Leadership and workforce
Since January 2025, the IRS has lost more than a quarter of its workforce and nearly all of the agency’s civil service leadership.
Days without an IRS commissioner:
197
After Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's term as acting commissioner expired on March 6, 2026, the administration left the position unfilled. The Internal Revenue Service now has neither a Senate-confirmed nor an acting commissioner. Since the advent of the position in 1862, the IRS commissioner position has never previously been vacant.
The effectiveness of the Internal Revenue Service is essential to the functioning of the government. The IRS Spotlight provides data and analysis on six key aspects of tax administration: leadership and workforce, taxpayer services, compliance and enforcement, taxpayer privacy and immigration, modernization and technology, and nonpartisanship.
Key aspects of tax administration
Compliance and enforcement
Between FY2024 and FY2025, the IRS saw a nearly $5 billion decline in enforcement revenue, a decline attributable in large part to staffing losses.
Taxpayer services
The average number of minutes that taxpayers spent to reach a customer service representative increased from eight to 14 minutes during the 2026 filing season.
Taxpayer privacy and immigration
Of the roughly 47,000 records shared with the Department of Homeland Security, the IRS violated the law “approximately 42,695 times,” a federal judge has ruled.
Modernization and technology
Having indefinitely paused or cancelled many existing modernization efforts, the IRS is now proposing a new modernization plan framed around nine initiatives.
Nonpartisanship
Amidst reports of recurring administration efforts to audit political opponents, less than 20% of Treasury Department employees surveyed in fall 2025 expressed confidence that they could “report a suspected violation of a law, rule or regulation without experiencing retaliation.”
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
Research Analyst
Vanessa Williamson
Senior Fellow
- Governance Studies,
Senior Fellow
- Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center
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Acknowledgements and disclosures
Brookings is grateful to the Hewlett Foundation, which supports Brookings’ research directly, and Arnold Ventures, whose support is provided through the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. 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.
The IRS Spotlight © 2025 by The Brookings Institution is licensed under CC BY 4.0