By Jessica I. Marschall, CPA, ISA AM
July 23, 2025
Calling the IRS Practitioner Priority Service (PPS) has become a test of stamina, timing, and luck. As a CPA with over two decades of experience, I have come to expect some inefficiencies during peak tax seasons. But what we are facing now is not seasonal backlog. It is a systemic breakdown in taxpayer service delivery.
50 Calls Just to Get a Hold Time
On many days, it takes 20, 30, sometimes 50 attempts just to reach a hold queue. Most calls do not even ring. Instead, I receive the now-familiar recording: “Due to unprecedented call volume, no representatives are available to take your call.” Then the line disconnects.
This is not an isolated issue. It is the new normal. On rare occasions when I am able to secure a place in the hold line, wait times can stretch well beyond an hour. But even that feels like a small victory compared to the daily barrage of dropped calls and dead ends. There is also the fun experience of the transfer to another representative that disconnects the call…after the multiple call-ins and hold times. We are no longer able to offer call-ins for our tax clients due to the amount of staff time it takes just to get a hold. And then, the IRS is not processing Power of Attorney Forms 2848 very well, so we are often at the mercy of connecting with a kind IRS Representative who allows us to call the client in to authorize us to speak on their behalf. I am happy to report that most IRS representatives are lovely, kind, and helpful people and I have about a 98% success rate in looping in the client. However, if the client does not answer the call it is all for naught and we have to start over. We now only agree to call-ins if we charge a few hundred dollars an hour in fees, which is prohibitively expensive for most clients. But, we cannot maintain productivity staying on the phone all day.
TAS Outages and Delayed Justice
This summer, the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS), the supposed lifeline for complex cases, experienced a prolonged system outage that extended into July. The result? Clients facing urgent financial stress, including those with significant refunds due or multi-year resolution cases, are told they cannot get an appointment until September or October. That means months of continued uncertainty, interest accrual, and potential penalties. And the CP notices demanding immediate payment or threatening asset seizure continue unabated.
Payment Plans Fail and So Do the Safety Nets
One of the most alarming trends I have witnessed recently is the IRS automatically defaulting taxpayer installment agreements without any notice or clear justification. In one such case, a client learned their assets had been seized from their bank account without warning, a direct result of a payment plan “default” they had no knowledge of, and no opportunity to resolve.
And yet, when we try to call to resolve the issue, no one is available. No one knows what happened. There is no pathway to accountability, just an administrative black hole.
Staffing Cuts While Collections Suffer
In light of these experiences, it is deeply troubling that the House GOP has introduced a bill to further slash IRS funding, even as the agency already struggles to fulfill its basic service functions. As reported by Accounting Today, the proposed legislation would rescind billions in funding meant for enforcement and taxpayer services, undermining the very systems that allow the IRS to collect revenue efficiently.[1]
A parallel report in the Washington Post highlights the absurdity of this logic. The IRS already loses hundreds of billions annually in uncollected revenue, due largely to staff shortages and outdated systems. Slashing the budget further will only exacerbate that revenue gap.[2]
A Call for Accountability and Support
The IRS is the engine that powers our government, collecting the funds that sustain public services, infrastructure, national defense, and yes, even the IRS itself. Undermining its operations by stripping staff and failing to modernize technology is not just a policy mistake. It is fiscal sabotage.
Tax professionals like myself are ready and willing to help resolve issues, collect payments, and support compliance. But we cannot do that if the phone does not work, the portals crash, and the human support disappears.
It is time for lawmakers to stop using the IRS as a political football. Fix the systems. Fund the staff. Respect the professionals who are trying to help taxpayers do the right thing.
Because right now, we are doing our jobs. The IRS and those who control its purse strings are not.
[1] House GOP bill would slash IRS funding | Accounting Today
[2] Tax revenue could drop by 10 percent amid turmoil at IRS – The Washington Post
