As tax season opens and the IRS prepares for millions of returns, the agency’s internal watchdog warns that certain taxpayers could have problems in 2026.
While the 2025 filing season was generally a “smooth experience,” the current year could present “greater challenges” for some filers, National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins said Wednesday in her annual report to Congress.
With the largest staff in many years and no major tax law changes, the IRS processed more than 165 million individual returns in 2025, and most filers received timely refunds, she said.
But “entering 2026, the landscape is markedly different” amid the agency’s 27% workforce reduction, leadership turnover, and implementation of “extensive and complex” tax law changes enacted by President Donald Trump, Collins wrote.
The 2026 filing season should be “seamless” for taxpayers who file an electronic, error-free return with direct deposit for refunds, Collins wrote. But “the success of the filing season will be defined by how well the IRS is able to assist the millions of taxpayers who experience problems.”
