IRS Says Less People = Better Results. The Data Says Otherwise.
IRS CEO claimed 27% staffing cuts produced better results. IRS's own FOIA data: 1040 waits +71%, ACS waits up nearly 300%, $5B enforcement revenue lost.
Need a professional headshot? Pro headshots AI-generated in 60 seconds
IRS Says Less People = Better Results. The Data Says Otherwise.
Last Updated: April 26, 2026 Reading Time: 9 min
On April 15, 2026 (Tax Day), IRS CEO Frank Bisignano told the Senate Finance Committee that the agency achieved "less people and better results" after losing roughly 27% of its workforce since January 2025. He cited filing season completion, an average phone speed of answer "below 10 minutes," and a 12% jump in enforcement revenue.
The IRS's own data, obtained via FOIA by the Center for Taxpayer Rights, tells a different story. Phone wait times on the main 1040 line are up 71%. The Automated Collection System (ACS) line wait is up nearly 300%. FY2025 enforcement revenue fell about $5 billion. The IRS quietly lowered its own service target so the math worked.
This is not a partisan dispute. It is a measurement gap. Bisignano measures what the IRS chose to report. The FOIA data measures what taxpayers actually experience.
Key Takeaways
- IRS lost approximately 27,636 employees between January 2025 and end of FY2025 (102,000 → ~74,000-76,000)
- Main 1040 phone wait: 4.25 min → 7.28 min (+71%) per IRS Enterprise Performance reports
- ACS line wait: 4.85 min → 18.01 min (+271%) in FOIA data; 2+ hours in April 3 live testing
- IRS lowered its own LOS target from 85% to 70% for FY2026
- FY2025 enforcement revenue: down ~5% (~$5 billion) per Reuters FOIA analysis
- FY2027 budget proposes another 4,875 cuts ($1.4 billion reduction from current spending)
- Yale Budget Lab projects $600–$861 billion in lost federal revenue over 2026-2035
What Bisignano Actually Claimed (April 15, 2026)
The hearing was at 215 Dirksen, Senate Finance Committee, 2:30 PM. Bisignano was the sole witness. The phrase "less people and better results" came up in Q&A, not the prepared statement. When senators asked for evidence, his core claims were:
- The 2026 filing season met its goals
- Average phone speed of answer was "below 10 minutes"
- Enforcement revenue rose 12% year-over-year
- 98 million refunds went out within 21 days
- "Almost 50% reduction in idle time" for customer service representatives
- Technology and data analytics drove the enforcement gains
Each of those claims is technically defensible against a specific metric the IRS chose. Each unravels against the FOIA data and the National Taxpayer Advocate's 2025 Annual Report.
Bisignano Claim vs. Reality
This is the table at the center of the post. Every figure below traces to a primary source.
| Claim | Time Period | What the Data Actually Shows | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Less people and better results" | 2026 filing season | 1040 wait +71%; ACS wait +271%; 37% disconnect rate on April 3 testing; LOS target lowered from 85% to 70% | Contradicted |
| "Average speed of answer below 10 minutes" | 2026 filing season | True for the 1040 line (7.28 min). False for ACS (18.01 min in FOIA data, 2+ hours live tested) | Cherry-picked metric |
| "12% jump in enforcement revenue" | FY2026 first 5 months only | FY2025 (full year, same staffing) saw -5% (~$5B drop). The 12% is recovery off a depressed base | Misleading timeframe |
| "98 million refunds within 21 days" | 2026 filing season | Largely automated for e-file with direct deposit; not in dispute | Accurate |
| "Almost 50% reduction in idle time" | 2026 vs prior year | Means remaining CSRs are busier, not that service improved | Unverified; ambiguous metric |
| "27% staffing cut" | Jan 2025 – end FY2025 | TIGTA confirms ~27% (102K → 74-76K) | Accurate |
| "Filing season goals met" | 2026 | Volume goals (returns processed) met. Service quality goal lowered from 85% to 70% before being met | True only because the goal was lowered |
| Technology and data analytics drove enforcement | FY2026 | GAO warned IRS "pushed out the employees whose expertise would be necessary" | Contradicted by GAO |
Sources: IRS Enterprise Performance reports (FOIA via Center for Taxpayer Rights, published April 14, 2026 in Tax Notes); TIGTA Snapshot Reports; NTA 2025 Annual Report; Reuters FOIA analysis; GAO IRS Modernization warnings.
