IRS did better than expected on refunds despite job cuts: Watchdog
Key takeaways
- A report to Congress from Erin Collins, the national taxpayer advocate, noted the vast majority of taxpayers successfully filed their returns and received their refunds without significant delay.
- In the end, the IRS performed better than expected in most respects.
- In January, Collins warned the IRS that cutting more than 27 percent of its workforce over the prior year could hinder its performance in the ongoing filing season.
Why this matters: political developments that affect policy direction and public trust.
A report to Congress from Erin Collins, the national taxpayer advocate, noted the vast majority of taxpayers successfully filed their returns and received their refunds without significant delay. During the 2026 filing season, the IRS processed nearly 139 million individual returns and issued more than 90 million refunds, according to Collins.
Entering the 2026 filing season, there was considerable uncertainty about the IRS s ability to successfully manage a convergence of major challenges: implementation of sweeping new tax legislation, significant workforce reductions, and extensive leadership turnover, she wrote. In the end, the IRS performed better than expected in most respects.
In January, Collins warned the IRS that cutting more than 27 percent of its workforce over the prior year could hinder its performance in the ongoing filing season.