House Budget Proposal Guts Customer Service at IRS

WASHINGTON – Taxpayers would have a harder time getting help from IRS professionals under budget cuts in the 2026 funding bill proposed by House Republicans.

By recommending that the IRS receive $853 million less for taxpayer services than the president requested, the IRS would have fewer employees available to answer calls from individuals and businesses, endangering the public’s faith in the tax system and depriving taxpayers of the services they deserve, according to NTEU National President Doreen Greenwald.

“Customer Service Representatives are an incredibly vital piece of our tax system because they are on the front lines helping honest taxpayers meet their tax obligations and avoid errors. Slashing this part of the workforce is a disservice to the millions of Americans who contact the IRS every year for help,” Greenwald said.

The IRS’ own budget document states that without the $853 million investment, the level of service provided to telephone callers would “plummet” to 16 percent during the 2026 filing season, down from 87 percent in 2025. And instead of a 60 percent level of service for the full calendar year 2026, the cuts would drop service levels to 11 percent.

The agency’s budget document further states: “At this level of service, most taxpayers would be unable to reach the IRS by phone or receive answers to questions related to tax compliance. Taxpayers that do get through would face long wait times. Decreased service levels would likely lead to increased volumes on other taxpayer service channels, including paper correspondence and in-person assistance.”

The IRS receives about 100 million calls each year, according to the Taxpayer Advocate Service.

The appropriations bill from House Republicans, released Sunday night, would technically provide the IRS with the same amount of taxpayer service funding that it did for the current fiscal year, but that is not the full funding picture. In fiscal year 2025, the IRS said it would supplement its taxpayer services programs with $1.2 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act account set aside to rebuild and improve the agency, plus additional funding from other accounts. For fiscal year 2026, the IRS said it plans to only use $100 million of IRA funds for taxpayer services, which leaves a massive shortfall that would undoubtedly lead to more IRS layoffs and lower levels of taxpayer service.

The overall funding threat to the IRS is equally alarming. The appropriations bill would cut the agency’s regular funding by $2.7 billion in fiscal year 2026, but without the planned investments from the Inflation Reduction Act, the agency would have $9.9 billion less to spend next year.

“These drastic cuts, if enacted, would turn back the clock and undo all of the progress the agency has made in recent years, resulting in backlogs, slower refunds, more uncollected taxes and fewer tax cheats caught,” Greenwald said.

NTEU represents employees in 37 federal agencies and offices.