The IRS in 2025 - A Snapshot of Reality - 01-15-26

The IRS is not the same agency we dealt with a decade ago, or even three years ago. The pandemic accelerated operational strain, exposing long-standing infrastructure weaknesses while also prompting overdue investment and modernization. Some areas have improved meaningfully, including digital tools, faster account updates, and improved phone service during filing season. Other areas, however, feel frozen in time. Correspondence units remain slow, backlogs persist, and automated notices often fail to reflect what is actually happening on a taxpayer’s account.As tax professionals, we operate in the middle of this contradiction. Our effectiveness depends less on how the Internal Revenue Manual says the IRS should operate and more on understanding how it actually operates today. Just as importantly, our sanity depends on managing client expectations in an environment where taxpayers expect Amazon-level efficiency from an agency still reliant on decades-old systems.This audio outlines the practical realities of working with the IRS in 2025, what strategies are working, what remains broken, and how to set clear, healthy expectations so you can deliver results without burning out.This podcast is meant for entertainment purposes only. For the more thorough, complete, and accurately written version of this article which includes citations, visit us at http://www.tottb.tax