Former IRS acting commissioner joins KPMG’s tax practice

Douglas O’Donnell, former acting commission of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), has joined KPMG’s Washington national tax practice as a senior managing director.

O’Donnell spent four decades at the IRS, joining the agency in 1986 as a revenue agent and eventually holding its most senior roles – including acting commissioner, deputy commissioner, and commissioner of the large business and international division.

As acting commissioner from November 13, 2022 – March 13, 2023 and January 20, 2025 – February 28, 2025, he led a team of approximately 100,000 employees.

During his tenure at the IRS, O’Donnell helped develop and oversee programs such as the IRS compliance assurance process (CAP) and OECD international compliance assurance programme (ICAP).

In his new role at KPMG, O’Donnell will co-lead the tax controversy and dispute resolution group within Washington national tax. He will help client navigate tax issues with the IRS and foreign tax authorities and develop dispute prevention strategies to minimize risk exposure.

“Doug’s unparalleled leadership and deep understanding of the tax landscape will be invaluable to our clients as they navigate an increasingly complex regulatory environment," said Rema Serafi, vice chair - tax, KPMG LLP. "Doug strengthens our ability to deliver the highest level of tax expertise and regulatory insight our clients need to manage these challenges effectively."

O’Donnell in February announced his retirement from the IRS, just as the Trump administration initiated plans to gut the agency through workforce cuts of as much as 40%. Elon Musk’s DOGE department in March terminated approximately 7,000 IRS workers, most of whom were rehired in the following months.