The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory tax law. It is an agency of the Department of the Treasury and led by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, who is appointed to a five-year term by the President of the United States. The duties of the IRS include providing tax assistance to taxpayers; pursuing and resolving instances of erroneous or fraudulent tax filings; and overseeing various benefits programs, including the Affordable Care Act(713)-456-6579.
People filing tax forms in 1920
IRS and Department of the Treasury seal on lectern
New York City field office for the IRS
IRS appropriations, 2000–2019 Nominal appropriations Adjusted for inflation
Taxation in the United States
The United States has separate federal, state, and local governments with taxes imposed at each of these levels. Taxes are levied on income, payroll, property, sales, capital gains, dividends, imports, estates and gifts, as well as various fees. In 2020, taxes collected by federal, state, and local governments amounted to 25.5% of GDP, below the OECD average of 33.5% of GDP.
The share of total income and federal, state and local taxes paid by income group. Total taxes include income taxes, payroll taxes, state and local sales taxes, federal and state excise taxes, and local property taxes.
The U.S. federal effective corporate income tax rate is lower than the highest nominal rate, which can be significant in part because of tax shelters such as tax havens.
Composition of state and local government tax revenue for sample state of Ohio, 2007
Total State Government Tax Revenue By Type in 2020
