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Every year, as the National Taxpayer Advocate, I am required to deliver an independent assessment of tax administration. In my 2025 Annual Report to Congress, released on January 28, 2026, I continue that tradition with new insights, recommendations, and real-world examples drawn from taxpayers’ experiences. As required by law, this report is submitted directly to the House Ways & Means and Senate Finance Committees without prior review or alteration by the IRS or Treasury.
The Annual Report is more than a statutory requirement; it’s a taxpayer-centric evaluation of how well tax administration is working across the country. It identifies ten of the most serious problems encountered by taxpayers during the past year, offers legislative and administrative recommendations to address those problems, and highlights issues frequently litigated in federal tax court. These reports are grounded in what we hear every day from individual taxpayers, small businesses, and tax professionals across the country. Their experiences shape our advocacy and guide our recommendations. In addition to the main report, I also published the ninth edition of the National Taxpayer Advocate Purple Book, a companion volume that compiles dozens of legislative recommendations that I believe will strengthen taxpayer rights and improve the fairness and efficiency of tax administration.
Before diving into the challenges identified in the report, I want to acknowledge the dedication and professionalism of IRS employees and leadership. Throughout a period marked by unprecedented disruption, IRS employees continued to serve taxpayers under extraordinarily challenging conditions, often with limited resources and evolving guidance. Their commitment matters, and it deserves acknowledgment.
Overall, taxpayers generally fared well in their interactions with the IRS during fiscal year 2025. But “generally well” doesn’t mean “problem-free.” Even during a relatively smooth filing season, millions of taxpayers experienced refund delays due to processing delays. Resolution times for Identity Theft Victim Assistance cases remain unacceptably long – nearly two years on average. For affected taxpayers, these delays translate into prolonged financial hardship and refunds that remain out of reach far too long.
Among the reasons the 2025 filing season went well was that the IRS had its largest workforce in many years and faced no major tax law changes that required implementation during the filing season. As we enter 2026, the landscape is markedly different. The IRS is simultaneously confronting a reduction of 27% of its workforce, leadership turnover, and the implementation of extensive and complex tax law changes mandated by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, many of which apply retroactively and require significant IRS programming, guidance, changes to tax forms and instructions, and taxpayer education.
The good news is that improvement is achievable, and I am optimistic that the 2026 filing season will be smooth for the majority of taxpayers. The operational gains seen in 2024 and 2025, along with Congress’s enactment of targeted bipartisan taxpayer protections, show that practical reforms can translate into better outcomes for millions of taxpayers. The task now is to make those gains permanent so that service remains reliable through workforce constraints, major law changes, and inevitable future disruptions. That requires sustained modernization and, equally important, modern performance measurement.
Success should be defined by what taxpayers deserve: timely refunds, accurate information, first-contact resolution where possible, and timely processing of cases that cannot be resolved on a phone call.
The 2025 Annual Report to Congress outlines the key challenges taxpayers are experiencing in their dealings with the IRS and makes recommendations to address them. As required by statute, I identify and discuss what I believe are the ten most serious problems encountered by taxpayers during the year.
The report also includes a taxpayer rights and service assessment that presents performance metrics for each of the past three fiscal years, an overview of our advocacy activities, and a description of the ten federal tax issues most frequently litigated during the last year. In addition to administrative recommendations in my report, I also propose 71 legislative recommendations for Congress’s consideration in the Purple Book.
For most taxpayers, tax administration isn’t abstract – it shows up as a delayed refund, a confusing notice, or hours spent trying to resolve an issue that should have been simple. Identifying problems early and recommending practical solutions helps protect taxpayers from avoidable hardship and ensures that taxpayer rights remain at the center of tax administration. This report is about making sure the tax system works not just in theory, but in practice, for everyone who relies on it.
I am especially pleased to report that during the final weeks of 2025, Congress enacted three recommendations from last year’s Purple Book. The Internal Revenue Service Math and Taxpayer Help Act significantly improves the clarity of math error notices, and the Disaster Related Extension of Deadlines Act implements my recommendations to prevent taxpayers in disaster areas from losing refunds due to deadline confusion and to stop collection notices from being issued before payment deadlines have passed. Both bills, which passed with unanimous bipartisan support, meaningfully reduce avoidable disputes and provide important protections for millions of taxpayers.
I look forward to working with Congress and the IRS as the agency refines and implements its modernization plans. Together with my team, I stand ready to help strengthen taxpayer service and tax administration for the benefit of all taxpayers – and to continue to serve as the taxpayer’s safety net when the system falls short.
The views expressed in this blog are solely those of the National Taxpayer Advocate. The National Taxpayer Advocate presents an independent taxpayer perspective that does not necessarily reflect the position of the IRS, the Treasury Department, or the Office of Management and Budget. NTA Blog posts are generally not updated after publication. Posts are accurate as of the original publication date.