One in five calls answered on IRS identity theft line, watchdog says

(The Center Square) – The IRS processed nearly 139 million returns in 2026, but millions of taxpayers still faced refund delays, identity theft backlogs and phone lines they couldn't reach, National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins said.

Collins, who leads an independent watchdog office within the IRS, said the agency "performed better than expected in most respects" during the filing season but added that "taxpayers who required assistance from the IRS often struggled to get it."

More than 14 million returns were suspended during processing, and more than 1 million taxpayers waited an average of 5.5 weeks for refunds. Identity theft victims faced average waits of nearly 20 months, with more than 500,000 cases still pending at the end of the filing season.

On the Taxpayer Protection Program line, used by taxpayers whose returns are frozen over suspected identity theft, the IRS answered just 19% of about 2.4 million calls, with average hold times of 20 minutes.

The IRS has requested $15.9 billion in total resources for FY 2027, including $9.8 billion in discretionary funding. The National Taxpayer Advocate has requested at least $251.6 million for its own operating expenses.

Collins warned that a "digital-first strategy can improve tax administration but must not become a digital-only strategy," saying taxpayers must be able to obtain help when they need it and trust they will be treated fairly.