Leadership and workforce
Find data on agency leadership and personnel, including changes in staffing levels, position vacancies and turnover, and other issues related to recruitment and retention.
DATA IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Leadership loss
Between January 20, 2025 and November 12, 2025, three-quarters of IRS leadership separated from the agency.
Four top civil service positions were eliminated, one position was created, and 18 positions experienced turnover. Three positions remained vacant at the end of 2025.
IRS turnover
The effectiveness of the Internal Revenue Service is essential to the functioning of the federal government as a whole. The IRS Spotlight covers six key areas of tax administration data: leadership and workforce, tax compliance and enforcement, taxpayer services, immigration, paperwork processing, and data and modernization.
Tax administration data by category
Tax compliance and enforcement
Find key statistics on compliance and enforcement, including revenue collected, audits, and criminal investigations.
Taxpayer services
Find data on the quality of taxpayer assistance, such as the wait times for IRS hotlines, the accuracy of information provided by IRS customer service representatives, and the availability of volunteer tax preparation services.
Immigration
Find information about the IRS’s changing role in immigration enforcement and associated lawsuits regarding taxpayer privacy, as well as documentation regarding the IRS’s memorandum of understanding with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), new policies regarding the availability of tax credits to non-citizens, and data about the usage of Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers.
Paperwork processing
Find data on how the IRS is addressing its immense paperwork responsibilities.
Data and modernization
Find information on modernization efforts by the IRS, changes in data management, and the implications for taxpayer privacy.
You can also download a spreadsheet with the full list of available data, including the range of years for which data is available.
The IRS Spotlight ensures that existing public data about tax administration will remain accessible. We will continue updating and expanding the Spotlight in the weeks and months to come. If you find a gap in our data library, or have a resource you think should be included, please reach out to us at [email protected].
Research team
Ellis Chen
Senior Research Assistant
Vanessa Williamson
Senior Fellow
- Governance Studies,
Senior Fellow
- Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center
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Acknowledgements and disclosures
Brookings is grateful for the support of the Hewlett Foundation and Arnold Ventures. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions in this project are solely those of the authors and do not represent positions or policies of the Hewlett Foundation or Arnold Ventures’ officers, employees, or other donors. Brookings is committed to quality, independence, and impact in all of its work. Activities supported by its donors reflect this commitment and the analysis and recommendations are solely determined by the scholars.
