Incoming IRS Chief Long Faces Five Big Challenges on Day One

One of the least loved agencies in Washington—the IRS—is about to have a new face, after Republicans voted to confirm former Rep. Billy Long (R-Mo.) to lead it.

Long will enter the IRS with a hefty to-do list, as the agency comes off one of its most turbulent periods in decades. Roughly a quarter of the workforce are expected to leave by year’s end, including many top leaders. The agency also faces pressure from the White House to contribute to the Trump administration’s immigration push and carry out his agenda.

The IRS is also cash strapped. It got tens of billions in funding to modernize, go after tax cheats, and improve customer service during the Biden administration, but much of that money was clawed back by Republicans. Separate from the extra cash, the Trump administration proposed cutting the IRS’s annual funding by about $2 billion down to $9.8 billion.

Here are five challenges Long will face from his first day on the job.

Political Influence

A former Republican congressman who advocated for abolishing the IRS, Long has the potential to disrupt a status quo the agency has long prided itself on—remaining apolitical.

Ahead of his arrival, taxpayer advocates, lawyers, and agency leaders said the IRS was already stretching the bounds of what is legal to comply with Trump administration requests. In April, the Treasury Department and Department of Homeland Security signed a memorandum of understanding allowing the IRS to give taxpayer data about immigrants to authorities conducting criminal investigations. This is a departure from the IRS posture of encouraging immigrants to pay their taxes even if they are in the country unlawfully.

Separately, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the administration would advance efforts to revoke Harvard University’s tax-exempt status, after President Donald Trump raised the possibility. While it is illegal for the president or other top officials to direct the IRS to punish or investigate particular taxpayers, the IRS and Treasury Department is seeking to align with the administration’s request, considering rules that would take aim at the tax-exempt status of hundreds of colleges if they consider race in admissions and other policies.

GOP Tax Bill

A multitrillion package of tax and spending reductions is in Senate lawmakers’ court as it edges towards passage this year. The House bill would permanently extend a number of the provisions from Trump’s flagship tax law in 2017 and add new temporary measures, including related to his campaign promises like no tax on tips or overtime.

While the 2017 tax law was hailed for simplification in broadening the taxpayer base, the current proposal adds a slew of new carve-outs, which could prove challenging for the IRS to administer amid budget cuts and other disruptions.

“If there’s any significant tax law change—and I’m not talking just about extenders but certain types of income not being taxable—that is going to introduce a tremendous amount of challenge that people need to be thinking about in terms of systems that we need to update,” former acting IRS commissioner and longtime employee Doug O’Donnell said in May.

Enforcement Lanes

A new commissioner typically means new areas of enforcement focus. Long’s predecessor, the Biden administration’s Danny Werfel, zeroed in on wealthy individuals, large companies, and the pandemic-era employee retention tax credit. Trump’s first commissioner, Chuck Rettig, took an interest in syndicated conservation easements.

While Treasury initially signaled it planned to use technology to go after the tax cheats, it has slightly shifted, telling some enforcement employees they couldn’t take the administration’s resignation offer because they were critical. Long also comes in after getting blasted for his own involvement in a false tax credit scheme.

Tech Upgrades

Treasury has committed to completing most key IT modernization initiatives in the next two years at the IRS. Amid the workforce cuts, Treasury cited tech as the answer to the concerns over the IRS falling even father behind on enforcement and customer service.

The IRS has made strides to improve its tech upgrades under the Biden administration, replacing many scanners and expanding online tools for taxpayers. Without significant changes to the IRS’s tech paired with the drop in workforce numbers, taxpayers are likely to feel the fallout of delayed refunds and a harder-to-reach agency in the coming months.

Filing Season

Treasury is touting a successful filing season even with the workforce chaos, riding off changes made under the Biden administration. With the customer service representatives initially were exempt from taking the resignation offer during this tax season, the impacts of the cuts are expected to be felt next filing period, unless major changes are made in the meantime.

Customer service is one area where Republicans in Congress want the IRS to stay largely staffed up and responsive.

Long will be tasked with making sure the plans stay on track during the time of year when most people interact—and have opinions—on the IRS.