Elon Musk's DOGE seeks access to sensitive and restricted IRS data
The Department of Government Efficiency is seeking direct access to Internal Revenue Service computer systems that have vast amounts of sensitive data, according to a source familiar with the developments.
Among the systems that DOGE, the newly created executive branch agency led by Elon Musk, is trying to access is the IRS Integrated Data Retrieval System, according to media reports. It includes extensive information about taxpayers and allows IRS employees to research accounts, request returns, enter transactions and collection information and generate "notices, collection documents and other outputs," according to the IRS.
Access to the system is highly protected to prevent unauthorized disclosures and changes. Employees who access the system "are authorized to access only those accounts required to accomplish their official duties," according to the IRS.
Musk's workers have fanned out across government agencies in an aggressive push to cut federal spending. They have embedded themselves in various agencies and are scrutinizing everything from U.S. Department of the Treasury payments to federal building leases. Nearly every federal worker has been offered buyouts, and mass terminations have begun.
Some of DOGE's efforts have raised concerns about data privacy and security. Seeking access to IRS records could add to that pushback.
Asked Monday during an interview on Fox News what DOGE would do with IRS records, Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller raised concerns about tax fraud and said, "There's no way to know until DOGE gains full access exactly how much money we're talking about."
"We are talking about performing a basic anti-fraud review," Miller added while assuring a Fox host and taxpayers that private information would be protected.
The IRS already conducts extensive anti-fraud efforts. In the 2024 fiscal year, the agency conducted more than 2,667 criminal investigations with a 90% conviction rate. It identified more than $9.1 billion in fraud and recovered $1.7 billion in restitution, according to the most recent annual report.
DOGE sparked a furor when employees sought access to the Treasury's payment system, which distributes trillions in spending. A federal judge temporarily blocked DOGE workers from accessing the Treasury system amid a lawsuit brought by 19 state attorneys general.
"Waste, fraud, and abuse have been deeply entrenched in our broken system for far too long," White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said in response to questions about DOGE accessing the IRS systems. "It takes direct access to the system to identify and fix it."
Top Musk aide Gavin Kliger visited the IRS office in Washington last week to review the agency's operations.
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., responded to the visit with a post on X saying: "That means Musk's henchmen are in a position to dig through a trove of data about every taxpayer in America. And if your refund is delayed, they could very well be the reason."
Contributing: Reuters