IRS Announces a New Home Page

Although blizzard conditions shut down much of the federal government in the Northeast last week, hundreds of thousands of people still received the tax help they needed from the Internal Revenue Service.

IRS's new home page on the World Wide Web (http://www.irs.gov) went on-line January 8th as scheduled, and was an immediate hit -- or more like 220,000 hits (that's the number of accesses) -- in the first 24 hours. One week after its debut, the hit counter was up to more than a million.

Even the most novice internet user will find the page easy to navigate. Written in a simple, user-friendly format, the page offers everything from tax forms and publications to complete tax information for both individuals and businesses.

Under the heading of "Tax Information For You," users can find the answers to basic questions through "Tax Trails," an interactive session that poses key questions to identify the user's particular circumstances. Or users can cruise through a summary of important changes for 1995, or just find where to file their taxes.

Under "Taxpayer Help and Education," users can find simple summaries of 150 different tax topics, or answers to frequently asked questions.

Or, if users don't want to spend the time cruising the different options, the page offers two quick and easy ways to find the subject they're looking for -- by a key word search or by the site tree where users can simply click on available topics.

Other features of the page include plain English summaries of recent IRS regulations; descriptions of IRS's electronic services such as TeleFile, FedState Electronic Filing and 1040PC; and Tax Information for Businesses.

The IRS is continually looking for alternative methods of providing taxpayers with information, and with 40 million Americans having access to the Internet, cyberspace is proving to be one of the most viable methods. Many more services will be available on the page in the near future, including a hypertext version of Publication 17 (Your Federal Income Tax), tax statistics, and the IRS Newsstand, where users can find a complete menu of IRS news releases and fact sheets.

INTERNAL REVENUE ELECTRONIC INFORMATION SERVICES Q & A

IRS tax forms, instructions and publications are available on-line to meet the needs of individuals, businesses, and other organizations. Taxpayers can download and print information, publications and any of over 600 tax forms and instructions.

Q-1 What IRS electronic services are available?

A-1 Taxpayers and practitioners will find many tax research tools available including tax regulations in plain English, short summaries on over 140 tax topics, frequently asked tax questions and answers, statistical studies, tax news, electronic newsletters and much more.

IRS on-line information is available 24 hours a day, every
day and is updated daily. Taxpayers can be assured of
getting the most current tax form or publication available.
Taxpayers overseas used to have to order forms and wait a
month or more to receive them in international mail. This
year, many got them in minutes. IRS even had customers call
in from ships at sea.

Q-2 How do I connect to IRS electronic services?

A-2 There are several ways to access IRS electronic services. You can access the Internal Revenue Information System (IRIS) on the FedWorld bulletin board or the IRS Home Page on the World Wide Web on the Internet.

By Modem:

Set modem parity to none, data bits to 8, stop bit to 1.
Set your communication software to dial (703) 321-8020.
Please enter "Guest":

IRIS Main Menu Options:

A About IRIS at FedWorld
B Tax Forms and Publications
C Individual Income Tax Information
D Business Tax Information
E Tax Information for the Media
F IRS Regulations and Plain Language Summaries
G Goodbye
H Help
I Dear IRIS
T IRS Statistics of Income
* Connect to FedWorld (if you dialed 703-321-8020)

By Internet: This is the location for the IRS Home Page.

Telnet- iris.irs.ustreas.gov

File Transfer Protocol (FTP) - ftp.irs.ustreas.gov

World Wide Web - http://www.irs.gov

The IRS Home Page features an "electronic newsletter" that highlights IRS products and services. In addition,
taxpayers can access other tax information.

IRS Home Page Options:

Tax Stats
Tax Info For You
Electronic Services
Taxpayer Help and Education
Tax Regs in Plain English
IRS Newsstand
Forms and Pubs
What's Hot
Meet the Commissioner
Comments & Help

Q-3 How do I access the 1996 Tax Supplement??

A-3 The Tax Supplement is divided into the following seven (7) files:

96taxsup.bus - Business
96taxsup.gam - Family
96taxsup.gen - General
96taxsup.int - Overseas
96taxsup.pp - Pre-and Post-Filing Issues
96spntax.sup - Spanish Tax Supplement
96intsup.txt - International Tax Supplement

To access from the IRIS Main Menu:

Select "E" - "Tax Information for the Media"
Select "B" - "Tax Supplement"

To access through the IRS Home Page:

Go to http://www.irs.gov
Click on "IRS Newsstand"
Click on "Tax Supplement"

Note: In addition to the Tax Supplement, IRS News Releases and Fact Sheets are also available through this option.

Q-4 I have a small business. How do I get information about the Tax Tips Newsletter?

A-4 To access from the IRIS Main Menu:

Select "D" - "Business Tax Information"
Select "D" - "Newsletters for Businesses"

To access through the IRS Home Page:

Click on "Tax Information for Businesses"
Click on "Tax Tips Newsletter, Pub 1558"

Q-5 I know you can access pre-recorded tax topics information through the IRS TeleTax Service. How do I access the TeleTax Topics electronically?

A-5 To access through the IRIS Main Menu:

Select "C" - "Individual Income Tax Information"
Select "B" - "Frequently Asked Questions and Tax Topics"

To get a brief description of TeleTax:

Select "C" - "How to Get Free Tax Help"
Select "B" - "TeleTax"

To access through the IRS Home Page:

Click on "Tax Help and Education"
Click on "TeleTax Topics"
Click on "Frequently Asked Questions"

Q-6 If I have problems accessing information on my computer, where do I get help for accessing electronic services?

A-6 Contact the help desk at (703) 487-4608. Please do not call this number with tax-related questions. Use this number only if you have problems accessing the IRIS Main Menu.

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