Description

Taxpayers have the right to be informed, which includes access to their personal taxpayer data. Many taxpayers, however, might not know where to find this information or how to use it, as much of this information reads like a receipt and can be hard to understand for those who are not finance professionals.

The goal of this challenge is to reimagine the taxpayer experience and design the taxpayer experience of the future. With over 200 data fields at play, how might we design, organize, and present tax information in a way that makes it easier for taxpayers to manage their taxpayer responsibilities, and to use their own taxpayer data to make informed and effective decisions about their personal finances?

Archived Live Stream

Event Details

, 1133 15th Street NW, Where: 1776 , 1133 15th Street NW,

Washington, DC 20005. Register online at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tax-design-challenge-kickoff-at-1776-tickets-23103120054

Learn about the IRS's first crowdsourcing challenge from leaders at the IRS and Treasury

Engage with policy experts about financial capability challenges that could be addressed with an improved taxpayer experience

Network in-person with some of the mentors from the challenge

Meet and team-up with other civic-minded technologists, designers, and innovative thinkers

Free beverages and snacks provided by our cosponsor

Prizes

The variables in the Tax Data Document (TDD) represent the type of personalized data that may comprise a person’s tax information, including refund status, transactions, and line-by-line tax return information for specific tax years. Entrants should use some or all of these variables as part of their submission for an improved experience. Use of every variable in the TDD is not required; submissions may include additional variables that are not in the TDD. TaxDataDocument .xlsx The Sample Tax Data is for illustrative purposes only — to show how many of the data fields in the TDD are currently displayed. SampleTaxData .pdfNetwork with over two dozen mentors available for this challenge -- strategists and designers who have built products at Betterment, Google, Morningstar, Social Behavioral Sciences Team, United States Digital Service, and many more; and leaders within the IRS with digital and tax expertise. Learn more and schedule time with them:andThis is a past event. Attendance at the kickoff event is not required for participation in the Tax Design Challenge.When: April 17, 2016, 11AM to 3PMAt this event, you'll have the opportunity to:Cash Prize Amount: $10,000This prize has a guaranteed winner.

Best Overall Design - Second Place

Cash Prize Amount: $5,000



Best Taxpayer Usefulness - First Place

Cash Prize Amount: $2,000



Best Taxpayer Usefulness - Second Place

Cash Prize Amount: $1,000



Best Financial Capability - First Place

Cash Prize Amount: $2,000



Best Financial Capability - Second Place

Cash Prize Amount: $1,000



Rules

The terms and conditions for the Tax Design Challenge are subject to modification by the IRS. Entrants should adhere to the terms and conditions provided on this website, as these will be the most up-to-date. We have added a requirement that entrants must be at least 18 years old. We have amended the list of acceptable formats to remove .HTML as an option.To be eligible to win a prize under the Challenge, an individual or entity— (1) Must register to participate in the Challenge under the rules promulgated by the Internal Revenue Service. (2) Must comply with all the requirements under this section. (3) Must be at least 18 years old at the time of submission. (4) In the case of a private entity, shall be incorporated in and maintain a primary place of business in the United States, and in the case of an individual, whether participating singly or in a group, shall be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States. (5) Shall not be a Federal entity or Federal employee acting within the scope of their employment.

(6) Shall not be an employee of the Internal Revenue Service or the Mortgage Bankers Association ("the Cosponsor").

(7) Shall not be affiliated with any judge on the review panel. In the case of a private entity, this means that no judge currently serves as a director, officer, or employee of the entity. In the case of a private individual, the individual shall not have a close family or professional relationship with any judge.

