Civic Innovations

There’s lots to be excited about this tax season

It sounds weird to say that, but the release of the IRS Direct File service has civic technologists and taxpayer advocates celebrating. And with good cause – the IRS has approached the development of this important new tool with care, and a focus on delivering a great experience for taxpayers. And by all accounts, their efforts so far have been successful. If you are someone who cares about helping agencies work well and deliver great services to the people that need them, that’s a reason to celebrate.

But building and deploying a high-quality digital solution and managing a digital product over time are not the same thing. One of the reasons that paid tax filing services are so widely used is that they are very useful tools that make the complex job of filing taxes easy and efficient. (Admittedly – it’s not the only reason, but many people use paid tax preparation and/or filing options and are happy enough with the experience to use them again the following tax season.) This requires a long-term investment in managing these services as products, and evolving them over time to meet the needs of taxpayers and changes in tax rules and filing requirements. 

Managing digital products and services over long periods with a ruthless focus on customer needs can be a challenge. Unlike some other recent successful technology deployments by federal agencies, like the USPS’s COVID test ordering website, and the student loan forgiveness website, which were meant to be temporary, the IRS’s Direct File service will go on… forever. Or at least as long as the federal government is collecting income taxes.

Managing a digital product over many years that will adapt to both changes in tax law and the needs of users will be a challenge for the IRS (as it would be for any government agency). It will require sustained investment in the evolution of the Direct File service, and the agency must constantly refine its mechanisms for capturing user expectations and needs. The agency will need the support of many talented and experienced technologists and product leaders for years to come.

Good products are never finished

The rollout of the IRS Direct File service proves that federal agencies, with the proper funding and the proper technical expertise and personnel, can successfully deploy modern, high-quality digital services. The next challenge for the IRS, and for other federal agencies working to deploy new digital services, is to sustain the momentum after they are rolled out and ensure that these new solutions continue to meet the needs of users in the years ahead.