DOGE Adviser Says IRS Tech Upgrade Decades Behind Schedule, Billions In Debt

A tech adviser working under Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency recently disclosed some shocking findings about the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) during an appearance with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Fox News.

Sam Corcos, who has been tasked with modernizing the IRS’s software and computer infrastructure, shared in an interview with Laura Ingraham that the agency’s system upgrade is decades behind schedule and has far exceeded its budget — with no end in sight.

“I’ve been brought in to examine the IRS modernization program, as well as the operations and maintenance budget,” Corcos explained to Ingraham. “This is a massive project that’s already 30 years behind schedule and $15 billion over budget.”

Corcos noted that the IRS is still reliant on “legacy infrastructure” with “old mainframes running COBOL and Assembly,” and described the challenge of transitioning to a modern system. “Virtually every bank has already made this shift, but we’re still stuck using a lot of those outdated systems,” he continued.

“In the private sector, a project like this typically takes a few years and costs a few hundred million dollars,” Corcos said. “We’re now 35 years into this… It was supposed to be completed back in 1996.”

He also highlighted the broader implications of the agency’s outdated systems: “A huge part of our government revolves around tax collection, but we can’t carry out the basic functions without relying on contractors. We’ve dug ourselves into a really deep hole, and we need to figure out how to climb out.”

Bessent emphasized that the core issue lies not with IRS employees but with outside contractors. “Many of the employees are fantastic. It’s the consultants that are the problem,” he said. “They’re like a boa constrictor. They’ve wrapped themselves around the government, and the costs are staggering. Ultimately, it’s the American taxpayer footing the bill.”

Bessent further warned about entrenched interests obstructing progress. “The consultants, the Democrats, the mainstream media—they all want to derail this project,” he stated. “This isn’t about eliminating government, but making it more efficient. Sam and his team are focused on making it work better, faster, cheaper, and with greater privacy for the American people. What’s wrong with that?”

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Meanwhile, Elon Musk raised concerns on Monday during a conversation with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), revealing that so-called “magic money computers” are being used within U.S. government agencies to generate unauthorized payments.

Speaking on Cruz’s podcast, Musk explained that his department discovered 14 of these systems operating within the U.S. Treasury and other federal agencies, transferring large sums of money without sufficient documentation. According to Musk, this lack of transparency means that lawmakers are often unaware of how much federal money is actually being spent.

“In agencies that house one of these computers, the reported spending could be off by as much as 5 percent when presented to Congress,” Musk noted, while Cruz speculated that improper payments might amount to “trillions” of dollars.

“They’re mostly at Treasury,” Musk said, referring to the systems identified by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), “but we’ve also found some at [Health and Human Services], a couple at State, and others at [the Department of Defense].”

“I think we’ve identified 14 magic money computers so far. They’re essentially creating money out of thin air,” Musk told Cruz.

He elaborated on how these systems obstruct transparency: “You might assume that all government computers communicate with one another, synchronize data, and accurately track where funds are allocated. But that’s not the case,” Musk warned. “The numbers you’re given as a senator aren’t necessarily the real numbers.”