TIGTA Report No. 2026-4S0-025, An Assessment of the IRS's Implementation of the Zero Paper Initiative (May 15, 2026)
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TREASURY INSPECTOR GENERAL FOR TAX ADMINISTRATION
An Assessment of the IRS’s Implementation of the
Zero Paper Initiative
May 15, 2026
Report Number: 2026-4S0-025
1
TIGTACommunications@tigta.treas.gov | www.tigta.gov
HIGHLIGHTS: An Assessment of the IRS’s Implementation of the Zero Paper Initiative
Final Report issued on May 15, 2026 Report Number 2026-4S0-025
Why TIGTA Did This Review What TIGTA Found
In April 2025, the IRS combined its In September 2025, the IRS awarded four contracts that can be
modernization and digitalization executed for five years through mid-September 2030. These
efforts for tax returns, information contracts were awarded for $2.3 billion, and are volume-based
returns, and correspondence under contracts, meaning the IRS is only billed for the work completed.
a new initiative known as the Zero
The IRS has incurred $9 million in contractor expenses from May
Paper Initiative (ZPI). In
through December 2025. During this time, the ZPI contractors
February 2026, we reported on the
digitalized 2.2 million of the 11.9 million paper receipts received for
IRS’s efforts to meet its goal of
Forms 940, Employer’s Annual Federal Unemployment (FUTA) Tax
paperless processing of tax returns
Return, Forms 941, Employer’s QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return, and
for the 2025 Filing Season.
Forms 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return.
This review provides additional
information on the IRS’s
implementation of the ZPI,
including the associated costs and
challenges.
Impact on Tax Administration
For Fiscal Year 2026, the IRS The IRS will implement the ZPI in various phases for tax forms,
indicated that it would prioritize correspondence, and information returns. However, no key dates or
modernizing the taxpayer volume-based goals have been established.
experience with critical technology
· Tax Forms. The IRS prioritized 26 tax forms and will focus on
modernization investments. The
scanning Forms 940, 941 and 1040 which account for
modernization efforts are focused
42 percent of the projected total of paper-filed returns in
on expanding automation,
Fiscal Year 2026.
enhancing data integration, and
improving system interoperability · Information Returns. The IRS developed schemas for 39 of
to better support taxpayer service 52 information returns and has expanded the functionality of
and internal operations. its Information Return Intake System to extract data from
paper information returns and send it to downstream
The ZPI will expand upon the work
systems.
the IRS was already completing in
its modernization efforts. The goal · Correspondence. The IRS has identified approximately
of the ZPI is to reduce the 8,000 correspondence documents that the ZPI could digitally
overhead and cost burden of process. The IRS is currently testing limited scenarios with the
paper processing on the IRS by contractors.
working toward a fully digital In February 2026, we reported that the IRS must overcome
environment. The IRS plans to challenges, such as fully staffing its operations and increasing
achieve this goal by enabling scanning capacity to expand paperless processing for the 2026 Filing
taxpayers to submit more Season. We remain concerned that the IRS continues to face
documents to the IRS electronically challenges to successfully implement this initiative and may not
and convert paper documents into achieve a fully digital environment.
digital data for processing.
This report provides information only, so we made no
The IRS estimates that it costs recommendations. We plan to continue to monitor the
more than $600 million to process implementation of this initiative.
the approximately 90 million
pieces of mail it receives annually.
Treasury Inspector General for tax administration seal.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20024
TREASURY INSPECTOR GENERAL
FOR TAX ADMINISTRATION
May 15, 2026
MEMORANDUM FOR: COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE
FROM: Diana M. Tengesdal
Deputy Inspector General for Audit
SUBJECT: Final Report – An Assessment of the IRS’s Implementation of the Zero
Paper Initiative (Review No.: 20254S0001)
This report presents the results of our review of the Internal Revenue Service’s Zero Paper
Initiative to convert incoming paper submissions into streamlined digital processes. We
performed this review during the period June 2025 through January 2026. We are issuing this
report to provide an overview and bring attention to our concerns regarding this initiative. This
review was part of our Fiscal Year 2025 discretionary coverage and addresses the major
management and performance challenge of Improving Operational Efficiencies.
