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The loss of 25 percent of the IRS workforce and recent spending cuts could impact the 2026 tax filing season, according to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA).
TIGTA’s new Semiannual Report to Congress says that the management challenges already facing the IRS “may be amplified” by the losses.
“Several initiatives reduced the IRS workforce since January 2025 but had no significant impact on the filing season because critical filing season positions were exempted. However, we are concerned about how this will impact the 2026 Filing Season. Key IRS functions responsible for managing the filing season have lost 17 to 19 percent of their workforce,” the report states.
For example, TIGTA said the IRS will have fewer Information Technology resources to update the processing systems to accommodate changes in the tax law passed by Congress this year.
NTEU has long called for adequate IRS funding so the agency can have the staffing and resources to provide the quality services taxpayers need and deserve.