(8) Federal grantees may not use Federal funds to develop Challenge applications unless consistent with the purpose of their grant award. (9) Federal contractors may not use Federal funds from a contract to develop Challenge applications or to fund efforts in support of a Challenge submission. An individual or entity shall not be deemed ineligible because the individual or entity used Federal facilities or consulted with Federal employees during a competition if the facilities and employees are made available to all individuals and entities participating in the Challenge on an equitable basis. Entrants must agree to assume any and all risks and waive claims against the Federal Government, its related entities, and the Cosponsor, except in the case of willful misconduct, for any injury, death, damage, or loss of property, revenue, or profits, whether direct, indirect, or consequential, arising from participation in the Challenge, whether the injury, death, damage, or loss arises through negligence or otherwise. Entrants must also agree to indemnify the Federal Government against third-party claims for damages arising from or related to Challenge activities.

Terms and Conditions for Participating in the Challenge: (1) Employment and Compensation. Participation in the Challenge does not create an employment relationship between participants and the IRS. Except for the prize winners, participants will not receive any compensation or other payment for any products or services that they provide to the IRS during the Challenge.

(2) Contracting. Participation in the Challenge does not establish a contractual relationship between the participants and the IRS. The Challenge results are not subject to protest or appeal under federal contracting laws.

(3) Intellectual Property.

(i) Each participant retains title and full ownership in and to their submissions. Participants expressly reserve all intellectual property rights not expressly granted under this notice.

(ii) By participating in the Challenge, each participant grants the IRS a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide, irrevocable license to use any of participant's intellectual property incorporated in the participant's submission, in furtherance of the IRS's mission. This license includes the right to incorporate the submission into IRS products or processes, and to reproduce, publicly perform, publicly display, and use the submission, including, without limitation, for advertising and promotional purposes related to the Tax Design Challenge Series.

(iii) Participants warrant that they have permission to use any intellectual property of third parties that is included in their submissions, and that such permission extends to the IRS to the extent set forth in paragraph (3)(ii) of these Terms and Conditions.

(4) Liability. Participants agree to assume any and all risks and waive claims against the Federal Government, its related entities, and the Cosponsor, except in cases of willful misconduct, for any injury, death, damage or loss of property, revenue, or profits, whether direct, indirect or consequential, arising from their participation in the Challenge, whether the injury, death, damage or loss arises through negligence or otherwise.

(5) Challenge Judgments Final. Participants agree that the selection of prize winners is a matter of discretion for the judges, and all selections are final and binding.

Judging Criteria

Basis Upon Which Winners Will Be Selected

The review panel will make selections based upon the following criteria:



Overall Appeal

How does the entry feel visually?



Taxpayer Usefulness

Does it address the taxpayer’s responsibilities?



Financial Capability

Does it make it easier for the taxpayer to make informed and effective decisions about their personal finances?



Visual Hierarchy

Can the most important information be easily found?



Information Density

Is it easy to digest the information that is presented?



Accessibility

Can a varied population make use of this document?



How To Enter

To submit a solution, entrants should create an account with Challenge.gov, then select "Submit Solution" on the left-hand navigation of this website. Submissions must be made by 11:59AM EST on May 10, 2016.

Challenge entrants will submit a design that:

Improves the visual layout and style of the information for the taxpayer

Makes it easier for a taxpayer to manage their taxpayer responsibilities

Empowers a taxpayer to make informed and effective decisions about their personal finances

Entrants should consider end users in developing their design. Our tax system includes people from many different socioeconomic backgrounds, with different needs and responsibilities.

In order for an entry to be eligible to win the Challenge, it must meet the following requirements:

Deliverable: Must be an image or browser viewable file. The acceptable image formats: .PNG, .JPG, .GIF, .TIFF, and .PDF. There is no limit to how many designs you may submit and how many images are used to represent a design, however, each individual file has a size limit of 3MB. If you are submitting multiple image files, please be sure to label each file and include a table of contents so that it is clear to judges the order in which they should be reviewed .

Feasibility: The Challenge requires only that the design of the taxpayer experience be submitted. It is not the responsibility of the entrant to build or code a working version of the design. However, the design must be ultimately implementable using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

Data: The design should use some or all of the variables in the Tax Data Document (TDD) for an improved experience. Use of every variable in the TDD is not required; submissions may include additional variables that are not in the TDD.