IRS2Go App

Jul 13, 2012

Home Screen of IRS2Go
Mobile Gov Experiences are agency stories about creating anytime, anywhere, any device government services and info. This entry is a story shared by the Internal Revenue Service.

The IRS2Go app lets taxpayers check on the status of their refund, sign up for helpful tax tips or get the most recent IRS Twitter feeds.

Why We Did It

A number of factors including the eGov initiative, a mandate from the Commissioner to provide new services to individual taxpayers, as well as other social media efforts provided the catalyst for developing IRS2Go.

What We Did

The IRS assembled a small executive team to drive implementation, drafting both a short- and long-term vision for mobile. Working with a vendor who had extensive experience in the mobile space, the IRS team prototyped the app to develop requirements and gain approval. These processes contained development time and costs (six-weeks and under $50K.)

How It Worked

IRS2Go debuted at the begining of 2011 in time for tax season, available on both Apple’s App store and Android’s Marketplace. The app provides users with the ability to check the status of their tax returns by providing just three pieces of information. It also provides tax tips and access to IRS’ Twitter news feed.

What We Learned

IRS2Go has been downloaded over 400,000 times and been used for nearly 1 million transactions in the past year. These statistics showed that there is a market for mobile tax information.

What’s Next

IRS2Go version 2 launched at the beginning of 2012 with three added features: video from IRS’ YouTube channel, the latest IRS news and the ability to request your tax record. The IRS also plans to develop an app for tax professionals as well as develop IRS2Go in multiple languages.

Contact

Beth A. Krappweis | beth (dot) a (dot) krappweis (at) irs (dot) gov

Jul 13, 2012