U.S. Tax Court
Make it easier to resolve tax disputes
Project details
Each year, taxpayers file 35,000 petitions with the United States Tax Court to settle disputes with the Internal Revenue Service. Most — about 60% — are filed without the help of lawyers. And, since the 1980s, they had to be submitted in person or by mail. They approached 18F for help making the process easier and quicker for taxpayers and staff alike.
Approach
- 18F conducted a three-day workshop with the Court to develop a solicitation for the new system that would support iterative development based on user research.
- We helped identify qualified companies on GSA Schedules and advised about how to select a qualified industry partner.
Outcomes
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The resulting contract allowed the Court and partner to prioritize user needs throughout the project.
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Consulting in acquisitions and engineering set the Court’s Product Owner and Technical Lead, as well as their industry partner, up for success.
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DAWSON, the new web-based case management system, allows taxpayers to easily submit petitions online, and can be maintained and improved indefinitely by the Court.
“
If you think about bowling, 18F was like the bumpers on the lane, making sure I didn't go off-track.
—Jessica Marine, Product Owner
Related blog posts
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18F Checks In With the DAWSON Project at the U.S. Tax Court
The United States Tax Court is an independent federal court that settles disputes between taxpayers and the Internal Revenue Service. Since the 1980s, the Court has used a modified commercial software product to manage its operations. In December 2020, the Court introduced DAWSON, a modern open-source case management system developed with assistance from an industry partner and 18F. DAWSON streamlined Court operations and changed the way the public interacts with the Court. -
Building capacities within a government agency to build and support a new case management system: part 2
This is part two in a two-part series with our partner team at the U.S. Tax Court about their experiences building their new, open source case management system, DAWSON. For this post, we talked to Mike Marcotte, Technical Lead on the project. -
Building capacities within a government agency to build and support a new case management system: part 1
This is part one in a two-part series with our partner team at the U.S. Tax Court about their experiences building their new, open source case management system, DAWSON. For this post, we chatted with Jessica Marine, Product Owner and Deputy Clerk of the Court, Case Services Officer.