By: Daniel de Visé, USA Today
Some taxpayers say they are not particularly worried about making mistakes on their taxes this year, given the widely publicized cuts at the IRS and the broader impression of a federal workforce in disarray.
In an ordinary year, few taxpayers would contemplate reckless disregard for the data on a tax return. Make mistakes, and you risk an audit.
This year, however, a new president has brought tumult to the taxing agency. The Trump administration is slashing the IRS workforce as part of a broader effort to shrink the federal government.
In a March survey by Intuit Credit Karma, roughly one-quarter of taxpayers said they are less worried about errors on their returns this year because of the IRS cuts. Nearly half of those surveyed said they lack confidence in the agency's ability to enforce compliance with the tax laws. A few taxpayers said they were considering not filing taxes at all.
Among those citizens who have already filed tax returns and expect a refund, the survey found, nearly half worry the check will arrive late. The survey reached 1,003 Americans.
The extent of the IRS overhaul remains unclear. Reuters reports the agency plans to trim 20% to 25% of its 100,000-person workforce by mid-May. The total includes about 5,000 workers who have already taken buyouts, and roughly 7,000 probationary employees who were fired.
Court rulings reinstated the probationary workers, whereupon the IRS put them on paid leave, according to the Federal News Network.
The IRS also ordered many workers to return to their offices this month, but lacked desks to seat them all, seeding further confusion.
The federal downsizing has prompted dire warnings from tax preparers: File early if you want to avoid delays in getting a refund, or if you need help from an IRS agent.
“It’s hard to imagine that you could lay off 7,000 people right in the middle of tax-filing season and there being no impact,” said David Kass, executive director of the nonprofit Americans for Tax Fairness.
In a March letter to Melanie Krause, acting IRS commissioner, congressional Democrats voiced fear that job cuts would embolden tax evaders.
If the IRS is in disarray, however, it’s hard to tell from the agency’s own statistics.
The IRS received about 70.4 million tax returns through mid-March, compared with about 71.6 million in 2024. The agency has processed nearly all of them, 69.6 million.
For anyone worried about refunds, the IRS has dispatched nearly 50 million of them, up from last year. The refunds total about $163 billion, compared with $153 billion at the same time in 2024. The average refund is $3,271, up from $3,109 a year ago.
“I’d say it’s been smooth sailing,” said Mark Gallegos, a Chicago CPA whose firm handles thousands of returns. “No problems at all.”
That doesn’t mean Gallegos would give the IRS high marks across the board. Getting a customer service agent on the telephone can take a while. If you send a letter to the IRS, don’t expect a reply in the same week. Or month.
But those delays aren’t new. Gallegos says wait times were about the same a year ago, under the Biden administration, when IRS staffing was at a peak...
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Please Note: This article was originally published by USA Today. Published 5:03am ET March 27, 2025
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