As taxpayers across the country scramble to meet Monday’s deadline to file completed 2023 returns or ask for extensions, the IRS says the funding injection it received through the Inflation Reduction Act has led to better customer service, faster processing and new options for filers.
Thanks to the $80 billion in new funding, part of a massive package approved by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden in 2022, the IRS says it has expanded service to the highest levels in “more than a decade” with big gains in critical areas.
“Compared to a year ago, the IRS answered over 1 million more taxpayer phone calls this tax season, helped over 170,000 more people in person and saw 75 million more IRS.gov visits fueled by a new and expanded Where’s My Refund? tool,” the agency said in a press release.
The IRS reports that as of April 6, it had processed more than 100 million individual tax returns and is expecting tens of millions more coming through in advance of the Monday deadline, the agency’s busiest time. The IRS is projecting about 19 million taxpayers will file extensions, which are due Oct. 15.
Since the start of the January tax season, the IRS has delivered more than $200 billion in refunds with an average refund of $3,011, a 4.6% increase from last April’s average of $2,878, according to the agency.
“Taxpayers continued to see major improvements from the IRS during the 2024 tax season,” IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said in a press statement. “A well-funded IRS is like night and day for taxpayers. With the help of more funding and added resources, service for taxpayers this filing season eclipsed levels seen during the past decade. This tax season meant real-world improvements for people looking for help, whether calling, visiting in person or using IRS.gov.”
A new and improved IRS?
The IRS says improvements fueled by the IRA funding include shorter wait times for phone assistance and more in-person help opportunities, thanks to expanded hiring as well additional free help at volunteer sites like Volunteer Income Tax Assistance and Tax Counseling for the Elderly. The agency says it is also piloting its free Direct File services in a dozen states and the number of electronic returns being processed by its third-party Free File partners is up over 11% so far this tax season.
While the U.S. income tax rates have remained static since 2017 and range from 10% to 37%, the government can make adjustments, based on inflation, to the income cutoff points for each of the rate categories. Those rates are progressive, meaning higher earnings are taxed at higher rates.
According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, many U.S. households could see a smaller tax bill thanks to inflation-based bracket adjustments made for the 2023 tax year.
Single filers who earned $11,000 or less in 2023 will pay the lowest tax rate of 10%, while single filers who brought in $578,125 or more will see a tax liability of 37%. For joint filers, income of $22,000 or less will see the 10% rate and married filers who earned $693,750 or more will be taxed 37%.
Standard deductions, like earnings brackets, can also be adjusted annually and the changes made from 2022 to 2023, a 7% increase, are the biggest in history, according to the Journal.
For 2023, single filers will get a standard deduction of $13,850; heads of household, $20,800; and married joint filers, $27,700.
So, how much money does the IRS collect from U.S. taxpayers every year?
For fiscal year 2022, the most recent data, the IRS reports it collected more than $4.9 trillion in gross taxes, processed more than 262.8 million tax returns and other forms and issued more than $641.7 billion in tax refunds.