The IMF stores an individual's name, taxpayer identification number, address, income, deductions, credits, payments received, refunds issued and taxes dismissed.
The IMF system receives individual tax submissions in electronic format and processes them through a pre-posting phase.
In a 2018 report to Congress, the Government Accountability Office identified the IMF and other IT systems at the IRS as "facing significant risks due to their reliance on legacy programming languages, outdated hardware, and a shortage of human resources with critical skills".
In the weeks following the passage of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, the IRS attempted to rapidly disburse tens of millions of one-time economic stimulus payments, requiring code changes to the IMF and the creation of an associated online interface for taxpayers to view and update their payment information.
[8] There have also been multiple hardware failures at key times,[9] including one which occurred on 17 April 2018 during the end of tax season.