Although we made no recommendations in this report, we provided Internal Revenue Service
officials with an opportunity to review the final report. Management’s complete response to the
draft report is included as Appendix II. If you have questions, please contact me or Deann
Baiza, Assistant Inspector General for Audit (Returns Processing and Account Services).
An Assessment of the IRS’s Implementation of the Zero Paper Initiative
Background
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) estimates it receives about 90 million pieces of mail annually.
This estimate includes 35 million pieces of correspondence and non-tax forms, 33 million tax
returns, 16 million information returns, 4 million amended returns, and millions of paper checks.
According to the IRS, processing this paper costs more than $600 million annually.
For Fiscal Year (FY) 2026, the IRS indicated that it would prioritize modernizing the
taxpayer experience with critical technology modernization investments. Modernization efforts
are focused on expanding automation, enhancing data integration, and improving system
interoperability to better support taxpayer service and internal operations.1
The IRS has engaged in various modernization initiatives through the years to streamline paper
processing of tax returns, correspondence, and information returns. These efforts include
piloting technology to scan and digitally process paper returns; digitizing correspondence/non-
tax returns received from taxpayers via the Document Upload Tool; and deploying a free online
portal called the Information Return Intake System (IRIS) for taxpayers to electronically file (e-
file) Form 1099-series returns.2 We previously reported that the IRS did not meet its goal to
digitally process all paper-filed Forms 940, Employer’s Annual Federal Unemployment (FUTA)
Tax Return, Forms 941, Employer’s QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return, and Forms 1040, U.S.
Individual Income Tax Return by the 2025 Filing Season. Specifically, as of May 2025, the IRS had
digitally processed five percent of these paper-filed forms received during the 2025 Filing
Season.3
In April 2025, the IRS combined its modernization efforts under a new initiative known as the
Zero Paper Initiative (ZPI). The ZPI will expand upon the modernization work that has already
been completed. The goal is to reduce the overhead and cost burden of paper processing on
the IRS by working toward a fully digital environment. The IRS plans to achieve this goal by
expanding existing document intake tools so taxpayers can submit more documents to the IRS
electronically. Documents that continue to be submitted to the IRS on paper will be scanned
and converted into digital data for processing through existing IRS systems and routed for
downstream processing. Specifically, the IRS aims to:
· Tax Forms: Expand the Modernized e-Filing (MeF) system, which is a web-based tax
return filing platform, to include additional individual and business tax returns. In
addition, external contractors will scan and extract paper tax return data for transmission
to the IRS MeF system for processing.
· Correspondence: Expand existing digital document submission tools such as the
Document Upload Tool to include additional non-tax forms and correspondence and
make system enhancements to route documents to downstream systems. In addition,
external contractors will scan, extract limited data fields, and transmit data and digital
images to the IRS for processing.
1
Publication 5530, Fiscal Year 2026 Budget in Brief, (Rev. 6-2025).
2
The Document Upload Tool, which is accessible via IRS.gov, allows taxpayers to upload documents to the IRS in
response to a letter or notice.
3
TIGTA, Report No. 2026-408-003, The IRS Has Made Limited Progress Achieving Paperless Processing, p. 2
(February 2026).
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An Assessment of the IRS’s Implementation of the Zero Paper Initiative
· Information Returns: Expand and enhance the IRIS to include additional information
returns that can be submitted electronically and routed to downstream systems. In
addition, external contractors will scan and extract data for transmission to the IRS’s
databases.
