IRS Found to Lack Plan to Shrink Taxpayer Correspondence Backlog

The IRS has no plan on how to reduce a taxpayer correspondence backlog, which could lead to less timely future taxpayer services, a new government watchdog report said.

An agency backlog of taxpayer correspondence remained above pre-pandemic levels at the end of filing season and fiscal year 2025, as the IRS sought to balance demands of answering taxpayer calls and correspondence, according to a U.S. Government Accountability Office report.

“But IRS does not have a plan to reduce the backlog,” the report said. “Without a plan, IRS risks not effectively reducing its backlog and may provide less timely service to taxpayers.”

The GAO recommended the IRS implement a plan to address the backlog, and also update its strategic workforce plan and establish an implementation team to manage agency reform efforts. Officials at IRS told GAO that a new strategic workforce plan is in-development, and its prior plans are on hold.

The workforce at the IRS has shrunk significantly since the beginning of the Trump administration, though the 2025 filing season was largely insulated from those cuts.

In the 2025 filing season, the agency’s tax return processing and customer service performance were similar to prior years. IRS didn’t meet its 13-day goal to process paper returns, though it reduced the number of days from 20 in 2024 to 16 in 2025. It answered about 9 million phone calls in both years.