FTD Alert Program