The IRS is implementing the ZPI in phases. However, the ZPI contractors are still developing their
systems to handle the three scanning work streams (i.e., tax forms, correspondence, and
information returns). As a result, the IRS has not yet established timelines and goals for
contractors to scan work under the ZPI. For example, the IRS has not established a goal for when
all paper volumes should be processed by contractors or for how many paper-filed tax returns
contractors should scan and transmit to the IRS for the 2026 Filing Season. Moreover, the IRS
has not established time frames or goals for contractors to begin scanning correspondence and
information returns.
Objective
The overall objective of this review was to obtain information on the IRS’s ZPI to convert
incoming paper submissions into streamlined digital processes. This report provides an update
on the IRS’s efforts to digitalize paper-filed tax returns as well as additional information on the
IRS’s implementation of the ZPI before the 2026 Filing Season, including associated costs and
challenges.
Results of Review
Implementation Status of the Zero Paper Initiative
The IRS has been working both internally and with contractors to expand capabilities in the
areas of tax forms, correspondence, and information returns. Contractors must meet several
essential elements for successful implementation of the ZPI. This includes having hired and
cleared staff; approved and compliant systems, infrastructure, and facilities; IRS schemas
provided; document retention and destruction processes; and accessible real-time reporting
dashboards.4
Efforts to modernize tax return processing are focused on scanning three tax forms for
the 2026 Filing Season and expanding e-file capabilities
In February 2026, we reported that the four ZPI contractors had approximately five months to
prepare for the 2026 Filing Season. We noted that during this time, contractors had to program
and test their software, recruit sufficient staff, and ensure that they had adequate space to store
all scanned documents until destruction is authorized.5
4
Schema is defined as an Extensible Markup Language document that specifies the data elements, structure, and
rules for each form, schedule, document, and attachment.
5
TIGTA, Report No. 2026-408-003, The IRS Has Made Limited Progress Achieving Paperless Processing, p. 4
(February 2026).
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An Assessment of the IRS’s Implementation of the Zero Paper Initiative
The IRS prioritized 26 tax forms that the ZPI contractors were expected to scan for the
2026 Filing Season.6 The IRS developed the schema for these forms and provided them to the
contractors for programming. However, due to concerns about the contractors’ readiness, the
IRS revised its plans to focus on paper-filed Forms 940, 941, and 1040. The IRS projects these
forms will account for approximately 42 percent of paper tax return receipts in FY 2026.
When the 2026 Filing Season started, only one of the four contractors could scan and extract
data from all three tax forms to digitally submit the information to the IRS for processing.7 The
three remaining contractors could only scan and digitally extract data from Forms 940 and 941
and were continuing to develop their programming and work towards the ability to scan and
digitally extract data from the Form 1040. In addition to scanning these tax forms, the IRS
developed schema to allow the e-filing of 14 additional tax forms through the MeF. The IRS
plans to test and implement e-filing of these forms by June 2026.
Internal enhancements to the IRS’s information return and correspondence systems are
complete, but contractors are still in testing phases for scanning
The IRS made enhancements to its information return and correspondence systems to meet the
needs of the ZPI. The IRS modified IRIS to process extracted data from paper-filed information
returns. Additionally, the IRS developed scanning schema for 39 of the 52 information returns
and provided them to the ZPI contractors for programming.
The IRS has also expanded correspondence digital pathways to meet the needs of the ZPI. Once
contractors begin scanning paper correspondence, it will be routed to the appropriate backend
system. The IRS has identified over 8,000 IRS notices that the ZPI contractors could scan into
digital pathways. With input from the various business units, the IRS identified best use-case
scenarios for correspondence for contractors to begin testing.
Although the IRS completed these enhancements in Calendar Year 2025, the ZPI contractors are
still testing information returns and correspondence internally. The IRS anticipates that it will
begin sending paper information returns and/or correspondence to the contractors after the
2026 Filing Season. However, a set date or plan has not been established. Pending the results of
testing and progress of the 2026 Filing Season scanning, the IRS will determine the appropriate
steps forward with the ZPI contractors. Taxpayer Services management stated that they will send
information returns and correspondence to the ZPI contractors when they are ready.
Overview of the Zero Paper Initiative Contracts and Costs
We previously reported that in April 2025, the IRS awarded two one-year contracts to implement
the ZPI.8 One contract totaled $142 million and the other totaled $18 million. However, the IRS
cancelled the $18 million contract in May 2025 due to concerns it did not use a competitive
bidding process. Additionally, the IRS modified the $142 million contract so it could scan paper-
filed Forms 940, 941, and 1040 while it solicited competitive bids for a permanent contractor. In
September 2025, the IRS awarded 4, 5-year contracts for the ZPI totaling approximately
$2.3 billion. One of the selected contractors was the interim contractor. The contracts began on
6
See Appendix I for a complete list of the 26 high priority tax forms.
7
The 2026 Filing Season began on January 26, 2026.
8
TIGTA, Report No. 2026-408-003, The IRS Has Made Limited Progress Achieving Paperless Processing, p. 4
(February 2026).
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An Assessment of the IRS’s Implementation of the Zero Paper Initiative
September 15, 2025, and have a performance period of one year with the option to extend
annually through mid-September 2030.
The scope of these ZPI contracts includes the receipt and handling of incoming mail, scanning
and digitalization of paper tax returns, correspondence, and information returns, and storage
and destruction of paper documents. The IRS will be billed for a technical development lead
who is responsible for the overall coordination and management of the work. In addition, the
IRS will be charged a fee based on the volume of documents scanned as well as the shipping,
handling, storage, and destruction of these documents.
The IRS incurred expenses totaling $9 million to scan paper-filed tax returns from May
through December 2025
From May 2025 through December 2025, the ZPI contractors scanned a total of 2.2 million of
the 11.9 million (18 percent) paper Forms 940, 941, and 1040 received by the IRS.9 The interim
contractor scanned nearly 1 million forms at a cost of $2.9 million. Whereas the permanent ZPI
contractors, one of which was also the interim contractor, scanned about 1.2 million forms at a
cost of $6.2 million. Figures 1 and 2 show the total costs incurred and the volume of forms
scanned by return type for the interim and the final ZPI contracts.
Figure 1: ZPI Interim Contract Costs and Scanning Progress
(May 2025 through Mid-September 2025)
Source: IRS provided contractor scanning metrics and invoices as of week ending September 14, 2025.
Numbers may not add due to rounding.
Figure 2: ZPI Final Contracts Cost and Scanning Progress
(Mid-September 2025 through December 2025)
Source: IRS provided contractor scanning metrics and invoices as of December 27, 2025. Numbers may
not add due to rounding.
9
Form 940 is due annually on January 31. The low volume of receipts and associated scanning of this form during this
period is to be expected.
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An Assessment of the IRS’s Implementation of the Zero Paper Initiative
The IRS estimates that processing paper-filed Forms 940, 941, and 1040 costs on average $2.75,
$3.41, and $9.85 per form, respectively. However, we are unable to determine whether the ZPI
efforts are more cost effective because the final ZPI contract invoices were not itemized to show
the amount billed by form. Further, the IRS’s estimated processing costs are not comparable to
the amounts billed for scanning. This is because the IRS’s estimates include costs associated with
resolving errors and other issues identified during tax return processing. These are costs that the
IRS will still incur for scanned returns.
Distribution of paper documents to contractors
Per the ZPI contracts, each contractor is guaranteed a minimum volume of 70,000 documents
(i.e., correspondence, information returns, tax returns, etc.) per week to digitize. However, this is
contingent on the contractor’s ability to handle this volume. Once a contractor reaches the
minimum volume, the IRS will distribute additional work to them based on competitive
performance metrics, such as timeliness, quality and accuracy, and scanned rejection rates. The
IRS will continue to increase documents sent to the ZPI contractors until all paper submissions
(i.e., tax forms, information returns, and correspondence) are distributed. If a contractor fails to
meet the required performance metrics, the IRS will reduce the volume of documents they
receive incrementally.
