IRS Employees Without Tax Experience Processed 2026 Tax Returns Due to Staffing Cuts

Government Executive reported that, facing deep staffing losses ahead of the 2026 filing season, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was placing employees with no tax background, including many who were former IT staff, into contact representative and tax examiner roles to research taxpayer records and correct accounts. The agency's inspector general (TIGTA) reported that the division that processes returns had onboarded just 50 of 2,200 authorized new hires, and that the unprocessed-return backlog had grown to about 2 million items, up 33 percent year over year. TIGTA later found that between January 2025 and January 10, 2026, the IRS involuntarily detailed 1,173 employees for 120 days to Taxpayer Services after more than 11,000 employees left that division, and Federal News Network reported in May 2026 that most involuntarily detailed staff were placed on extended tours of duty.