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The reminder comes as the IRS faces tax changes enacted via President Donald Trump’s “big beautiful bill” after staffing cuts from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, and other reductions.
These cuts didn’t significantly impact the 2025 filing season because many critical IRS roles were exempt through May 15, 2025, and June 30, 2025, according to a September report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, an independent federal agency.
However, the workforce reductions — amounting to 17% to 19% of “key IRS functions” for the filing season — could impact processing and customer service in 2026, according to the report.
“The Internal Revenue Service is ready to help taxpayers meet their tax filing and payment obligations during the 2026 filing season,” IRS CEO Frank Bisignano said in a news release last week.
“IRS information systems have been updated to incorporate the new tax laws and are ready to efficiently and effectively process taxpayer returns during the filing season,” he said.
The IRS expects roughly 164 million individual income tax returns in 2026, with most taxpayers filing electronically.
How to access your IRS online account
Your IRS online account has several features that could save time during the 2026 tax season, experts say.
The portal includes prior tax records, your refund status, balance due for each year, IRS notices, audit status updates and certain information returns that employers and financial companies report to the agency, such as Forms W-2, 1095-A for marketplace health insurance and 1099-NEC for contract work.
You can also make payments, set up payment plans, approve account authorizations and more.
Opening your IRS online account for the first time can be “relatively cumbersome” because you need an ID.me account, which is a third-party identity verification company, Tom O’Saben, director of tax content and government relations at the National Association of Tax Professionals, told reporters on a call this week.
ID.me requires a photo of a government-issued ID and a selfie or a live call with an ID.me video chat agent.
“But once that thing is set up, it’s done,” said O’Saben, who is also an enrolled agent, which is a tax license to practice before the IRS. “You have a little bit of pain for long-term gain.”