As of early March 2026, the IRS receives incoming paper-filed documents and ships documents
to 6 of the 10 contractor locations based on contractor readiness. Some of the 10 locations will
be used only as data validation sites, where contractor employees compare the scanned returns
against the extracted data and make corrections as needed. Eventually, the IRS plans to have
taxpayers mail paper documents directly to contractor sites. Taxpayer Services management
indicated that this would be similar to how designated forms with payments are directed to the
Lockbox sites. The contractors would then sort, extract, and batch the paper documents for
scanning and data extraction. However, Taxpayer Services management indicated there is no
time frame for when this change will be implemented and that their focus is on increasing
scanning capacity. Figure 3 provides details on where the four ZPI contractors will perform work
related to ZPI.
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An Assessment of the IRS’s Implementation of the Zero Paper Initiative
Figure 3: ZPI Contractor Locations
Source: Locations provided by IRS Taxpayer Services.
Funding and Staffing Uncertainties Can Impact the IRS’s Ability to Effectively
Implement the Zero Paper Initiative
The IRS’s ability to successfully transform tax administration into a fully digital environment
partly depends on sufficient funding and staffing resources. For example, the IRS needs
sufficient information technology resources to expand its existing systems to accept digitally
routed inventory. We previously reported that the IRS must overcome challenges, such as fully
staffing its operations and increasing scanning capacity to expand paperless processing for the
2026 Filing Season.10 In addition, we continue to identify challenges relating to the contractors’
ability to fully staff their operations, and the IRS’s ability to pay for their services. Further, even if
most of the paper is successfully outsourced, the IRS will continue to need staff in its Submission
Processing function, which is responsible for processing both paper and electronic tax returns.
The IRS budget and ZPI funding
The ZPI is a multi-year project that is funded by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA).11
Although this funding does not expire until the end of FY 2031, there is uncertainty about its
continued availability. The IRS initially received $79.4 billion when the IRA was signed into law.
As of February 2026, Congress subsequently reduced IRA funding to $26 billion.12 As of
January 2026, the IRS reported spending $16.2 billion (approximately 62 percent) of the IRA
10
TIGTA, Report No. 2026-408-003, The IRS Has Made Limited Progress Achieving Paperless Processing
(February 2026).
11
Pub. L. No. 117-169, 136 Stat. 1818.
12
The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (Pub. L. No. 118-5, 137 Stat. 10) rescinded $1.4 billion; the Further
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (Pub. L. No. 118-47, 138 Stat. 460) rescinded $20.2 billion; the Full-Year
Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025 (Pub. L. No. 119-4) rescinded another $20.2 billion; and the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026, rescinded another $11.6 billion (Pub. L. No. 119-75).
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An Assessment of the IRS’s Implementation of the Zero Paper Initiative
funds. As previously noted, the IRS has incurred a total of $9 million in expenses for the ZPI
contracts from May 2025 through December 2025.
If the IRS loses its remaining IRA funding, what it can achieve under the ZPI will be limited to
what it can fund each year through its annual appropriation. This appropriation must fund all IRS
operations, not just its modernization initiatives such as the ZPI.
IRS and ZPI staffing resources
Staffing challenges impact both the IRS and the ZPI contractors. In the future, the ZPI can
potentially mitigate the impact of significant staffing losses in the IRS’s Submission Processing
function. However, Submission Processing management indicated that the ZPI contractors are
not ready to handle the volumes of tax returns. As a result, the IRS must continue to process
paper-filed tax returns with reduced staffing levels. As indicated previously, the IRS will still
receive mail at its facilities and ship documents to contractors as they are able to handle
volumes. This means that the IRS needs to retain employees to complete the processing of
paper returns. The IRS also must retain employees in mail operations to receive and open the
mail, and then sort, batch, and re-ship tax returns, correspondence, and information returns to
the ZPI contractors.
