Key Takeaways

• The IRS’s new mobile app reflects a broader shift toward giving taxpayers easier access to personalized government services across the channels they already use.
• As more sensitive and account specific services move to mobile devices, trusted digital identity becomes increasingly important to protecting taxpayer information while supporting convenient access.
• Mobile, web, phone and in person services can increasingly work as parts of a connected taxpayer experience rather than separate channels.
• Makpar’s experience supporting enterprise identity at the IRS demonstrates how trusted identity infrastructure can help agencies securely deliver digital services at scale.

The IRS recently took another step in the evolution of digital taxpayer services with the launch of a new mobile app that gives individuals access to a broader range of services directly from their phones.

The app replaces IRS2Go, which launched in 2011, and allows taxpayers to do considerably more than check the status of a refund. Users can make payments and review payment activity, access tax records and transcripts, view notices and letters, check balances and use other account specific features. The IRS also plans to continue expanding the app with additional capabilities and services over time.

As highlighted in FedScoop, IRS CEO Frank Bisignano described the launch as part of the agency’s “digital first agenda,” with the goal of meeting taxpayers where they choose to interact with the IRS and creating greater consistency across its platforms.

For federal agencies, the launch also highlights a larger modernization challenge. As government services become easier to access from anywhere, agencies need to maintain confidence that the person accessing sensitive information is authorized to see it.

The Digital Front Door Is Expanding

For years, federal agencies have been moving more services online, giving citizens the ability to complete transactions that once required a phone call, mailed form or visit to a government office.

Mobile services extend that transformation. The new IRS app does not replace IRS.gov or IRS Online Accounts. Instead, it gives taxpayers another way to interact with the agency, extending secure digital services to the devices many people use throughout their day.

That matters because taxpayers do not necessarily think about government services in terms of individual systems or platforms. They want to check a balance, find a notice, make a payment or access a tax record when and where they need it.

The technology supporting those interactions should make that experience as simple and consistent as possible while protecting some of the most sensitive information the federal government holds.

More Personalized Services Put Identity at the Center

The expansion from general information to personalized, account specific services raises the importance of trusted digital identity.

Checking the status of a refund is one type of interaction. Accessing tax transcripts, reviewing notices, viewing balances and managing payments involves a much deeper level of access to personal financial information.

Federal agencies therefore need confidence in who is requesting access while taxpayers need confidence that their information remains protected. This is where modern Identity, Credential, and Access Management (ICAM) becomes part of the digital service infrastructure. Identity assurance, authentication and authorization work together to establish who someone is, verify that identity when they return and determine which information and services they are permitted to access.

When those capabilities operate effectively, much of that complexity can remain behind the scenes while taxpayers focus on what they came to accomplish.

Building Trusted Identity at IRS Scale

The IRS has already demonstrated what it takes to provide secure digital access at enormous scale. Makpar has supported the modernization of the IRS Enterprise Authentication and Authorization capabilities that underpin secure digital services for tens of millions of taxpayers.

That work has provided Makpar with a close view of the relationship between identity infrastructure and the taxpayer experience.

Reliability matters because taxpayers expect services to be available when they need them, including during periods of peak demand. Security matters because tax information is highly sensitive and an attractive target for fraud. At the same time, excessive friction can make digital services harder to use and discourage adoption.

Bringing those considerations together is one reason we view trusted identity as mission infrastructure. As agencies expand digital services, the identity layer helps make secure access possible across a growing number of applications, services and interactions.

Connecting the Taxpayer Experience

The IRS mobile app also points toward another important direction for federal modernization, which is a more connected experience across channels.

A taxpayer’s relationship with the IRS may include an online account, a mobile device, a telephone conversation and, in some cases, a visit to a Taxpayer Assistance Center. Those interactions may happen at different times and for different reasons, but they are all part of the same taxpayer journey.

Trusted identity can help provide continuity across that journey by giving agencies a consistent way to establish and manage access as people move among digital and in person services.

That does not mean every interaction should look the same. A mobile app serves a different purpose than a Taxpayer Assistance Center. The opportunity is to make those channels work together so taxpayers can choose the type of service that makes the most sense for what they are trying to accomplish.

A Glimpse of What Comes Next

The IRS has made clear that the initial release of its new app is only the beginning, with additional capabilities planned over time.

As those capabilities grow, the app provides another example of how federal service delivery is evolving. Citizens increasingly expect government services to be accessible, convenient and available across the channels they use every day, while maintaining strong protections for their personal information.

Trusted digital identity will continue to play an important role in making that possible. For agencies planning the next generation of digital services, the goal is to create an experience where security and convenience work together and the complexity underneath remains largely invisible to the people being served.

Makpar helps federal agencies build and modernize trusted identity infrastructure that supports secure digital services at enterprise scale. Contact Makpar to learn how we help agencies strengthen ICAM, improve digital experiences and prepare for the next generation of government services.