This year, taxpayers calling the IRS for help processing their taxes may find it harder than usual to get someone on the phone, according to experts.
- The IRS has been experiencing long wait times for its phone line, with taxpayers facing hours of waiting on hold for assistance.
- This problem is expected to worsen next year with staffing cuts that could significantly reduce the agency’s workforce.
The IRS staffing reductions are part of the Trump administration’s efforts to shrink the size of the federal workforce through various means, including closing agencies and offering buyouts to federal employees. The agency’s phone line is already overwhelmed with the increase in work, and experts warn that the situation could get even worse next year. Long Wait Times
The IRS staffing reductions are causing long wait times for its phone line, with taxpayers facing hours of waiting on hold for assistance.
- According to data, the wait times for the IRS’ phone line are largely in line with those from last year.
- However, the long wait times are expected to increase as more buyouts and layoffs take effect.
Legal experts in tax compliance say the long wait times are going to increase as more buyouts and layoffs take effect.
“The work is getting spread across fewer and fewer people,”
“The IRS staff basically tell us they don’t have time to look at certain cases,”
“The reduction in workers — which may end up being nearly half the entire IRS workforce — is part of the Trump administration’s efforts to shrink the size of the federal workforce through billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency,”
Eric Santos, the executive director of the Georgia Tax Clinic, which provides free tax law services to low-income taxpayers, says wait times for the IRS’ phone line are markedly longer than usual and IRS staff are overwhelmed with the increase in work.
“The IRS staff basically tell us they don’t have time to look at certain cases,”
“The work is getting spread across fewer and fewer people,”
Santos said.