Subscriber Special: $173 Million IRS Tech Team #FAILED

April 20, 2018 11:00 AM

"Maybe increased funding from congress would help the IRS keep its website running next year. Or maybe the IRS would just hire

more of the same – highly compensated employees

who choke on game day."

This year, on April 17, when millions of taxpayers tried to file their 2017 tax returns on IRS.gov, they were halted by a system-wide computer failure.

How could the website go down on the biggest day of the year?

It certainly wasn’t for a lack of payroll. The IRS has an internal army of 1,511 employees costing taxpayers $173 million in compensation costs annually. These employees work in online and information technology and cybersecurity, making the top salaries at the agency. Two out of three IRS tech employees made six-figure salaries while more than 500 employees received bonuses for up to $61,766.

In addition to payroll and bonuses, IRS employees receive cushy benefit packages at the taxpayers’ expense. On average, these employees are given an average of 43 days of paid time off – 10 federal holidays, 13 sick days, 20 vacation days per year – and the option to telecommute.

Even with such an expensive in-house tech team, the IRS spent $107 million on outside web and online-based contracts. In 2017, the IRS spent 11 percent more on IT and web-based contracts to support their online operations than the year before.

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