Additionally, the IRS must continue to maintain internal paper processing for non-priority forms
and exception cases that the contractors cannot handle. The IRS will also continue to need
employees to handle post-submission activities such as handling returns that do not post
correctly to taxpayer accounts and resolving errors.
In January 2026, we reported that as of October 2025, the key filing season programs are
operating with a 17 percent reduction in staffing when compared to October 2021 levels.13 The
memorandum notes that the Submission Processing function was approved to hire an estimated
2,200 employees (i.e., 1,700 external and 500 internal positions) to help deliver the 2026 Filing
Season. However, Submission Processing management stated that this approval was not timely
enough for them to hire, conduct background clearances, and train the new employees before
the start of the filing season. As of January 28, 2026, Submission Processing management
indicated that they onboarded 453 employees to help process returns. Out of the
453 employees hired, 338 came from outside the IRS.
The ZPI contractors also need staff to scan the expected volumes. Whether the ZPI contractors
can scan at increased volumes is contingent on their ability to hire the resources needed.
Although the contractors are using technology to scan and extract data from tax returns, they
still need staff to prepare the documents for scanning. Additionally, once the tax return data
have been extracted, contractor staff are needed to validate and perfect the data.
In February 2026, we reported our concerns with the contractor’s ability to hire staff.14 At the
time of our review, the interim contractor had not yet recruited all staff needed to achieve
higher volumes of scanning. In addition, we reported that the IRS only approved background
clearances for 50 percent of the individuals submitted by the interim contractor for hire.
According to Taxpayer Services management, this is one reason the IRS selected four
contractors for the ZPI. As of mid-December 2025, the IRS has approved 1,088 (78 percent) out
13
TIGTA, Alert Memorandum for Audit No. 2026400002, The Internal Revenue Service’s Readiness for the 2026 Filing
Season, p. 3 (January 2026).
14
TIGTA, Report No. 2026-408-003, The IRS Has Made Limited Progress Achieving Paperless Processing, p. 4
(February 2026).
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An Assessment of the IRS’s Implementation of the Zero Paper Initiative
of 1,402 background clearances submitted by the four ZPI contractors. These approvals include
both final and interim approvals, which allow access on a temporary basis pending the
completion of a full background investigation.
Conclusion
For FY 2026, the IRS indicated it would prioritize modernizing the taxpayer experience with
critical modernization investments. The ZPI is one initiative aimed at improving the efficiency of
processing by eliminating the IRS’s reliance on manual paper submission processes. The IRS has
invested $2.3 billion in contracts for the ZPI, which if successful, will streamline its operations
and improve the overall experience for taxpayers. However, we continue to have concerns about
whether it can achieve a fully digital environment. Since the ZPI is in its infancy, contractors have
only scanned a limited volume of documents. In addition, there are several challenges the IRS
needs to overcome, such as consistent long-term funding, readiness of contractors that can
handle increased volumes, and staffing resources to balance workload demand until efficiencies
can be gained. Without addressing these challenges, the IRS’s modernization efforts may fall
short of expected results. We plan to continue to monitor the implementation of this initiative,
including reviews to evaluate the information security standards, and quality and timeliness of
processing scanned paper-filed returns for the ZPI.
Performance of This Review
We conducted this review in accordance with the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity
and Efficiency Quality Standards for Federal Offices of Inspector General. Those standards
require that the work adheres to the professional standards of independence, due professional
care, and quality assurance and follows procedures to ensure accuracy of the information
presented. We believe that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings
and conclusions based on the objective of our review.
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An Assessment of the IRS’s Implementation of the Zero Paper Initiative
Appendix I
IRS Fiscal Year 2026 Projected Volume of Paper Tax Forms
for the Zero Paper Initiative Priority List
Percentage
FY 2026 Projected of
Number Tax Forms Form Name Paper Volumes Projected
(in thousands) Paper Tax
Forms
1 Form 1040-ES Estimated Tax for Individuals 11,529 29.1%
Forms 1040 and U.S. Individual Income Tax Return and U.S.
