The Internal Revenue Service released its
The report also includes data from this past tax filing season, showing the impact of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that was passed last July. During the 2026 filing season, approximately 45% of individual tax returns filed claimed one or more of the new tax deductions that have been rebranded by Republicans as the Working Families Tax Cuts, including tax breaks on tips, overtime, car loan interest and senior citizens. The average refund on a return claiming one of these deductions was over $3,200, as of May 27.
"Fiscal year 2025 was a pivotal year, as we began the process of implementing tax relief for hardworking Americans enacted as part of the Working Families Tax Cuts Act," said IRS CEO Frank Bisignano in a statement. "The numbers in the Data Book tell the story of an organization that serves as a key partner in the administration's mission."
The IRS processed 271.4 million federal tax returns and supplemental documents, including almost 162.8 million individual income tax returns, according to the Data Book. The tax revenue collected exceeded $5.3 trillion.
Customer service representatives answered nearly 18.6 million calls. At 363 Taxpayer Assistance Centers nationwide, employees helped close to 2 million taxpayers.
Taxpayers continued to show their preference for online services. There were nearly 417 million inquiries on the IRS's "Where's My Refund?" online tool, up 9% from fiscal year 2024.
IRS.gov received 958.9 million visits and taxpayers downloaded 590.7 million files. The IRS helped 50.4 million taxpayers through correspondence, its enterprise-wide telephone helplines or at Taxpayer Assistance Centers.
The IRS provided return preparation assistance through its Volunteer Income Tax Assistance and Tax Counseling for the Elderly programs, preparing nearly 2.9 million returns with the aid of 76,314 volunteers in FY 2025. The Taxpayer Advocate Service received 229,760 new requests for assistance and closed 241,546 cases, including those received in prior fiscal years.
The IRS closed 145,202 applications for tax-exempt status in FY 2025 and approved tax-exempt status for 88.6% of the applications.
Tax audits and cases
In FY 2025, the IRS closed 497,621 tax return audits, resulting in $26.8 billion in recommended additional tax. The IRS has been coming under pressure to audit more high-income taxpayers in recent years, but cutbacks at the IRS have decimated that function. Nevertheless, the Data Book provides information about tax year 2021 when audits ramped up, and the exam coverage rate for that year (the most recent year outside the statute of limitations period) of individual taxpayers reporting total positive income of $10 million or more was 6.6%. The rate for taxpayers with TPI of $5 million to $10 million was 3.9%, and 0.9% for those with TPI of $1 million to $5 million.
The IRS has been relying more on automation to detect cases of noncompliance and it closed 987,460 cases under its Automated Underreporter Program in FY 2025, resulting in $5.9 billion in additional assessments. In addition, the IRS closed 592,773 cases under its Automated Substitute for Return Program, yielding close to $2.9 billion in additional assessments.
In FY 2025, the IRS completed 2,850 criminal investigations in three areas — 1,085 legal-source tax crime cases, which involve activities, industries and occupations that generate legitimate income or threats to the tax system; 1,195 illegal-source financial crime cases, which relate to proceeds derived from unlawful sources such as money laundering; and 570 narcotics-related financial crime cases, which involve investigating narcotics-related tax and money-laundering crimes. The cases are often investigated in cooperation with the Justice Department and other law enforcement agencies
In FY 2025, the IRS collected $117.5 billion in unpaid assessments on returns filed with additional tax due, netting $73.1 billion after credit transfers.
The IRS assessed $29.6 billion in additional taxes for returns not filed on a timely basis and collected nearly $3.5 billion with delinquent returns.
In FY 2025, taxpayers proposed 38,797 offers in compromise to settle existing tax liabilities for less than the full amount owed. The IRS accepted 5,464 offers, amounting to $98.1 million, during the year
In FY 2025, the IRS Chief Counsel office received 48,544 cases and closed 47,575 cases, including those received in prior years.
Of the cases closed in FY 2025, 60.8% were from the Litigation and Advisory Office, which was created when the former Large Business & International and Small Business/Self-Employed Offices were merged.
Of the 47,575 cases closed, the Chief Counsel closed 10.0% through guidance and assistance. This includes published guidance, advanced case resolution, treaties, legislation, congressional and executive correspondence, training and public outreach, and prefiling legal advice to the IRS.
Over 77.6% of new cases received and about 79.9% of cases closed were related to tax law enforcement and litigation, including Tax Court litigation; collection, bankruptcy, and summons advice and litigation; Appellate Court litigation; criminal tax; and enforcement advice and assistance.
In FY 2025, the IRS Chief Counsel received 21,588 Tax Court cases involving a taxpayer contesting an IRS determination that they owed additional tax. During the fiscal year, Chief Counsel closed 21,718 cases involving $8.5 billion in disputed taxes and penalties.
IRS workforce
The IRS's actual expenditures were $19.0 billion for overall operations in fiscal year 2025. The IRS used 95,226 full-time equivalent positions in conducting its work, but the number of employees in "pay status" has shrunk from 99,628 in Sept. 30 2024 to 80,967 as of Sept. 30, 2025.
Racial and ethnic minority employees made up 57.6% of the IRS and Chief Counsel workforce, compared to a 40.1% share of the overall federal civilian labor force. Women represented 63.2% of IRS and Chief Counsel personnel, compared to 45.8% of the overall federal civilian labor force. Veterans comprised 9.6% of the IRS and Chief Counsel workforce.
