IRS CEO addresses staffing concerns, says refunds are ‘faster’ and ‘larger’ than ever

IRS CEO Frank Bisignano pushed back Monday on reports that the agency is short-staffed, telling FOX Business there is “no staffing shortage” and pointing to strong tax season performance as evidence.

“That’s because people go, ‘If you had 100,000, and now you have 72,000, you must be short-staffed,'” Bisignano said on “Varney & Co.,” referencing a drop-off in the agency’s workforce.

“But we’ve run orgs our whole life to drive productivity and quality, and it’s through technology,” he added.

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Bisignano’s remarks challenged headlines suggesting the IRS is struggling to keep up with staffing cuts, including a recent Politico report raising concerns as the agency works to implement new Republican-led tax breaks.

He suggested those concerns overlook how the agency has shifted its focus beyond raw headcount and toward productivity and efficiency by using “every tool imaginable” to maintain high-performance standards.

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“We started when I came on in October, and we changed the way we think about the call centers. We changed our metrics on how we were going to deliver,” he said.

“We’re delivering refunds faster than ever and larger than ever while doing OBBB (One Big Beautiful Bill) tech changes to implement it.”

He also emphasized the agency’s use of artificial intelligence to bolster compliance, warning that taxpayers attempting to skirt the rules will be caught.

“We’re going to find them. That’s the job,” he said.

“You think about places to use AI and technology, it’s really around that, increasing the compliance. So if you say, what are we doing? We’re driving customer service to the best season we’ve ever had, right? We’re increasing collections, revenue’s up, and we’re protecting privacy, and that’s a mantra.“