WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — Tuesday marks Tax Day, the deadline for hundreds of millions of Americans to file their tax returns. But this year, taxpayer advocates warn getting your refund could be more difficult due to sweeping job cuts at the Internal Revenue Service.
Advocacy groups are raising concerns that the staff cuts, which could eliminate as many as 20,000 IRS jobs — roughly 25% of its workforce — may create more confusion for taxpayers and make it harder to crack down on tax fraud.
This has all been in an effort to cut government spending through the Department of Government Efficiency’s plans.
Concerns over tax returns, audits after IRS layoffs
Roughly 140 million individual tax returns are expected to be filed this year.
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities warned that cuts to the IRS’ budget and staff, part of the President Donald Trump administration’s plans to reduce the federal workforce, could significantly reduce audits of millionaires and large corporations while leaving many taxpayers’ questions unanswered.
Chuck Marr, the center’s vice president for federal tax policy, said enforcing the cuts would be “decimating” the IRS.
“What that’s going to mean is that, again, service will decline. It’ll be harder for the IRS to answer the phone, to answer people’s questions,” Marr said. “As the enforcement budget gets cut, there’s less of an effort to go after and catch tax cheaters.”
IRS: Tax refund process will be similar to last year
Despite the looming cuts, the IRS has said tax return processing times remain in line with those from last year.
Through the first week of April, 101.4 million returns were processed, similar to the 101.8 million processed at the same time last year.
Tax refunds are taking slightly longer, but they could grow worse as President Donald Trump promises to shrink the federal government.
IRS cuts won’t disrupt services: White House officials
The Trump administration has said the job reductions could make the IRS more efficient and that the cuts would not disrupt services.
The White House told NewsNation that essential personnel are being retained and that IRS employees in critical roles have been told they cannot accept early retirement buyout offers until after tax season ends.
When can you expect to see your tax refund?
The IRS generally issues refunds within 21 days for those who file electronically and choose direct deposit. Paper refunds can take about six to eight weeks from when the IRS receives your return.
You can get your tax refund sent directly to your bank account by selecting direct deposit as your refund method and typing in the account and routing numbers.
Once the IRS approves your direct deposit refund, it should hit your account within a few days, but that depends on your bank’s processing time, according to TurboTax.
The latest IRS data shows that the average federal tax refund in 2024 was $3,138.
