When did the IRS come into existence and why?

Answer 1

The roots go back to the Civil War in 1862 when Congress created the position of commissioner of the Internal Revenue and enacted an income tax to pay for the war. The income tax was repealed 10 years later, but was started again in 1894. The Supreme Court ruled it was unconstitutional the following year. In 1913 Wyoming ratified the 16th amendment. The 16th amendment gave congress the authority to enact an income tax. That same year the first 1040 form appeared and a 1% net tax on personal incomes above 3,000 with a 6% surtax on incomes of 500, 000. In 1918 during WW1 the top rate of income tax rose to 77% to help pay for the war. It dropped after the war to 24% in 1929, but rose again in the depression. In WW2 Congress introduced payroll withholding and quarterly tax payments. In the 1950's the name was changed to the IRS.