IRS ISC

Northrop Grumman, the lead contractor on the Internal Revenue Service Integration Support Contract (IRS ISC), is supporting the IRS in its $23 billion Tax System Modernization (TSM) program that will improve the IRS’s entire computer, software, and communications infrastructure.
 
The size and complexity of the TSM Program make it one of the largest and most challenging system modernization activities in the world today. Northrop Grumman's role is to assist the IRS in the complete redesign and long-term modernization of its computer-based information processing systems that support both the administration of the Nation’s taxes and the IRS internal operations.
 
The IRS employs over 102,000 people and in 1 year collects over $1.7 trillion, processes over 204 million tax returns, issues over 89 million refunds, and distributes more than 300 million forms and publications. The IRS maintains three wide area networks, over 11,000 local area networks, 18,000 software applications with 50 million lines of code. Annually the IRS provides assistance to over 140 million phone callers and 6.3 million taxpayers at 250 walk-in offices. All 33 IRS districts and 10 Service Centers must be able to communicate and access the IRS database in real time, simply and effectively. 

Northrop Grumman is providing the technical and managerial expertise to redesign what may be the largest ADP system in the world. Over the next few years, the IRS modernization will result in improved customer satisfaction, increased revenue and reduced operational costs. A major program objective is to migrate from a paper-intensive tax processing system to one that is automated and service-oriented. The technologies implemented to achieve this goal include electronic tax filing, converting data received on paper to an electronic format, and organizing tax information in integrated databases so that authorized IRS employees can handle customer inquiries more efficiently. Another challenge is to review and refine the steps the IRS must take to ensure continuity of tax processing, as the new systems replace the old.