The IRS announced the challenge Friday and held the the kickoff meeting for the Tax Design Challenge Sunday in Washington, where participants engaged with policy experts about financial capability challenges and networked with mentors.
A winning participant will receive a $10,000 grand prize award and participants could also win $2,000 for offerings the IRS dubs as “best taxpayer usefulness” or “best financial capability.”
The IRS started the challenge as part of efforts to address issues such as identity theft, unauthorized access and access to interactive services.
Contestants will design the website to map out taxpayer experiences when they search for their information on an IRS portal.