For tax year 2005, the IRS continued testing a certification requirement for certain EITC taxpayers. The test was the same size as previous tests – 25,000 taxpayers. However, the 2006 test differed slightly from the 2005 test in that we did not draw a sample from a single community. The sample for the 2006 test was drawn randomly from across the nation. Our focus for the 2006 test was to improve the selection methodology to allow us to gain additional insight as we continue the certification evaluation process.
Notices for the 2006 test were mailed out in early October 2005 with additional reminders forwarded to taxpayers in November 2005 and December 2005. In addition to improving our selection methodology for the test, we added some enhancements to our telephone routing system which provided additional levels of service to taxpayers requesting assistance in completing certification forms.
As with earlier tests, the goal of the 2006 test was to evaluate the effect of a certification requirement both on the level of erroneous payments and participation by eligible taxpayers. The IRS has no plans to impose a blanket qualifying child certification requirement until a thorough evaluation of the test is completed. The evaluation is expected in early 2008.
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