IRS Job Cuts to Bring Delays in Legal Work, Curbs to Easy Filing

The Trump administration’s latest plan to pare back the IRS would slow the agency’s legal work and constrain taxpayers’ ability to file returns easily, practitioners and other observers say.

The proposal would cut IRS staff by 18%, cutting especially deeply in areas like the agency’s Taxpayer Advocate Service, the team handling the free Direct File tax-filing tool, the Office of Chief Counsel, and the IRS appeals office. Practitioners say the staff reductions would result in delays in the appeals process and longer waits for refunds and assistance.

Improving IRS technology would help the agency maintain its work and services ...