Commissioner of Internal Revenue explained

Post:Commissioner
Body:Internal Revenue
Insignia:Logo of the Internal Revenue Service.svg
Insigniacaption:Logo of the IRS
Incumbent:Daniel Werfel
Acting:no
Incumbentsince:March 13, 2023
Department:United States Internal Revenue Service
Style:Commissioner
Reports To:Secretary of the Treasury
Seat:Internal Revenue Service Building
1111 Constitution Ave., NW
Washington, D.C.
Appointer:President of the United States
Appointer Qualified:with Senate advice and consent
Termlength:5 years
Formation:1862
First:George S. Boutwell

The Commissioner of Internal Revenue is the head of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS),[1] an agency within the United States Department of the Treasury.[2]

The office of Commissioner was created by Congress as part of the Revenue Act of 1862.[3] Section 7803 of the Internal Revenue Code[4] 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, with the consent of the U.S. Senate, for a five-year term.[5]

Daniel Werfel is the current 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.[6]

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."[7] The Commissioner reports to the Secretary of the Treasury through the Deputy Secretary of the Treasury.[8]

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, 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.[9]

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."[10]

Current and past commissioners

The following lists Commissioners of Internal Revenue, in chronological order:[11]

ImageNameTerm startTerm end
George S. BoutwellJuly 17, 1862March 4, 1863
Joseph J. Lewis (Acting)March 5, 1863March 17, 1863
Joseph J. LewisMarch 18, 1863June 30, 1865
William OrtonJuly 1, 1865October 31, 1865
Edward A. RollinsNovember 1, 1865March 10, 1869
Columbus DelanoMarch 11, 1869October 31, 1870
John Watkinson Douglass (Acting)November 1, 1870January 2, 1871
Alfred PleasontonJanuary 3, 1871August 8, 1871
John Watkinson DouglassAugust 9, 1871May 14, 1875
Daniel D. PrattMay 15, 1875August 1, 1876
Green B. RaumAugust 2, 1876April 30, 1883
Henry C. Rogers (Acting)May 1, 1883May 10, 1883
John Jay Knox (Acting)May 11, 1883May 20, 1883
Walter EvansMay 21, 1883March 19, 1885
Joseph S. MillerMarch 20, 1885March 20, 1889
John W. MasonMarch 21, 1889April 18, 1893
Joseph S. MillerApril 19, 1893November 26, 1896
William St. John FormanNovember 27, 1896December 31, 1897
Nathan B. ScottJanuary 1, 1898February 28, 1899
George W. WilsonMarch 1, 1899November 27, 1900
Robert Williams Jr. (Acting)November 28, 1900December 19, 1900
John W. YerkesDecember 20, 1900April 30, 1907
Henry C. Rogers (Acting)May 1, 1907June 4, 1907
John G. CapersJune 5, 1907August 31, 1909
Royal E. CabellSeptember 1, 1909April 27, 1913
William H. OsbornApril 28, 1913September 25, 1917
Daniel Calhoun RoperSeptember 26, 1917March 31, 1920
William M. WilliamsApril 1, 1920April 11, 1921
Millard F. West (Acting)April 12, 1921May 26, 1921
David H. BlairMay 27, 1921May 31, 1929
Robert H. LucasJune 1, 1929August 15, 1930
H. F. Mires (Acting)August 16, 1930August 19, 1930
David BurnetAugust 20, 1930May 15, 1933
Pressly R. Baldridge (Acting)May 16, 1933June 5, 1933
Guy T. HelveringJune 6, 1933October 8, 1943
Robert E. HanneganOctober 9, 1943January 22, 1944
Harold N. Graves (Acting)January 23, 1944February 29, 1944
Joseph D. Nunan Jr.March 1, 1944June 30, 1947
George J. SchoenemanJuly 1, 1947July 31, 1951
John B. DunlapAugust 1, 1951November 18, 1952
John Stephens GrahamNovember 19, 1952January 19, 1953
Justin F. Winkle (Acting)January 20, 1953February 3, 1953
T. Coleman AndrewsFebruary 4, 1953October 31, 1955
O. Gordon Delk (Acting)November 1, 1955December 4, 1955
Russell C. HarringtonDecember 5, 1955September 30, 1958
O. Gordon Delk (Acting)October 1, 1958November 4, 1958
Dana LathamNovember 5, 1958January 20, 1961
Charles I. Fox (Acting)January 21, 1961February 6, 1961
Mortimer CaplinFebruary 7, 1961July 10, 1964
Bernard M. Harding (Acting)July 11, 1964January 24, 1965
Sheldon S. CohenJanuary 25, 1965January 20, 1969
William H. Smith (Acting)January 21, 1969March 31, 1969
Randolph W. ThrowerApril 1, 1969June 22, 1971
Harold T. Swartz (Acting)June 23, 1971August 5, 1971
Johnnie Mac WaltersAugust 6, 1971April 30, 1973
Raymond F. Harless (Acting)May 1, 1973May 25, 1973
Donald C. AlexanderMay 25, 1973February 26, 1977
William E. Williams (Acting)February 27, 1977May 4, 1977
Jerome KurtzMay 5, 1977October 31, 1980
William E. Williams (Acting)November 1, 1980March 13, 1981
Roscoe L. Egger Jr.March 14, 1981April 30, 1986
James I. Owens (Acting)May 1, 1986August 3, 1986
Lawrence B. GibbsAugust 4, 1986March 4, 1989
Michael J. Murphy (Acting)March 5, 1989July 4, 1989
Fred T. Goldberg, Jr.July 5, 1989February 2, 1992
Shirley D. PetersonFebruary 3, 1992January 20, 1993
Michael P. Dolan (Acting)January 21, 1993May 26, 1993
Margaret Milner RichardsonMay 27, 1993May 31, 1997
Michael P. Dolan (Acting)June 1, 1997November 12, 1997
Charles O. RossottiNovember 13, 1997November 6, 2002
Bob Wenzel (Acting)November 7, 2002April 30, 2003
Mark W. EversonMay 1, 2003May 4, 2007
Kevin M. Brown (Acting)May 5, 2007September 9, 2007
Linda E. Stiff[12] [13] (Acting)September 10, 2007March 24, 2008
Douglas H. ShulmanMarch 24, 2008November 9, 2012
Steven T. Miller (Acting)November 10, 2012May 22, 2013
Daniel Werfel (Acting)May 22, 2013[14] December 23, 2013
John KoskinenDecember 23, 2013November 9, 2017
David Kautter (Acting)November 13, 2017October 1, 2018
Charles P. RettigOctober 1, 2018November 12, 2022
Doug O'Donnell (Acting)November 13, 2022March 13, 2023
Daniel WerfelMarch 13, 2023present

External links

Notes and References

  1. See generally .
  2. 26 C.F.R. section 601.101(a).
  3. Act of July 1, 1862, Ch. CXIX, 12 Stat. 432.
  4. 26 U.S.C. sec. 7803, as amended by the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998, Pub. L. No. 105-206 (July 22, 1998).
  5. .
  6. Web site: Werfel begins work as 50th IRS Commissioner . Internal Revenue Service . 2023-03-13 . 2023-03-16.
  7. http://www.treasury.gov/about/role-of-treasury/orders-directives/Pages/to150-10.aspx Treasury Order 150-10, Delegation—Responsibility for Internal Revenue Laws, U.S. Dep't of the Treasury (April 22, 1982), at treasury.gov
  8. http://www.treasury.gov/about/role-of-treasury/orders-directives/Pages/to101-05.aspx Treasury Order 101-05, Reporting Relationships and Supervision of Officials, Offices and Bureaus, and Delegation of Certain Authority in the Department of the Treasury, U.S. Dep't of the Treasury (Jan. 10, 2011), at treasury.gov
  9. 26 C.F.R. § 301.7805-1.
  10. http://www.treasury.gov/about/role-of-treasury/orders-directives/Pages/to107-03.aspx Treasury Order 107-03, Regulations Pertaining to the Internal Revenue Law, U.S. Dep't of the Treasury (Jan. 30, 1978), at treasury.gov
  11. Web site: Internal Revenue Service Data Book 2003. September 13, 2007. irs.gov.
  12. George Jones, CCH News Staff, CCH 2007 TaxDay, Stiff Starts as Acting IRS Commissioner, Item #I.6 (Sept. 21, 2007).
  13. Official IRS Web Site, Acting Commissioner Linda E. Stiff Web site: Acting Commissioner of Internal Revenue Linda e. Stiff . 2017-08-11 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080224091028/https://www.irs.gov/irs/article/0%2C%2Cid%3D98192%2C00.html . 2008-02-24 . bot: unknown . (Mar. 24, 2008)
  14. https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2013/05/16/president-obama-appoints-daniel-werfel-acting-commissioner-internal-reve President Obama Appoints Daniel Werfel as Acting Commissioner of Internal Revenue