Tax Practitioners Belong at the Center of Any IRS Reform Efforts

Every filing season teaches the same lesson: The tax system doesn’t live on paper; it lives in people’s lives. When something works smoothly, taxpayers may never think twice about it.

But when something goes wrong—a delayed refund, a confusing notice, or a case that drags on for months—the system becomes very real, very fast. In those moments, taxpayers rarely call Washington. They call their tax professional.

That’s why conversations about improving IRS administration can’t happen without the people who work with taxpayers every day. Tax practitioners aren’t on the sidelines of the system. We’re integral to how it functions, translating complex rules into real-world compliance and helping taxpayers resolve issues when the process breaks down.

At the National Association of Tax Professionals, we welcome the ongoing focus on strengthening taxpayer service and modernizing tax administration. The Taxpayer Advocate Service plays an important role in advancing these discussions, including through its annual report to Congress.

The next step, however, is ensuring that the practitioners who serve taxpayers daily are included as partners in shaping what comes next.

Tax professionals are often the first to see where the system strains because our clients bring them to us—not because we’re looking for problems. A taxpayer may be waiting on an identity theft resolution. Or they may have received an IRS letter that raises more questions than it answers, with a resolution stretching far beyond what anyone would consider reasonable.

In many cases, the issue itself is straightforward, but the path to resolution isn’t. Practitioners become interpreters of unclear processes, spending hours trying to secure answers for taxpayers who rely on us for clarity and reassurance.

The IRS has made progress in recent years, and the dedication of IRS employees deserves recognition. But taxpayers don’t experience the agency through performance metrics. They experience it through outcomes.

Trust erodes when a taxpayer can’t get a clear answer, can’t understand a notice, or can’t resolve an issue within a reasonable timeframe. Practitioners experience that erosion directly because we’re the ones explaining delays and uncertainty to frustrated or anxious clients.

Improving taxpayer service requires more than increasing call-handling capacity. It requires systems that are predictable and accessible when issues arise, not just during filing season.

Practitioners support modernization. Stronger systems and better tools benefit everyone. But modernization must be reliable throughout the year.

A digital tool that works inconsistently doesn’t reduce burden—it shifts it. Likewise, modernization must be paired with timely, clear IRS guidance so practitioners and taxpayers alike understand how new systems are intended to function.

Without that balance, well-intentioned improvements risk creating new friction rather than reducing it.

One area where this balance matters most is IRS correspondence. Tax preparers routinely help clients decipher letters that are unclear about what changed, what action is required, or what timeline applies.

Improving correspondence isn’t a minor administrative fix. It’s one of the most direct ways to reduce taxpayer confusion and unnecessary follow-up work for the IRS itself. Clear communication lowers call volume and helps taxpayers feel informed rather than alarmed.

Practitioners see a clear opportunity for improvement over the next several years. In many cases, the questions raised by IRS correspondence are ones a tax professional should be able to address directly through a taxpayer’s online account, without the need to interact with an IRS representative.

Expanding secure, practitioner-enabled access to account information and correspondence would allow issues to be resolved more efficiently while preserving IRS resources for matters that truly require direct intervention.

NATP has long supported efforts to raise professional standards across the tax preparation industry. Taxpayers deserve competence, ethics, and accountability from anyone preparing returns.

At the same time, oversight must be balanced. Policies should elevate professionalism without creating unintended barriers that limit access to qualified tax assistance, particularly in underserved communities. The most effective approach strengthens education and ethical practice while respecting due process and the diversity of practitioners serving taxpayers nationwide.

Modern systems are essential, but they can’t replace trained personnel in work that requires additional expertise, such as amended returns and identity theft. Practitioners continue to encounter delays in areas that require human review and expertise. If timely answers and faster resolution are the goal, staffing and resources must align with those expectations.

Tax practitioners shouldn’t be treated as an afterthought in IRS reform. We’re a critical link between taxpayers and the tax system itself. Practitioners see what works, what confuses taxpayers, and where unnecessary burdens emerge. That perspective is essential if reforms are to succeed in practice, not just in policy design.

NATP encourages tax professionals to stay engaged through professional associations, public comment opportunities and ongoing dialogue with policymakers. A tax system that works for taxpayers depends on informed input from the professionals who help them comply with it every day.

Tax preparers want the system to succeed. Any reform efforts must translate into practical, lasting improvements to determine whether that progress endures for years to come.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg Industry Group, Inc., the publisher of Bloomberg Law, Bloomberg Tax, and Bloomberg Government, or its owners.

Author Information

Larry Gray is the IRS liaison for the National Association of Tax Professionals.

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