Taxpayer Workforce Modernization Act

IRS data fellowship and analytics task force

If enacted, the IRS would set up a fellowship to hire private‑sector data scientists and other tax professionals no later than September 30, 2026. The program would be staffed with not fewer than 10 fellows, and vacancies must be filled so the program has at least 5 fellows; fellows would be hired for 2-, 3-, or 4-year terms and could receive 1-year extensions with no limit on extensions. The Secretary would set fellow pay, which must be at least the GS‑15 minimum and not exceed the annual amount in 3 U.S.C. 102, and the Commissioner could permanently hire a fellow after their term; the Secretary’s delegate would be able to appoint a lead program officer to run and advertise the program. When the first fellowship is awarded, the bill would create a task force in the IRS and the Office of Chief Counsel that includes the fellows to use data analytics for audit case selection, support audits with transaction‑level testing and modeling, address offshore tax evasion and FATCA issues, review AI and analytics uses, train IRS staff, and recommend improvements; the Commissioner would report to Congress within 1 year after the first award and annually with an ROI analysis, applicant counts, and recommendations.