IRS Reports Inadvertently Releasing Private Form 990-T Data

The IRS recently reported to Congress that it had inadvertently made public confidential information from some Form 990-Ts. The IRS letter to Chairman Bennie G. Thompson of the House Committee on Homeland Security states in part:

This notification follows the IRS discovery that some machine-readable (XML) Form 990-T data made available for bulk download section on the Tax Exempt Organization Search (TEOS) should not have been made public. This section is primarily used by those with the ability to use machine-readable data; other more widely used sections of TEOS are unaffected.

The IRS took immediate steps to address this issue. The agency removed the errant files from IRS.gov, and the IRS will replace them with updated files in next few weeks. The IRS also will be working with groups that routinely use the files to update remove the erroneous files and replace them with the correct versions as they become available. The IRS will contact all impacted filers in the coming weeks.

 * * *  

Based on the IRS’s review, the inadvertent disclosure included limited information for approximately 120,000 individuals. However, the data did not include Social Security numbers, individual income information, detailed financial account data, or other sensitive information that could impact a taxpayer’s credit. In some instances, the data did include individual names or business contact information.

Coverage: NPR; Politico; Wall Street Journal (subscription required).

Lloyd Mayer