Ahead of Tax Filing Season, Warren, King, 15 Senators Warn of Tax Filing Chaos After Trump Admin Attacks on IRS
Broad coalition of lawmakers call 2026 tax filing season a “huge test for the IRS”
September Inspector General report warned that IRS is woefully unprepared for upcoming filing season, largely due to Trump admin gutting IRS workforce
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, and Senator Angus King (I-Maine) led 15 Senators in pressing Treasury Secretary and Acting IRS Commissioner Scott Bessent and IRS Chief of Taxpayer Services Ken Corbin, warning that the IRS may not be prepared for the upcoming tax filing season — and that failure could saddle American taxpayers with filing problems and refund delays.
The following Senators also joined the letter: Senators Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).
“Taxpayers deserve to have the information and assistance they need to file their taxes and receive their refunds in a timely manner. The Trump Administration’s relentless attacks on the IRS threaten its ability to serve the public and undercut its mission to provide taxpayers with top quality service and ensure that our tax laws are enforced with integrity and fairness,” wrote the lawmakers.
A recent report from the independent Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) warned that the IRS is woefully unprepared for the 2026 filing season, in large part due to the Trump administration’s widespread and large-scale staffing reductions at the IRS. The report indicated that these staffing cuts will likely prevent the IRS from adequately addressing fraud, managing and processing tax returns, and providing assistance to taxpayers at Taxpayer Assistance Centers, “putting the 2026 filing season at risk.”
Over the past year, the Trump administration has repeatedly attacked the IRS. Since January, the IRS has lost more than 25 percent of its workforce. The agency has also seen unprecedented turnover — with a whopping seven different individuals acting as Commissioner over the past year. In addition to preparing for the upcoming tax filing season, the IRS is also tasked with updating dozens of federal tax forms to align with changes made to the tax code by Donald Trump and Republicans’ Big Beautiful Bill.
“The 2026 tax filing season will present a huge test for the IRS,” wrote the lawmakers.
The senators pressed for answers to a series of questions about the IRS’s preparation for the upcoming tax filing season and sought a briefing from the agency by January 12, 2026.
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