What the Phone Numbers Actually Look Like
The Center for Taxpayer Rights, run by former National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson, did two things in April 2026:
First, it FOIA'd IRS Enterprise Performance reports. Those are the IRS's own internal weekly performance dashboards covering phone wait times, level of service, and call volume. The data through February 7, 2026 shows:
- 1040 line (main individual taxpayer line): average wait rose from 4.25 minutes to 7.28 minutes year-over-year. Level of service fell from 67.60% to 62.23%, an 8-percentage-point drop.
- ACS line (Automated Collection System, for taxpayers in collections): average wait rose from 4.85 minutes to 18.01 minutes. That is a 271% increase in IRS internal data.
Second, on April 3, 2026, the Center placed live calls to eight IRS phone lines. The results:
- ACS business line: 2 hours 3 minutes before reaching a representative
- ACS individual line: 2 hours 1 minute before reaching a representative
- 37% of calls ended in disconnect across the eight lines tested
- 5 of the 8 lines disconnected callers before they reached anyone
- Total time on hold across all 8 lines in a single day: 5 hours 31 minutes
The "average speed of answer below 10 minutes" claim is true for the 1040 line. It is dramatically false for the ACS line, where taxpayers in active collections actually call.
The 12% Enforcement Number, Decoded
Bisignano's testimony cited a 12% increase in enforcement revenue. The number is real, but the timeframe is selective.
- FY2025 (full year, the same year of the staffing cut): enforcement revenue fell roughly 5%, about $5 billion in lost collections, per Reuters FOIA analysis published April 15, 2026
- FY2026 (Bisignano's cited period, first 5 months only, October 2025 through February 2026): up 12% over the same prior-year window
A 12% increase from October-February against an October-February baseline that itself was depressed by 3,623 revenue agent departures in January-March 2025 is recovery, not growth. The IRS lost 31% of its early-2025 departures from revenue agent ranks alone. Audits opened in 2025 fell by more than 120,000 vs. prior year (Reuters FOIA).
What Federal Employees Should Take From This
The IRS case is the clearest real-world test of the "less people, better results" theory of federal workforce management. Three takeaways for federal employees considering buyouts at their own agencies:
1. Reduced service shows up in the data within 12 months. The FOIA data measures the same year as the staffing cut. There is no smoothing.
2. Goal lowering is a tell. When an agency adjusts its own performance target downward to declare a goal met, that is a leading indicator that headline numbers are diverging from operational reality.
3. Specialty roles don't come back fast. Revenue agents are not interchangeable with customer-service representatives. Once you lose the audit specialist, the GAO warning about losing the experts needed for technology-driven enforcement is not theoretical. The expertise gap takes years to rebuild.
For federal employees who took DRP from IRS, or who are evaluating buyouts at other agencies right now, the question is whether your agency's leadership has a defensible plan for service after a 25-30% headcount cut. Run the VERA/VSIP Decision Calculator before any offer arrives. Know your high-3 and your immediate annuity. Know whether the post-buyout service plan at your agency is real or rhetorical.
What's Coming in FY2027
The IRS FY2027 budget justification proposes another 4,875 cuts and a $1.4 billion budget reduction from current spending. Net Taxpayer Services would lose roughly 500 more employees. Enforcement would lose another 1,110.
The Yale Budget Lab's 2025 analysis projects that the cumulative effect of 2025 cuts plus FY2027 proposed cuts will reduce federal revenues by $600 billion to $861 billion over the 2026-2035 budget window. That is the long-term cost the FOIA data is starting to make visible.
Why This Matters Beyond IRS
IRS is the test case. OPM is doing similar workforce reduction work across the federal government via the job series consolidation memo issued April 24. DoD just terminated its union contracts for 300,000 AFGE-represented civilians. The IRS data point is the first fully measurable "after" picture from a comparable cut, and it does not match the official narrative.
If you work at an agency considering similar cuts, the IRS case is the data your management is hoping you have not seen.
