Yellen: These are the 4 top priorities for the nearly $80 billion in IRS funding

The funding provides a "monumental opportunity" to transform the IRS according to the memo.

1. Clear the backlog

The agency has millions of tax returns that need to be resolved. The IRS said that as of August 5 there were nearly 10 million tax returns that had not been processed.

2. Improve customer service

Making significant improvements to taxpayer service was one of the things that she wanted to improve. The Taxpayer Advocate reported that the IRS has recently used technology to make improvements.

3. Overhaul the agency’s technology systems

An overhaul of the agency's technology systems is one of the priorities.

The two IRS systems containing the official records of individual and business taxpayer accounts are the oldest technology systems in the federal government.

4. Hire IRS employees to replace retiring workers

The goal of replacing the 50,000 IRS workers expected to retire over the next five years was one of the priorities of Yellen.

The IRS workforce has decreased since 2012 with 78,661 full-time employees.

Ensuring the public and Congress are able to hold the agency accountable is one of the goals of the operational plan.

The funding of the IRS has caused controversy. Critics have argued that the new resources could lead to more audits beyond wealthy taxpayers.

She said that any new personnel or auditors that are hired will not be used to increase the share of small business or households below the $400,000 threshold that are audited.