With tax season upon us, many people are paying someone or a software to get their tax returns done. A small group of people, however, are filing online directly with ... the IRS. For free. Today on the show: how the IRS's tax filing experiment came to be, how it's been working so far, and who doesn't like it.

A former city of Atlanta chief financial officer (CFO) has pleaded guilty to federal program theft and obstructing an IRS audit.

April 15th, the deadline to file your income taxes, is just around the corner. Filings so far this year are on track with last year's, while the average refund is slightly larger.

The average median refund is $932 for 2020. Texas (93,400), California (88,200), Florida (53,200) and New York (51,400) have the largest amount of people potentially eligible for these refunds.

With less than a month before the tax filing deadline, the IRS says tax season is going smoothly. The agency is investing billions of dollars to improve service and beef up tax enforcement.

Commissioner Danny Werfel says the IRS is seeing "very powerful early results" in its efforts to improve enforcement on high wealth is paying off.

Charles Edward Littlejohn of Washington, D.C., gave data to The New York Times and ProPublica between 2018 and 2020 in leaks that appeared to be "unparalleled in the IRS's history," prosecutors said.

A nonprofit that supports defendants charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection is facing scrutiny over its political activity. "The IRS should investigate this case immediately," said one congressman.

For tax years 2021 and 2020, the latest to receive such IRS estimates, the projected gross "tax gap" soared to $688 billion and $601 billion, respectively. That is a significant jump from the past.

Hunter Biden claims the IRS unlawfully released his confidential tax return information. Among other things, Biden is seeking $1,000 for each unauthorized disclosure and attorneys fees.

The agency said instead it will send letters to certain taxpayers to set up face-to-face meetings.

Congressional forecasters say the debt ceiling deal struck by President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy over the weekend would reduce deficits by about $1.5 trillion over the next decade.

Findings from an internal investigation come after researchers said the IRS was at least three times more likely to audit Black taxpayers than other racial groups.

The IRS is working to develop its own free electronic tax-filing system in a potential challenge to commercial products such as TurboTax. The agency plans a pilot test of the program next year.

Since 2018, over 75,000 victims have lost $28 million to IRS imposters over the phone, email, texts and more. Here's how the IRS actually contacts taxpayers and how you can spot imposters.