DOGE Sets Sights on IRS with Hackathon to Build ‘Mega API’
Washington, DC – April 6, 2025 – Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is reportedly gearing up for a hackathon next week, aiming to create a “mega API” to streamline access to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) data. The initiative, first noted by TechCrunch and Wired, is spearheaded by DOGE staffers Gavin Kliger and Sam Corcos—the latter also CEO of healthtech startup Levels—both embedded at the IRS. The goal? A single, powerful application programming interface (API) that could unlock taxpayer data, including names, addresses, Social Security numbers, tax returns, and employment details, for easier integration with cloud platforms.
The hackathon, slated to unfold in Washington, DC, reflects DOGE’s broader mission to slash government inefficiency under Musk’s directive. Corcos has pitched it as “one new API to rule them all,” a nod to consolidating the IRS’s fragmented, decades-old systems—many still running on COBOL mainframes—into a centralized, modern framework. Sources suggest a third-party vendor, with Palantir frequently named as a contender, might manage parts of the project, raising eyebrows about private-sector involvement in handling sensitive data. The API could theoretically allow authorized users to export IRS data to external systems, potentially revolutionizing how tax information is accessed and processed.
But the plan’s ambition has sparked alarm. IRS insiders and privacy advocates warn that centralizing such a trove of personal information could be a security nightmare. “This isn’t just technically unfeasible in weeks—it’s a reckless gamble with taxpayer data,” one anonymous IRS employee told Wired, pointing to the agency’s compartmentalized systems, designed with strict access controls for a reason. The original timeline of a year has reportedly shrunk to mere weeks, a pace critics say could disrupt next year’s filing season. Corcos has also signaled intent to ax the IRS’s Direct File program, a free tax-filing service, adding fuel to the controversy.
DOGE defends the move as a strike against waste and complexity, with Corcos claiming on Fox News in March that they’ve already cut $1.5 billion from modernization budgets to refocus efforts. Yet, the optics of Musk’s team—backed by his $65 billion AI investment push via xAI—meddling with the IRS have ignited a firestorm. Posts on X reflect a mix of skepticism and outrage, with users questioning consent and congressional oversight, some dubbing it “stealing PII in broad daylight.” As DOGE barrels ahead, the hackathon could either herald a tech-driven overhaul or a cautionary tale of innovation clashing with privacy. More details are expected as the event nears—stay tuned.