The executive branch, through the Department of the Treasury, is the branch of the U.S. government that actually collects federal taxes, mainly via the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which is a bureau within Treasury.

Who “collects” vs who “creates” taxes

  • Congress (legislative branch) has the constitutional power to create taxes by passing tax laws, like the Internal Revenue Code and income tax statutes.
  • The president (executive branch) signs those tax laws and oversees how they are carried out, but does not directly collect taxes.
  • The Treasury Department and IRS (executive branch) are the ones that administer and collect federal taxes day‑to‑day, process returns, and enforce compliance.

So if the homework‑style question is “Which branch collects taxes?” the best short answer is:

It is the executive branch that collects taxes, through the Department of the Treasury and its IRS agency, while the legislative branch creates the tax laws.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.