Once again, the IRS has proven that with adequate investment, our dedicated employees will kick off a successful filing season.
Washington, D.C.– Executive Director Kelly Reyes of the Professional Managers Association (PMA)–formed in 1981 by Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Managers as a national membership association representing the interests of professional managers, management officials, and non-bargaining unit employees in the federal government and within the IRS–released the following statement regarding the end of the 2024 tax filing season:
“Once again, the IRS has proven that with adequate investment, our dedicated employees will execute a successful filing season. This year, the IRS processed over 100 million individual tax returns, delivering most refunds within 21 days for those who e-filed and selected direct deposit. Customer service continued to improve, with phone wait times to around three minutes, 88% level of phone service, more calls and electronic questions answered than ever before. The IRS also assisted more taxpayers in person while expanding free filing options and improved digital tools on IRS.gov. While Congress has substantially reduced IRA funding since its initial enactment, the IRS has been able to make progress on critical IT modernization, customer service improvements, and hiring efforts. These advancements made a real difference for millions of taxpayers this season and all Americans will reap the benefits as our government improves its fiscal state through IRS revenues,” Reyes began.
“While we celebrate the successes of this filing season, we must also acknowledge that more can be done to improve. The IRS is still on a long road toward modernization, and it will take more time and investment to recover the significant damage that more than ten years of declining investments and personnel wrought. Congress recognized this with the Inflation Reduction Act multi-year funding. We urge Congress to continue recognizing the value of continued investment in the IRS. Additionally, challenges such as hiring are the result of systemic issues beyond the IRS. It is difficult to recruit and retain adequate personnel when manager burnout is high, workplace flexibilities are being reduced, and pay is inadequate. PMA continues calling for improvements to compensation and benefits that encourage a career in federal service. Only with talented and dedicated employees working at the IRS can it continue to deliver critical services to the American people year after year,” Reyes concluded.
