IRS lost 31% of tax auditors in DOGE downsizing, watchdog finds
The IRS downsizing is due to a series of moves, spurred by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, to cut the agency’s workforce.
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IRS throws chill into collectives paying college athletes while claiming not-for-profit status
The rapidly expanding landscape of not-for-profit, donor-backed collectives paying college athletes to promote charities has been hit with a potentially seismic disruption.
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Trump administration to end IRS Direct File program for free tax filing, sources say
The program developed during Joe Biden’s presidency was credited by some with making tax filing easy, fast and economical, while others said it was frequently difficult to use.
Latest IRS chief to quit over deal to share data with immigration authorities
Acting IRS commissioner Melanie Krause—the tax agency’s third leader since President Donald Trump’s inauguration—will participate in the deferred resignation program the Trump administration offered to agency employees in recent days, sources said.
Trump administration plans 25% staff cut at IRS taxpayer help office
The Taxpayer Advocate Service is part of the IRS but operates independently as its internal watchdog. It identifies major problems facing taxpayers, recommends fixes and assists people with individual problems.
IRS drafting plan to cut up to half of its 90,000-person workforce, sources say
The layoffs are part of the Trump administration’s efforts to shrink the size of the federal workforce through billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
Musk’s DOGE seeks access to personal taxpayer data, raising alarm at IRS
The news comes as roughly 150 million taxpayers prepare to file returns by the April 15 deadline.
IRS Commissioner Werfel says he’ll step down on Trump’s Inauguration Day
Daniel Werfel early departure will be unusual, since IRS commissioners’ terms typically extend from one presidential administration into another.
IRS sending out automatic stimulus payments. Here’s who’s getting them.
The IRS is distributing about $2.4 billion to taxpayers who didn’t receive their COVID stimulus payments. By the end of January, about 1 million taxpayers will receive special payments of up to $1,400 from the IRS.
IRS has improved taxpayer services but has been slow to resolve ID theft, independent watchdog says
IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel said the agency is seeing higher numbers of theft victims overall since before the pandemic, in part because scammers are increasingly moving to online schemes.
Taxpayers getting bigger standard deductions in 2025, but with smaller boosts than recent years
The Internal Revenue Service detailed the increases in its annual inflation adjustments announced Tuesday.
IRS to resume processing new pandemic tax credit claims from employers
Businesses have filed at least 3.6 million claims for the Employee Retention Credit since the program’s debut. It has distributed at least $232 billion, far exceeding Congress’s initial expectations.
IRS apology in Trump-related case reveals agency’s shoddy tax security
The IRS confirmed to The Washington Post that 80,000 people and businesses have been affected by the leak. IRS officials, pushed by a lawsuit filed by Citadel CEO Kenneth Griffin, apologized to him and the other taxpayers through a news release last week.
IRS says ‘vast majority’ of 1M pandemic-era credit claims show risk of being improper
The Employee Retention Credit was designed to help businesses retain employees during pandemic-era shutdowns, but it quickly became a magnet for fraud.
IRS seeks to end another major tax loophole, raise $50B in process
The guidance and ruling being announced Monday includes plans to essentially stop “partnership basis shifting”—a process by which a business or person can move assets among a series of related parties to avoid paying taxes.
IRS has 940,000 unclaimed tax refunds from 2020 that are about to expire
The IRS is warning taxpayers that they might be leaving more than $1 billion in unclaimed refunds on the table.
IRS to go after executives who use business jets for personal travel in new round of audits
The audits will focus on aircraft used by large corporations and high-income taxpayers and whether the tax purpose of the jet use is being properly allocated, the IRS says.
IRS to waive $1B in penalties for people, firms owing back taxes for 2020 or 2021
Nearly 5 million people, businesses and tax-exempt organizations—most making under $400,000 per year—will be eligible for the relief starting this week.
IRS says Microsoft might owe about $29B in back taxes
That figure, which Microsoft disputes, stems from a long-running IRS probe into how Microsoft allocated its profits among countries and jurisdictions in the years 2004 to 2013.
IRS to pause taking claims for pandemic-era tax credit due to influx of fraudulent claims
The IRS has received 3.6 million claims for the credit over the course of the program. It said hundreds of criminal cases have been started and thousands of claims have been referred for audit.
IRS plans to crack down on 1,600 millionaires to collect back taxes
IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel said that with a boost in federal funding and the help of artificial intelligence tools, the agency has new means of targeting wealthy people who have “cut corners” on their taxes.