U.S. Department of the Treasury 

How A Transformed IRS Will Benefit Small Businesses 

President Biden in August 2022 signed the Inflation Reduction Act (“IRA”), providing critical 

resources to modernize the IRS after decades of underfunding. The Strategic Operating Plan 

shows how the IRS will use IRA resources to provide taxpayers with world class customer 

service and reduce our deficits by hundreds of billions by pursuing high dollar noncompliance.

Thanks to IRA resources, the IRS will transform the taxpayer experience. The IRS will help 

taxpayers get it right, and small business owners will be able to seamlessly interact with the 

agency in the ways that work best for them: on the phone, in-person, and online. Improved 

technology and new online tools will save small businesses time and money. These are some of 

the improvements that will enhance service and upfront assistance for small businesses in 

the next 10 years.

Expanded online service tools: The IRS will improve and develop new online service tools that 

save small business owners time and money. 

• IRS in 2023 will launch Business Online Accounts.

• The IRS will also provide small businesses with new tools to identify available credits

and deductions. The IRS will incorporate a “credits and deductions” search function in

Online Accounts and improve relevant content on IRS.gov.

• In 2024, small businesses will be able to access their data, schedule payments, track the

status of payments and refunds, and more with the launch of Business Online Accounts

and expanded Individual Online Accounts.

• Business tax transcripts will be made available online in easy-to-read format through the

Business Online Account by 2024.

• In 2024, small business owners will be prompted to correct simple processing errors at

the time of filing, ensuring refunds are delivered quickly.

New ability to respond to notices and file online: Small business owners are now able to 

respond to notices online, and have new online filing options. These will continue to be 

improved and expanded. 

• In the first five years of the 10-year plan, small business owners will be able to securely

file all documents and respond to all notices online.
• The IRS launched a new tool to respond to nine notices online, making it easier for

taxpayers to get it right and get their refunds in a timely manner. Until this year, when

taxpayers received notices for things like document verification they had to respond

through the mail. Taxpayers are now able to respond to the most common notices for

credits like the Earned Income and Health Insurance Tax Credits online, saving them

time and money.

• The ability to respond to the correction of self-employment income or employment

related identity theft notifications, among dozens of other new online notices, will be

added by 2024. The IRS will simplify the language in the notices sent to taxpayers,

giving them clear instructions on what action they need to take to respond to them.

• The IRS launched an online portal to allow businesses to file Form 1099 series

information returns electronically. These forms previously needed to be submitted

through the mail.

Simplified, mobile-friendly forms: Small business owners often prepare their own taxes, rather 

than hire professional preparers, and simplified forms will save millions of small business 

owners time and money. 

• The IRS will modernize the tax forms most frequently used by small businesses,

including Forms 940, 941, and 944, so they are streamlined, mobile-friendly, and

available in multiple languages.

Expanded digitization to eliminate paper-based processes and expand service options:

Automating paper-based processes and making more forms available online will deliver 

significant service improvements for taxpayers, including faster processing and refunds.

• In the first five years of the 10-year plan, the IRS will eliminate paper backlogs that have

delayed taxpayer refunds by digitizing all forms and returns when they are received and

transitioning to fully digital correspondence processes.

• The IRS is expanding scanning of paper forms to the most used forms, 1040 and 941. The

IRS is on track to scan millions of returns in 2023 saving small businesses time and

money with faster processing and benefit delivery.

Help small businesses understand and claim credits and deductions: For the first time, the 

IRS will help taxpayers claim the credits and deductions for which they are eligible, 

strengthening the financial security of small businesses. 

• The IRS will incorporate a “credits and deductions” search function in online accounts

and improve relevant content on IRS.gov.

• The IRS will make it easier for taxpayers to help themselves and work to reach taxpayers

in new ways, including through personalized alerts and with outreach through

partnerships with community and nonprofit partners. This will help small business

owners learn about credits and deductions for which they are eligible.

Along with IRS’s annual discretionary budget, the IRA investment over 10 years will transform 

the IRS so that it provides world class service, delivers refunds quickly, enforces tax laws among 

high earners and corporations that evade taxes, supports the IRA’s clean energy investments, and 

ensures that all Americans receive tax benefits for which they are eligible. These additional 

resources will not be used to increase the audit rates for small businesses and households making 
less than $400,000, relative to historical levels. The IRS is focused on pursuing high-income and 

high-wealth individuals, complex partnerships, and large corporations that are not paying the 

taxes they owe. Put together, the IRA is a historic investment in building an economy that works 

for everyone.

For Further Information:

• Strategic Operating Plan

• IRS.gov Tools 

• Taxpayer Experience Days 

• Taxpayer Online Account 

• Tax Information in Non-English Languages