The IRS Is Imploding
a day ago
- The author received an erroneous IRS letter claiming owed taxes, but calls to the IRS resulted in long hold times and disconnections.
- DOGE cuts eliminated about a third of IRS staff, causing severe customer service breakdowns and longer wait times.
- Tax professionals report unprecedented difficulty reaching IRS, with call drops and unresponsive managers.
- IRS data shows a 20% drop in answered calls and 81-161% increase in hold times during 2026 filing season.
- Mail backlog doubled to 7 million items, and online account features are often unavailable due to outages.
- The collapse disproportionately harms low-income taxpayers, elderly, and non-English speakers, risking wage garnishment or asset seizure.
- The IRS is now hiring 8,000 people, but former staff say it will take decades to recover trust and functionality.