The Commissioner of Internal Revenue is the head of the

Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting Taxation in the United States, U.S. federal taxes and administerin ...

(IRS), an agency within the

United States Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the Treasury, national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States. It is one of 15 current United States federal executive departments, U.S. government departments. ...

. The office of Commissioner was created by

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

as part of the Revenue Act of 1862. Section 7803 of the

Internal Revenue Code The Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (IRC), is the domestic portion of federal statutory tax law in the United States. It is codified in statute as Title 26 of the United States Code. The IRC is organized topically into subtitles and sections, co ...

provides for the appointment of a Commissioner of Internal Revenue to administer and supervise the execution and application of the internal revenue laws. The Commissioner is appointed by the

president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

, with the consent of the U.S. Senate, for a five-year term. On December 4, 2024, President-elect

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

announced his intention to nominate Billy Long to serve as Commissioner of the

. Daniel Werfel was the latest Commissioner of Internal Revenue, having been sworn in on March 13, 2023. Werfel is the 50th Commissioner to serve in the position since it was created. He announced his resignation Friday, January 17, 2025, effective immediately on January 20, the day of the inauguration.

Responsibilities

The Commissioner's duties include administering, managing, conducting, directing, and supervising "the execution and application of the internal revenue laws or related statutes and tax conventions to which the United States is a party" and advising the President on the appointment and removal of a Chief Counsel of the IRS. Treasury Order 150-10 states in relevant part: "The Commissioner of Internal Revenue shall be responsible for the administration and enforcement of the Internal Revenue laws." The Commissioner reports to the secretary of the treasury through the

deputy secretary of the treasury The deputy secretary of the treasury of the United States advises and assists the Secretary of the Treasury in the supervision and direction of the United States Department of the Treasury, Department of the Treasury and its activities, and succ ...

. One of the Commissioner's most important responsibilities with respect to the internal revenue laws is setting the Treasury Regulations administered by the IRS. The U.S. Treasury Regulations provide (in part): ::(a) Issuance. --The Commissioner, with the approval of the

United States Secretary of the Treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...

, or his delegate, shall prescribe all needful rules and all rules and regulations as may be necessary by reason of any alteration of law in relation to internal revenue. However, the General Counsel of the Department of the Treasury has "the authority to approve all regulations pertaining to the internal revenue laws, including the authority to ratify and approve, where necessary, any such regulations previously issued."

List of commissioners

The following lists Commissioners of Internal Revenue, in chronological order:

References

External links

Internal Revenue Service Official websiteInternal Revenue Service
in the ''

Federal Register The ''Federal Register'' (FR or sometimes Fed. Reg.) is the government gazette, official journal of the federal government of the United States that contains government agency rules, proposed rules, and public notices. It is published every wee ...

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