It’s tax season — and while there are new tax savings under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), seeing a refund in your account might take longer this year.
With 27% fewer IRS employees in 2026 than last year, delays in processing the expected 164 million returns could be on the horizon. So, how will IRS understaffing affect your refund?
Read more: 4 ways the One Big Beautiful Bill Act could lower your taxes
The IRS started 2025 with 102,000 employees and finished with about 74,000. The hardest hit departments were Direct File with an 88% staff reduction and Online Services with a 100% reduction, plus many other departments losing a large percentage of staff.
Small business/self-employed department, which helps small businesses and self-employed taxpayers understand their tax obligations, was reduced by over 37%.
Taxpayer services department, which helps taxpayers understand and comply with tax laws, was reduced by 21%.
Information technology (IT) department, which helps employees with IT services and solutions, was reduced by 25%.
The departments responsible for processing original and amended tax returns, resolving tax return errors and fraud, assisting taxpayers on the telephone and in person, and updating computer systems faced a 17 percent reduction in staff.
Traditionally, the IRS hires seasonal workers to fill some positions, but the late 2025 government shutdown and hiring process changes delayed that.
As of December 2025, the department that processes original and amended returns and resolves tax return errors had only onboarded 2% of the employees it planned to hire. Even if they can hire more workers, onboarding takes up to 80 days, keeping them out of this year’s tax filing season.
The biggest impact on taxpayers — and refunds — involves customer service, with large cuts in the number of employees who answer about 100 million telephone calls and deal with millions of taxpayer correspondence and cases.
The department that helps taxpayers on the phone and in person was only able to onboard 66% of the employees it needs this tax season. And even if you get someone on the phone, that IRS employee might not be able to answer your questions. Due to time constraints, the IRS modified the training for these new employees, so now, they only screen calls, answer basic questions, and route taxpayers to another department.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act made over 100 changes to the tax code, further complicating tax return processing. Erin M. Collins, national taxpayer advocate, said in her 2025 Annual Report to Congress: “While the OBBB Act is generally taxpayer-favorable in that it expands eligibility for certain deductions and benefits, the deductions and benefits are subject to complex eligibility rules, income thresholds, and phaseouts that will be difficult for many taxpayers to understand and for the IRS to administer accurately during the filing season.”
Many people will have questions about the OBBBA changes and try to reach out to the IRS for guidance. With reduced staff, taxpayers may not get the help they need, which could lead to errors on returns and further delay refunds.
Impact of tax return backlog and effort to eliminate paper returns
The backlog of 2 million returns from previous filing years might also slow down processing for this year’s refunds. While the IRS kept thousands of employees working during the government shutdown in October and November of 2025, they didn’t make much progress on the backlog.
Additionally, there has been a push to eliminate paper returns and have filers submit electronically, but the effort has been delayed by workforce losses. Automated processes expected to be in place to convert paper filings to electronic ones have not been completed, which could lead to delays for taxpayers.
Read more: Here’s how to file a paper return
According to the latest IRS filing season stats, IRS website usage is up over 49% during the same time period last year. With the reduction in staff, online tools might be your best bet for tax-related information. Here are some options:
Let us help you: This page has information and links on things like how to file a return, how to amend one, how to pay, and much more.
How to file your taxes: Step by step: You’ll find guidance on the filing process, plus links for requesting an extension, finding the latest tax changes, and where to go to file.
Interactive Tax Assistant: You can search articles on filing requirements, forms, deductions, credits, and more.
Filing electronically and getting any refund via direct deposit is the fastest way to get your money. The IRS says most refunds are issued within 21 days and will go directly into a bank account. The agency also admits some will take longer and need additional review.
You can keep an eye on the status of your refund in three ways:
Where’s My Refund?: You will need your Social Security number or tax identification number, the amount of the expected refund, the tax year, and your filing status before you submit the request. The information on the website should be available 24 hours after the IRS receives an e-filed return and four weeks after receiving a paper return.
IRS2Go mobile app: You can also get free access to tax software and other help via the app.
IRS Individual Online Account: After account setup, this will show balances, payments, tax records, and other information.
Read more: Where’s my tax refund? 4 reasons the IRS may be holding it up.
Staffing shortages might delay some refunds, but the IRS still expects most to be issued within 21 days from the date of e-filing.
You can check the status of your refund online. Have your Social Security number or tax identification number, the amount of the expected refund, the tax year, and your filing status handy. The information on the website should be available 24 hours after the IRS receives an e-filed return and four weeks after receiving a paper return.
Usually, the IRS does hire additional workers to help during the tax filing season, but that process has been hindered this season because of several reasons, including the government shutdown in late 2025.
