The Tax Times: Think a Smaller IRS Works in Your Favor? Think Again?

Tuesday, September 30, 2025

Think a Smaller IRS Works in Your Favor? Think Again?

The IRS doesn’t have the same resources that it did a few years ago. Budget cuts and staff reductions have slowed things down, but slower doesn’t mean extinct. If you’re dealing with a return issue, an IRS Notice of Assessment, a Notice of Lien or Levy, or hoping to abate penalties, expect delays and don’t assume those delays work in your favor.

Many people hear about “IRS cuts” and think they’re less likely to get audited or hear from IRS Collections. That’s not how the IRS works. Reduced capacity just means longer wait times. The consequences remain the same and when the IRS finally gets to you, the amount that you owe has more than doubled, because of interest and penalties keep compounding in the interim.

Backlogs Everywhere

Everything at the IRS takes longer right now:

· Penalty abatements can sit untouched for months.

· Refunds are slow to issue.

· Amended returns are even slower.

· Correspondence audits can drag out a year or more.

· Prepare yourself to receive multiple IRS Letter 2644C which is an interim notice informing you that the agency needs more time to process your case, often a tax return or a response to a previous notice.

That lag creates uncertainty. Whether you’re waiting on relief or trying to respond to a letter, every delay puts you at risk for growing fines, additional interest or even legal escalation if things aren’t addressed on time.

Automation

To make up for the loss of people, the IRS increasingly relies on algorithms to flag anomalies, large deductions, missing forms, unexpected income shifts. But machines don’t understand context. A valid situation can look suspicious on paper, which means more taxpayers get flagged or audited even when they did nothing wrong.

Why Taxpayers Feel Stuck

Getting through to the IRS is harder than ever:

· Phone lines are jammed.

· There is the complementary hang up after you waited on hold for an hour.

· Letters sit unanswered.

· In-person appointments are nearly impossible to book.

Even if you connect, it’s rarely with someone empowered to actually resolve your issue.

For Taxpayers With Complex Tax Situations
That’s A Serious Problem!

Why a Tax Lawyer Gets Results?

Tax lawyers cut through red tape faster because they have direct access lines unavailable to the public.

They can:

· Push delayed abatements forward.

· Clarify issues flagged by automation.

· Negotiate liabilities that keep growing with interest and penalties.

· Access your IRS Tax Transcripts to determine your IRS tax problem and how to fix it.

Most importantly, they know how to present context and legal arguments in the language the IRS understands. That makes all the difference when the system is clogged and unresponsive.

Have an IRS Tax Problem?