Amid the sweeping layoffs, resignations and stalled modernization layoffs, the IRS marked the 70th anniversary of the modern Tax Day on April 15.

April 15 did not become the official tax deadline until 1955, which allowed taxpayers and the IRS additional time to process increasingly complex returns.

Yet in 2025, Accounting Today reports that things have become more complicated. Chief Information Officer Rajiv Uppal is the most recent in a string of upper-level departures, including Acting Commissioner Melanie Krause and Chief Counsel William Paul, both of whom reportedly left over issues relating to providing data to Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement division. 

As a result of pressure from the Department of Government Efficiency, the IRS has suspended large-scale IT projects. A buyout wave in February ended the employment of 7,000 probationary workers and another 20,000-plus employees are expected to leave under the deferred resignation program.

According to the National Treasury Employees Union, these cuts threaten the IRS’s capacity to assist taxpayers and administer the tax code. 

A Yale Budget Lab study estimates that reducing 18,200 employees would save $1.4 billion—but mean $8.3 billion less in tax revenue next year. 

At Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center event on Tax Day, former officials cautioned that even the most promising Ai-driven enhancements such as Direct File and chatbot support, can’t substitute for individualized service.