Calculate Your Numbers
- VERA/VSIP Decision Calculator: Buyout decision math
- Severance Pay Calculator: Severance after involuntary separation
- High-3 Calculator: The high-3 average salary that drives FERS pension
- FERS Retirement Calculator: Pension projection by age and service
Frequently Asked Questions
What did the IRS CEO actually say at the Senate Finance hearing?
On April 15, 2026 (Tax Day), IRS CEO Frank Bisignano testified before the Senate Finance Committee that the agency achieved "less people and better results" after losing roughly 27% of its workforce since January 2025. The phrase appeared during Q&A, not the prepared statement. He cited filing season completion, average phone speed of answer below 10 minutes, and a 12% increase in enforcement revenue as evidence.
What does the IRS's own data show about phone wait times?
IRS Enterprise Performance reports obtained via FOIA by the Center for Taxpayer Rights show that the main 1040 line average wait time rose from 4.25 minutes in FY2025 to 7.28 minutes in FY2026 through February 7, an increase of 71%. The Automated Collection System (ACS) line rose from 4.85 to 18.01 minutes, an increase of 271%. Live testing on April 3, 2026 found ACS callers waiting over 2 hours.
Did IRS enforcement revenue actually go up 12%?
It depends on the time window. Bisignano's 12% increase covers only the first 5 months of FY2026 (October 2025 through February 2026). Full-year FY2025, under the same reduced-staffing regime, saw enforcement revenue drop approximately 5% (~$5 billion) according to Reuters analysis of IRS FOIA data. The 12% figure is recovery off a depressed base, not a new high.
Did the IRS lower its own performance target to make the numbers look better?
Yes. The IRS lowered its phone level-of-service target from 85% to 70% for FY2026. Bisignano's claim that the agency met its goals is technically accurate, but the goals were lowered. Against the prior 85% target, FY2026 LOS of 62.23% on the 1040 line falls short.
What happened to former IRS employees who took the buyouts?
Approximately 27,636 employees separated from the IRS between January 2025 and the end of FY2025. The breakdown as of May 2025 included 4,575 on Deferred Resignation Program leave, 17,071 approved under the Treasury DRP (many using VERA), 776 VSIP recipients, 3,531 probationary terminations, and 3,093 other separations. Revenue agents alone lost 3,623 employees (31% of early-2025 departures).
What does the Yale Budget Lab project for long-term federal revenue?
The Yale Budget Lab's 2025 analysis estimates that IRS staffing and funding cuts will reduce federal revenues by $600 billion to $861 billion over the 2026-2035 budget window. The mechanism is reduced enforcement capacity, especially on complex high-income returns where revenue agents are required.
Is Bisignano's testimony being challenged by other independent sources?
Yes. Senator Wyden issued a public statement contradicting key claims. The National Taxpayer Advocate's 2025 Annual Report (released January 2026) warned of pandemic-level backlog risk. The Government Accountability Office published warnings that IRS "pushed out the employees whose expertise would be necessary" to implement the technology and data analytics strategy Bisignano cited. TIGTA Snapshot Reports document the staffing decline.
Related Resources
- OPM Job Series Consolidation 2026: How the same cost-cutting playbook is reaching other agencies
- DoD Union Contract Termination Survival Guide: The CBA-removal piece of the federal workforce strategy
- VERA/VSIP Decision Calculator: Run buyout math at your agency before deciding
- State of the Federal Workforce 2026: Engagement and morale data across agencies
Sources:
- IRS Written Testimony, Bisignano Senate Finance, April 15, 2026
- Senate Finance Committee Hearing Page
- Federal News Network: "Less people and better results"
- Tax Notes: "Letting the Days Go By" phone testing data (April 14, 2026)
- Reuters: Tax Enforcement Weakened After Job Cuts (April 15, 2026)
- TIGTA Snapshot Report: IRS Workforce Reductions, May 2025
- NTA 2025 Annual Report Press Release
- NTA 2026 Objectives Report to Congress
- Yale Budget Lab: Weakened IRS Has Substantial Consequences
- Wyden Statement on Bisignano Hearing
- IRS Budget and Workforce Statistics
Need a professional headshot? Pro headshots AI-generated in 60 seconds