ByKelly Phillips Erb,
Forbes Staff.
In her Annual Report to Congress, Erin Collins, the National Taxpayer Advocate, noted that “taxpayers ultimately judge the tax system the same way they judge any essential public service—by whether it works when they need it.”
The report cites several challenges for taxpayers, including the IRS's 27% reduction in its workforce, leadership turnover, and the implementation of extensive and complex tax law changes mandated by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA)—many of which, Collins notes, apply retroactively and require significant IRS programming, guidance, changes to tax forms and instructions, and taxpayer education. How those challenges affect taxpayers is what everyone is watching for this tax season.
As required by law, Collins’ report identifies and discusses what she believes were the ten most serious problems taxpayers faced in their dealings with the IRS during fiscal year 2025, and offers administrative and legislative recommendations to mitigate these problems and improve the taxpayer experience.
