IRS Faces Staffing Crisis as Filing Season Approaches, Raising Concerns Over Taxpayer Services
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is experiencing significant staffing challenges as the 2026 tax filing season approaches. The agency has lost over 20,000 employees, representing more than 20% of its total workforce, in the past year. This reduction has forced the IRS to reassign employees from departments such as human resources and IT to assist with tax return processing and customer service, despite their lack of direct tax experience. The IRS has only managed to hire a small fraction of the necessary staff, with just 50 new hires for tax return processing and 66% of the needed customer service staff. The Inspector General's report warns that these staffing shortfalls could lead to increased error rates, delayed returns, and slow service for taxpayers. 
