Your tax return this year might be late because of an understaffed IRS

Stressed out woman looks at her notebook and computer while sitting at a desk. (Credit: Olga Pankova—Getty Images)

A fiscal centerpiece of President Donald Trump’s agenda so far has been his pledge to lower taxes, and Americans are close to seeing healthy refunds from their 2026 filings. But actually seeing those returns show up on time might not be so straightforward, according to a recent federal watchdog report, largely owing to another of Trump’s signature policy stances.

The Trump administration’s purge of the federal bureaucracy last year did not spare the Internal Revenue Service, the agency responsible for collecting taxes and processing returns. By last July, around 25,000 employees had left the agency through layoffs or deferred resignations, around 25% of the agency’s workforce. More were let go last fall during the government shutdown. The administration has framed trimming the agency’s headcount as a move toward modernity and higher efficiency. But at least in the short term, the skeleton crew manning the IRS might struggle to deliver on Trump’s windfall promises.