The commissioner of internal revenue is the head of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), an agency within the United States Department of the Treasury.
The office of commissioner was created by Congress as part of the Revenue Act of 1862. Section 7803 of the Internal Revenue Code provides for the appointment of a commissioner of Internal Revenue to administer and supervise the execution and application of the internal revenue laws. The commissioner is appointed by the president of the United States, with the consent of the U.S. Senate, for a five-year term.
On December 4, 2024, President-elect Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate Billy Long to serve as the commissioner of the IRS. He was confirmed by the Senate on June 12, 2025 and sworn in on June 16. President Trump subsequently removed Long as commissioner on August 8, 2025 and announced that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent would serve as acting commissioner. Bessent was the seventh commissioner of internal revenue to serve in 2025. On March 6, 2026, Bessent's term expired, and the office became vacant.
In November 2025, Frank Bisignano was appointed without Senate confirmation as "Chief Executive Officer of the Internal Revenue Service", a new position understood by tax policy experts, members of Congress, and journalists to be a functional replacement for the commissioner, which would be in violation of statute and the Appointments Clause.
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Responsibilities
The commissioner's duties include administering, managing, conducting, directing, and supervising "the execution and application of the internal revenue laws or related statutes and tax conventions to which the United States is a party" and advising the president on the appointment and removal of a chief counsel of the IRS. Treasury Order 150-10 states in relevant part: "The Commissioner of Internal Revenue shall be responsible for the administration and enforcement of the Internal Revenue laws." The commissioner reports to the secretary of the treasury through the deputy secretary of the treasury.
One of the commissioner's most important responsibilities with respect to the internal revenue laws is setting the Treasury Regulations administered by the IRS. The U.S. Treasury Regulations provide (in part):
(a) Issuance. --The Commissioner, with the approval of the United States Secretary of the Treasury, or his delegate, shall prescribe all needful rules and all rules and regulations as may be necessary by reason of any alteration of law in relation to internal revenue.
However, the general counsel of the Department of the Treasury has "the authority to approve all regulations pertaining to the internal revenue laws, including the authority to ratify and approve, where necessary, any such regulations previously issued."
List of commissioners
The following lists commissioners of internal revenue, in chronological order: