2022 Fiscal Year Budget Increases IRS Funding to $12.6 Billion

On March 15, President Biden signed H.R. 2471, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 (CAA), which funds the federal government for the 2022 fiscal year [Pub. L. 117-103]. The $1.5 trillion appropriations bill includes funding for the IRS and other federal agencies that affect payroll.

IRS Funding

For the IRS, the CAA includes $12.6 billion, which is $675 million more than last year. This includes $221 million for the Taxpayer Advocate Service, of which $5.5 million must be used for identity theft and refund fraud casework. An additional $5.4 billion will fund tax enforcement, which includes $21 million to fund investigative technology for the Criminal Investigation Division and $75 million to address the IRS’s paper inventory of amended returns (an additional $5 million is earmarked for this under the operations support budget). Operational support will receive $4.1 billion. The CAA also includes $275 million for business systems modernization.

Other Agency Funding

Here is some of the other funding in the budget:

• U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). The CAA allocates $251 million for the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division.
• U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Under DHS, the CAA earmarks $389.5 million for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in general, which includes operating and supporting the E-Verify program.

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Jyme Mariani, Esq., is Managing Editor of Payroll Currently and Senior Manager of Payroll Information Resources for the APA.