Commissioner of Internal Revenue

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]

On December 4, 2024, President-elect Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate Billy Long to serve as the commissioner of the IRS.^[6][7] He was confirmed by the Senate on June 12, 2025 and sworn in on June 16.^[8] President Trump subsequently removed Long as commissioner on August 8, 2025 and announced that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent would serve as acting commissioner.^[9] Bessent was the seventh commissioner of internal revenue to serve in 2025. On March 6, 2026, Bessent's term expired, and the office became vacant.^[10][11]

In November 2025, Frank Bisignano was appointed without Senate confirmation as "Chief Executive Officer of the Internal Revenue Service", a new position understood by tax policy experts, members of Congress, and journalists to be a functional replacement for the commissioner, which would be in violation of statute and the Appointments Clause.^{[12][13][14][15][16]}

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."^[17] The commissioner reports to the secretary of the treasury through the deputy secretary of the treasury.^[18]

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.^[19]

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."^[20]

List of commissioners

The following lists commissioners of internal revenue, in chronological order:^[21][22]

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. ^ Fields, Ashleigh (2024-12-04). "Donald Trump names Billy Long as IRS head". The Hill. Retrieved 2024-12-08.
7. ^ Erb, Kelly Phillips. "Trump Picks Former Representative Billy Long As Next IRS Commissioner". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-12-08.
8. ^ "Long sworn in as the 51st IRS Commissioner Internal Revenue Service". www.irs.gov. Retrieved 2025-08-08.
9. ^ "Billy Long out as IRS commissioner after just 2 months on the job - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. 2025-08-08. Retrieved 2025-08-08.
10. ^ "Update on IRS Commissioner position". www.irs.gov. Internal Revenue Service. 13 March 2026.
11. ^ Erb, Kelly Phillips (11 March 2026). "Senators Question Who’s Running The IRS And Now Treasury Has An Answer—Sort Of". Forbes.
12. ^ Leddy, Maureen (8 October 2025). "Harsh Reactions to New IRS CEO Position". Thomson Reuters Tax & Accounting News. Retrieved 2 April 2026.. "This arrangement is an attempt to sidestep the Constitution’s requirement that the Senate confirm major executive branch appointments," David Kass. "[This is] an end-run around the Senate confirmation process," Vanessa Williamson.
13. ^ Faler, Brian (4 March 2026). "Republican tax writer rips IRS CEO as unprepared for hearing". POLITICO. Retrieved 2 April 2026.
14. ^ Hussein, Fatima (4 March 2026). "IRS leader Bisignano declines to answer questions over unlawful taxpayer data disclosures to ICE". AP News. Retrieved 2 April 2026.
15. ^ Bogage, Jacob (20 January 2026). "Trump’s IRS chief reorganizes tax agency days before filing season". The Washington Post
16. ^ Sikes, Trevor & Valdez, Benjamin (28 October 2025). "IRS CEO Role Incites Worry About Constitutionality, Agency Risk". TaxNotes. Retrieved 3 April 2026.. “The Constitution assumes that it will be followed,” but in the case of Social Security Administration Commissioner Frank Bisignano being named IRS CEO, “it’s pretty clear that it hasn’t been followed,” David A. Super of Georgetown Law.
17. ^ Treasury Order 150-10, Delegation—Responsibility for Internal Revenue Laws, U.S. Dep't of the Treasury (April 22, 1982), at treasury.gov
18. ^ 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
19. ^ 26 C.F.R. § 301.7805-1.
20. ^ Treasury Order 107-03, Regulations Pertaining to the Internal Revenue Law, U.S. Dep't of the Treasury (Jan. 30, 1978), at treasury.gov
21. ^ Internal Revenue Service Data Book 2003. IRS. 2003. pp. 63–64. Retrieved September 13, 2007.
22. ^ "Previous IRS commissioners". IRS.
23. ^ "Acting IRS commissioner to join Red Cross". NBC News. July 26, 2007.
24. ^ George Jones, CCH News Staff, CCH 2007 TaxDay, Stiff Starts as Acting IRS Commissioner, Item #I.6 (Sept. 21, 2007).
25. ^ "Acting Commissioner of Internal Revenue Linda e. Stiff". Archived from the original on 2008-02-24. Retrieved 2017-08-11.
26. ^ "Shulman to Finish His Term as IRS Commissioner on Nov. 9". IRS. October 10, 2012.
27. ^ "Miller to stand in as IRS commissioner". International Tax Review. October 10, 2012.
28. ^ "President Obama Appoints Daniel Werfel as Acting Commissioner of Internal Revenue". The White House. May 16, 2013.
29. ^ "Senate Confirms John Koskinen as IRS Commissioner". The Tax Advisor. December 20, 2013.
30. ^ Nevius, Alistair M. (October 26, 2017). "David Kautter to be named acting IRS commissioner". The Tax Advisor.
31. ^ Nevius, Alistair M. (October 2, 2018). "Charles Rettig sworn in as new IRS commissioner". The Tax Advisor.
32. ^ Burns, Tobias (October 28, 2022). "Rettig out as IRS commissioner". The Hill
33. ^ "IRS Deputy Commissioner Douglas O'Donnell Designated Acting IRS Commissioner". Treasure Department. October 28, 2022.
34. ^ "Werfel begins work as 50th IRS Commissioner". IRS. March 13, 2023.
35. ^ Amato, Neil (January 17, 2025). "Werfel to resign Monday as IRS commissioner". Journal of Accountancy
36. ^ "Commissioner Danny Werfel". IRS.
37. ^ "Krause to serve as acting IRS Commissioner; O'Donnell retires after distinguished career". IRS. February 25, 2025.
38. ^ Swan, Jonathan; Duehren, Andrew; Rappeport, Alan; Haberman, Maggie (April 18, 2025). "Head of I.R.S. Being Ousted Amid Treasury's Power Struggle With Elon Musk". The New York Times
39. ^ Rubin, Richard; Schwartz, Brian; Parti, Tarini. "Trump to Replace Acting IRS Commissioner". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2025-04-18.
40. ^ "Ex-congressman Billy Long confirmed as commissioner of the IRS, an agency he once sought to abolish". AP News. 2025-06-12. Retrieved 2025-08-08.
41. ^ "Long sworn in as the 51st IRS Commissioner". IRS. June 23, 2025.
42. ^ Duehren, Andrew; Rappeport, Alan; Haberman, Maggie (2025-08-08). "Trump Is Removing the I.R.S. Chief 2 Months After He Was Confirmed". The New York Times. Retrieved 2025-08-08.

External links

• Internal Revenue Service Official website
• Internal Revenue Service in the Federal Register