Tax Season 2026: A Slimmer IRS

Tax season is here! We agree - ick. The silver lining is that people are excited to get their refunds and immediately spend them on things they definitely don’t need. But this year, the IRS is trying to handle everything with way fewer workers, which is kind of like trying to run a restaurant with just one guy, a calculator, and pure hope. There's good and bad here, so let's see what's up!

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Here are Five Fast Facts on the 2026 version of the IRS:

1. 😣 Political Diet - The IRS workforce shrank by 27% since last year, dropping from over 102k employees to about 74k…because politics. But don't worry, they're still coming for your money!

2. 📵 Customer Service - About 22% of IRS customer service reps are gone, meaning if you try calling them you might age several years while on hold.

3. 📈🐌 Bigger...And Slower - The average tax refund is expected to jump to about $3,800, up from $3,052 last year, mostly because new tax rules weren’t reflected in paychecks yet. But don’t celebrate too early - those refunds may take longer to arrive.

4. 🤔 This Is Not Helping - Many experienced workers were part of the exodus, leaving many newer or reassigned employees who need training, which could lead to more errors and slower processing of returns. We think we speak for taxpayers everywhere when we say: oh, goodie.

5. 🤦 Good Program? Nah - The IRS shut down its Direct File program, which used to make filing easier and faster. Because what most people really want is a more complex and lengthy tax filing process.

🔥Bottom line: So yes, your refund might be bigger this year, and that's awesome! But the IRS is now basically operating with a (relatively) skeleton crew and a second-hand coffee machine, so things could move slower than a sloth at the DMV. Your best bet to minimize problems is to get your taxes done early. Here's hoping for a non-worst case scenario!

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When are you going to file your taxes?

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