By Ashlea Ebeling

IRS watchdogs are warning of potential trouble this tax season, but there are measures you can take to avoid it.

Americans are filing their returns to an agency that has lost more than a quarter of its workforce, is on its seventh leader in a little over a year and is implementing complex changes from last year's tax law. Backlogs have grown and efforts to hire up for filing season have been delayed, according to a recent memo from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, or Tigta.

Here is what tax professionals say you can do to lower the chances of issues down the line.

Customer-service delays

The problem: Taxpayers called the Internal Revenue Service more than 100 million times last year. The number of customer-service representatives who answer phones and letters is substantially lower now than last filing season, according to a report last week from the National Taxpayer Advocate, which leads an independent watchdog organization within the IRS.

Further, new hires are being trained to answer basic questions about refunds and route other calls to an appropriate representative, the Tigta memo said. So if you do call, be prepared to be passed along.

What you can do: Get an IRS online account. Nearly 51 million taxpayers have one, up from 20 million a few years ago.

You can make payments online, check your refund status and see information about past tax returns. "It's a lot quicker than waiting on hold," said Tony Frezza, an IRS-credentialed tax pro known as an enrolled agent, in Orlando, Fla.

There is also an option to sign up for email alerts when new notices or letters are posted to your account.

To address the staffing shortfall, the IRS will have some representatives work overtime but will still have to reduce the overall capacity for assistance by phone, the Tigta memo said. The IRS's chief executive, Frank Bisignano, has promised new metrics to measure customer service but hasn't released them yet.

"What people should expect" from the IRS this tax season, he said in a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal, "is the best performance they've seen."

Identity theft

The problem: Scammers continue to file fake tax returns to claim refunds under other people's names. Longstanding delays in resolving identity-theft victim assistance cases persisted last year, with taxpayers waiting an average of more than 21 months for their cases to be resolved, according to the National Taxpayer Advocate. The IRS ended last year with several hundred thousand such cases still to process.

What you can do: Get an Identity Protection Personal Identification Number. The IRS can issue you an IP PIN, and more than 10 million taxpayers have one. (I'm one of them, and the process took me just a few minutes online.) You'll need to include your six-digit IP PIN when you file your return.

You get a new number each year. "It's like adding multifactor protection to your return," said Tom O'Saben, director of government relations at the National Association for Tax Professionals, a trade group.

Navigating the new tax law

The problem: The IRS is implementing more than 100 changes to the tax code from Trump's signature law last summer, many of which are retroactive for all of 2025. These include new deductions that can increase the size of your refund if you qualify. New tax laws with complex rules and income limits mean more questions from taxpayers and more opportunities for mistakes, which can lead to delays in getting your refund.

What you can do: Scour the IRS's website before calling the agency with tax questions. The latest 1040 instructions have detailed examples illustrating who qualifies for the new deductions for tips, overtime pay, car loan interest and seniors, all of which are claimed on Schedule 1-A. The Journal also recently published a list of the most important changes to be aware of this year.

Big backlogs when something goes wrong

The problem: Most taxpayers who e-file and choose direct deposit will have a smooth filing experience, but processes that require human oversight can drag on. Backlogs of returns stuck in error resolution, unprocessed amended returns and taxpayer correspondence are bigger than a year ago and than in prepandemic times, according to Tigta.

The IRS processed 3.7 million amended returns last year, taking an average of more than five months per return.

What you can do: Before filing, double-check that your return reflects all of the reporting documents, like W-2s and 1099s, that you expect to receive from employers and financial institutions. These forms, which go to you and the IRS, don't necessarily come in the mail and might be available only online. While most forms are ready now, if you have certain investments or made crypto trades, some of those forms may not be ready until the IRS deadline of Feb. 17.

Headaches with paper returns

The problem: The IRS received about 11 million individual returns on paper last year, and says it takes longer to process those than e-filed returns.

As part of its "Zero Paper Initiative," the agency is using contractors to scan and digitize most paper returns. But progress has been slow, and the Taxpayer Advocate says that outsourcing digitization comes with privacy risks. "We think it's a really bad idea. It might introduce more identity theft and fraud," O'Saben said.

What you can do: E-file your return. About 94% of returns were submitted electronically last year. And if you do file a paper return, bear in mind that the U.S. Postal Service no longer guarantees that it will postmark mail on the day it is dropped into a mailbox.

Paper refund checks are on the way out

The problem: The IRS is transitioning away from paper refund checks. It issued nearly 10 million of them last year. If you don't put your direct-deposit information on your return, you can now count on getting a letter from the IRS and a long wait for your refund.

What you can do: If you file an accurate return electronically and choose direct deposit, the IRS says you should generally get your refund within 21 days.

Write to Ashlea Ebeling at ashlea.ebeling@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 05, 2026 12:00 ET (17:00 GMT)

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