IRS to Hire 10,000 Workers to Tackle 24 Million Unprocessed Tax Returns

by Yehudit Garmaise

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is looking to hire 10,000 workers to tackle the backlog of 24 million tax returns that remain unprocessed after remaining in trucks outside the IRS buildings, which remained locked-up and unstaffed throughout the pandemic. 

IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig, told Yahoo last month that the agency faces "enormous challenges" in dealing with the unprocessed returns.

''Millions are waiting for their returns to be processed, and many won't be able to reach us when they call with questions this filing season," Rettig said. "This is frustrating for taxpayers and for us. We want to do more, but we face great challenges."

Rettig explained that the IRS, which is operating with 20,000 fewer employees than the agency had in 2010, is severely understaffed. 

The IRS was understaffed even before the COVID-10 pandemic, The Washington Post reported, as 80 crucial positions that range from clerical to advanced engineering to tax attorney have been vacant for years. 

In addition, with a current budget of $11.4 billion, the IRS has less than 20% of the funds available to operate than the agency had in 2010, when adjusted for inflation. The funds for salaries of 10,000 new workers are expected to come from the IRS budget: a large share of which will come from coronavirus stimulus funding.

The IRS plans make its new hires over the next two years, and therefore does not expect to fully eliminate the backlog of unprocessed tax returns until 2022. 

Photo Credit: Flickr