Washington Tax Day is observed on Tuesday, which is the day that hundreds of millions of Americans have until the deadline to file their tax forms. This year, however, taxpayer groups are warning that it may be more difficult to obtain your return because the Internal Revenue Service has been laying off a significant number of employees.
Concerns have been raised by advocacy groups regarding the potential for the personnel cuts, which could result in the elimination of as many as 20,000 jobs at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which is approximately 25 percent of the agency’s workforce, to result in more confusion for taxpayers and to make it more difficult to combat tax fraud.
Under the auspices of the Department of Government Efficiency, all of this has been done in an effort to reduce the amount of money that the government spends.
Concerns regarding tax returns and audits following layoffs at the Internal Revenue Service
During this year, it is anticipated that around 140 million individual tax returns will be submitted.
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities issued a warning that possible reductions in the budget and staff of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which are part of the plans of the administration of President Donald Trump to reduce the number of federal employees, could result in a significant reduction in audits of millionaires and large corporations, while also leaving many questions from taxpayers unanswered.
The Internal Revenue Service would be “decimated” if the changes were enforced, according to Chuck Marr, who is the vice president for federal tax policy at the center.
A further implication of this is that the quality of service will continue to deteriorate. “It will be more difficult for the Internal Revenue Service to answer the phone and respond to the inquiries of individuals,” said Marr. The budget for enforcement is being reduced, which means that there is less of an effort being made to pursue and apprehend tax fraudsters.
IRS: The procedure for obtaining tax refunds will be comparable to that of the previous year
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has stated that the processing timeframes for tax returns are comparable to those of the previous year, despite the impending reduction.
There were 101.4 million returns processed through the first week of April, which is comparable to the 101.8 million returns that were completed during the same time period in the previous year.
Refunds of taxes are taking a little bit longer than usual, but this might become even more problematic as President Donald Trump makes promises to reduce the size of the federal government.
White House officials said that cuts to the IRS would not affect services.
According to statements made by the Trump administration, the internal revenue agency (IRS) might become more efficient as a result of the employment losses, and the layoffs would not interrupt services.
NewsNation was informed by the White House that essential people are being retained, and that workers of the Internal Revenue Service who are in important roles have been informed that they are not permitted to accept early retirement buyout offers until after the conclusion of tax season.
Are you anticipating receiving your tax refund at what time?
For taxpayers who submit their returns electronically and opt for direct deposit, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) typically issues refunds within 21 days. The time it takes for the Internal Revenue Service to process your paper refund can range anywhere from six to eight weeks.
By selecting direct deposit as the method of your tax refund and entering the account and routing codes, you will be able to have your tax refund paid immediately to your bank account.
Depending on the amount of time it takes for your bank to process the refund, TurboTax estimates that it will arrive in your account within a few days after the Internal Revenue Service has given its approval for your direct deposit refund.
A typical federal tax refund in 2024 was $3,138, according to the most recent data from the Internal Revenue Service.