2 8,030 20.2%
1040-SR Income Tax Return for Seniors
Forms 941,
3 Employer's QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return 6,732 17.0%
941-PR/SS
4 Form 1040-X Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return 2,388 6.0%
Application for Automatic Extension of Time to
5 Form 4868 2,106 5.3%
File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return
Forms 940,
Employer's Annual Federal Unemployment
6 940-EZ, and 1,938 4.9%
(FUTA) Tax Return
940-PR
Application for Automatic Extension of Time To
7 Form 7004 File Certain Business Income Tax, Information, 1,086 2.7%
and Other Returns
8 Form 1041 U.S. Income Tax Return for Estates and Trusts 367 0.9%
Application for Extension of Time to File an
9 Form 8868 Exempt Organization Return or Excise Taxes 364 0.9%
Related to Employee Benefit Plans
10 Form 1120-S U.S. Income Tax Return for an S Corporation 359 0.9%
11 Form 1120 U.S. Corporation Income Tax Return 267 0.7%
U.S. Return of Partnership Income and U.S.
Forms
12 Return of Income for Electing Large 237 0.6%
1065/1065-B
Partnerships
13 Form 720 Quarterly Federal Excise Tax Return 167 0.4%
Forms 943,
Employer's Annual Federal Tax Return for
14 943-PR, and 110 0.3%
Agricultural Employees1
943-SS
15 Form 2290 Heavy Highway Vehicle Use Tax Return 94 0.2%
16 Form 945 Annual Return of Withheld Federal Income Tax 32 0.1%
Forms 944,
17 944-PR, and Employer's ANNUAL Federal Tax Return 31 0.1%
944-SS
Annual Withholding Tax Return for U.S. Source
18 Form 1042 27 0.1%
Income of Foreign Persons
19 Form 1120-F U.S. Income Tax Return of a Foreign Corporation 15 0.0%
20 Form 8849 Claim for Refund of Excise Taxes 12 0.0%
1
Form 943-SS is an obsolete form with the same title as Form 943.
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An Assessment of the IRS’s Implementation of the Zero Paper Initiative
Percentage
FY 2026 Projected of
Number Tax Forms Form Name Paper Volumes Projected
(in thousands) Paper Tax
Forms
21 Form 5227 Split-Interest Trust Information Return 10 0.0%
U.S. Income Tax Return for Certain Political
22 Form 1120-POL 3 0.0%
Organizations
Return of Certain Excise Taxes Under Chapters
23 Form 4720 1 0.0%
41 and 42 of the Internal Revenue Code
24 Form 990 Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax <1 0.0%
Short Form Return of Organization Exempt From
25 Form 990-EZ <1 0.0%
Income Tax
Exempt Organization Business Income Tax
26 Form 990-T <1 0.0%
Return (and proxy tax under section 6033(e))
2026 Projected Paper Forms Grand Total 39,658 100%
2026 Projected Priority Paper Forms Total 35,904 90.5%
All Other Non-Priority Paper Forms 3,7532 9.5%
Source: IRS identified list of 26 priority forms for the ZPI and analysis of Publication 6292, FY Return Projections
for the United States: 2024-2031, Table 1 (Rev. 9-2024). Form names were identified through review of each
individual form. Numbers may not add due to rounding.
2
Calculated by taking the 2026 projected paper forms grand total less the 2026 projected priority paper forms total.
Due to rounding, total shown is not equitable to mathematical calculation.
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An Assessment of the IRS’s Implementation of the Zero Paper Initiative
Appendix II
Management’s Response to the Draft Report
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An Assessment of the IRS’s Implementation of the Zero Paper Initiative
Appendix III
Abbreviations
FY Fiscal Year
IRA Inflation Reduction Act of 2022
IRIS Information Return Intake System
IRS Internal Revenue Service
MeF Modernized Electronic Filing
TIGTA Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration
ZPI Zero Paper Initiative
Page 12
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