IRS managers voluntarily stepping down from their positions to make way for new hires in customer service roles within the agency
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is making a significant push to hire thousands of customer service representatives to rebuild its taxpayer services workforce, which has been severely impacted by staffing shortages in recent years. Approximately 4,500 contact representative jobs are currently open nationwide, aiming to assist taxpayers with administrative and technical issues.
The IRS has requested funding for an additional 11,000 customer service employees and $853 million in its fiscal 2026 budget to maintain phone lines and improve taxpayer service. However, the outlook for taxpayer service during the next filing season remains uncertain due to ongoing budget and staffing challenges.
The Trump administration’s fiscal 2026 budget proposal seeks to increase customer service staffing by nearly 50% compared to current levels, warning that without this investment, service levels could drop drastically from 85% of calls answered in 2025 to just 16% in 2026. Yet, House Republicans have proposed significant overall IRS budget cuts, though they plan to keep taxpayer services funding flat, which may limit the number of new customer service hires.
The IRS has lost about 22% of its Taxpayer Services Division workforce due to prior downsizing efforts, leaving a significant gap in service levels. More than 8,600 taxpayer services employees have left the IRS under the Trump administration, and the agency is using its direct hire authority to fill these positions, allowing for hiring decisions within 40 to 45 days.
However, the hiring process is not without its challenges. A majority of the open positions are only open to current IRS employees or federal employees whose job, agency, or department was eliminated. Moreover, recent reports from government oversight bodies recommend that the IRS reassess how it measures improvements in taxpayer services amidst funding and staffing uncertainties.
Adding to the complexity, IRS managers are learning about new directives and guidance via media reports instead of from agency leadership. The Professional Managers Association (PMA) considers the current leadership environment at the IRS to be the most dire in its history.
The National Treasury Employees Union warns that without adequate funding, the IRS will have fewer employees available to answer calls from individuals and businesses, potentially endangering the public's faith in the tax system. The IRS is scrambling to prepare its workforce and IT systems for major changes to the tax code as part of the "Big Beautiful Bill" that Trump signed into law.
In summary, while the IRS is making a strong hiring effort for customer service roles to address staffing shortfalls, budget constraints and administrative hurdles may limit the impact of these efforts. This situation could result in continued difficulties for taxpayers trying to reach the IRS by phone or in person during the 2026 filing season, unless funding and staffing requests are fully met and hiring freezes lifted promptly.
The IRS has requested an additional $853 million in finance to maintain phone lines and improve taxpayer service, aiming to hire 11,000 customer service employees.
The National Treasury Employees Union warns that without adequate finance, the IRS may struggle to provide satisfactory service to taxpayers during the upcoming filing season.
