2019-04-29_SS_1545-2240r

Supporting Statement

Internal Revenue Service

IRS Applicant Contact Information

OMB # 1545-2240

1. CIRCUMSTANCES NECESSITATING COLLECTION OF INFORMATION

Form 14145, IRS Applicant Contact Information, is used by the IRS Recruitment Office to collect contact information from individuals who may be interested in working for the IRS now, or at any time in the future (potential applicants). The IRS is authorized to request this information under 5 U.S.C. sections 301 and I.R.C. sections 7801 and 7803. Form 14145 requests the following information: name (first and last), whether the individual is a US citizen, address, phone number, email address, special classifications (veteran, CPA, Sch. A authority/disabilities, bilingual), and education information (colleges attended, degrees awarded, GPA, major, and year of graduation). There is also a place at the bottom of the form for the IRS recruiter to select what positions the potential applicant is eligible for.

The IRS Recruitment Office enters the information from a completed Form 14145 in its database, PeopleTrak. Once the information has been entered in PeopleTrak, the physical cards are destroyed.

2. USE OF DATA

Currently, all information in PeopleTrak is maintained indefinitely and not deleted pursuant to any records retention policy. An individual's record in PeopleTrak is only retrieved by reference to the individual's name; the last four digits of the individual's SSN are used only to verify the individual's identity. An individual's record cannot be retrieved by the last four digits of the individual's SSN. The information in PeopleTrak is not shared between agencies and is only accessible by IRS recruiters. The primary purpose of PeopleTrak is to keep in contact with the potential applicants regarding employment opportunities with the IRS and Chief Counsel. The contact is done via email and by phone. A potential applicant is contacted about a job at the same time the announcement is posted for the public on the USAjobs website. The potential applicant is only contacted about jobs which correspond to the job categories selected by the IRS recruiter on Form 14145.

3. USE OF IMPROVED INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TO REDUCE BURDEN

We are offering electronic contact cards when appropriate. We are also working with the IT staff to develop a secure online contact card.

4. EFFORTS TO IDENTIFY DUPLICATION

The information obtained through this collection is unique and is not already available for use or adaptation from another source.

5. METHODS TO MINIMIZE BURDEN ON SMALL BUSINESSES OR OTHER SMALL ENTITIES

There are no small entities affected by this collection.

6. CONSEQUENCES OF LESS FREQUENT COLLECTION ON FEDERAL PROGRAMS OR POLICY ACTIVITIES

If this information is not reported to the IRS, candidates for employment may not be able to receive communication for upcoming vacancies at the bureau.

7. SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES REQUIRING DATA COLLECTION TO BE INCONSISTENT WITH GUIDELINES IN 5 CFR 1320.5(d)(2)

There are no special circumstances requiring data collection to be inconsistent with guidelines in 5 CFR 1320(d)(2).

8. CONSULTATION WITH INDIVIDUALS OUTSIDE OF THE AGENCY ON AVAILABILITY OF DATA, FREQUENCY OF COLLECTION, CLARITY OF INSTRUCTIONS AND FORMS, AND DATA ELEMENTS

Periodic meetings are held between IRS personnel and representatives of the American Bar Association, the National Society of Public Accountants, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and other professional groups to discuss tax law and tax forms. During these meetings, there is an opportunity for those attending to make comments regarding Form 14145.

In response to the Federal Register notice (83 FR 65804), dated December 21, 2018, we received no comments during the comment period regarding Form 14145.

9. EXPLANATION OF DECISION TO PROVIDE ANY PAYMENT OR GIFT TO RESPONDENTS

No payment or gift has been provided to any respondents.

10. ASSURANCE OF CONFIDENTIALITY OF RESPONSES

Generally, this information is confidential as required by 26 U.S.C. 6103. Safeguards as well as system access are restricted to HR Personnel only needed access to such data.

11. JUSTIFICATION OF SENSITIVE QUESTIONS

A privacy impact assessment (PIA) has been conducted for information collected under this request as part of the “People Trak (PTrak)” system and a Privacy Act System of Records notice (SORN) has been issued for this system under Treas/IRS 36.003 General Personnel and Payroll Records and Treas/IRS 34.037 Audit Trail and Security Records System. The Internal Revenue Service PIAs can be found at:

https://www.irs.gov/uac/Privacy-Impact-Assessments-PIA

Title 26 USC 6109 requires inclusion of identifying numbers in returns, statements, or other documents for securing proper identification of persons required to make such returns, statements, or documents and is the authority for social security numbers (SSNs) in IRS systems.

12. ESTIMATED BURDEN OF INFORMATION COLLECTION

Form 14145, IRS Applicant Contact Information, is used by the IRS Recruitment Office to collect contact information from individuals who may be interested in working for the IRS now, or at any time in the future (potential applicants). The primary purpose is to keep in contact with the potential applicants regarding employment opportunities with the IRS and Chief Counsel. A potential applicant is contacted about a job at the same time the announcement is posted for the public on the USAjobs website. The potential applicant is only contacted about jobs which correspond to the job categories selected by the IRS recruiter on Form 14145.

The burden estimate is as follows:

Number of Time per Total

Form Responses Response Hours

14145 16,045 5 minutes 1,364

13. ESTIMATED TOTAL ANNUAL COST BURDEN TO RESPONDENTS

As suggested by OMB, our Federal Register notice dated December 21, 2018, requested public comments on estimates of cost burden that are not captured in the estimates of burden hours, i.e., estimates of capital or start-up costs and costs of operation, maintenance, and purchase of services to provide information. However, we did not receive any responses from taxpayers on this subject. As a result, estimates of these cost burdens are not available currently.

To ensure more accuracy and consistency across its information collections, IRS is currently in the process of revising the methodology it uses to estimate burden and costs. Once this methodology is complete, IRS will update this information collection to reflect a more precise estimate of burden and costs.

14. ESTIMATED ANNUALIZED COST TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

There are no estimated annualized costs to the federal government.

15. REASONS FOR CHANGE IN BURDEN

There is no change in the form previously approved by OMB. However, the total burden previously approved, needs to be lowered by 64,721 hours, to correct an error in the previous submission. The correct burden estimates should be; 16,045 estimated responses and a total estimated annual burden of 1,364 hours.

We are making this submission to renew the OMB approval.

16. PLANS FOR TABULATION, STATISTICAL ANALYSIS AND PUBLICATION

There are no plans for tabulation, statistical analysis and publication.

17. REASONS WHY DISPLAYING THE OMB EXPIRATION DATE IS INAPPROPRIATE

We believe that displaying the OMB expiration date is inappropriate because it could cause confusion by leading taxpayers to believe that the regulation sunsets as of the expiration date. Taxpayers are not likely to be aware that the Service intends to request renewal of OMB approval and obtain a new expiration date before the old one expires.

18. EXCEPTIONS TO THE CERTIFICATION STATEMENT

There are no exceptions to the certification statement.

Note: The following paragraph applies to all of the collections of information in this submission:

An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless the collection of information displays a valid OMB control number. Books or records relating to a collection of information must be retained as long as their contents may become material in the administration of any internal revenue law. Generally, tax returns and tax return information are confidential, as required by 26 U.S.C. 6103.