(The Center Square) – Virginia Democratic Sen. Mark Warner is pressing for answers regarding the underperforming Richmond Taxpayer Advocate office, which he claims has been underperforming for years due to staffing shortages.
The Richmond Taxpayer Advocate Service office is an independent organization within the IRS that helps taxpayers resolve disputes, navigate audits and access other essential IRS services.
According to the senator, the office operates below full capacity and faces worsening service delays. Warner warned that service levels will only worsen without intervention as additional staff leave and additional federal workforce cuts loom.
According to a recent IRS report, overall agency funding has remained flat since FY2022 despite inflation rising 14% over the same period. The IRS has relied on one-time funding from the Inflation Reduction Act to modernize its systems, but long-term appropriations have failed to keep pace with cost increases.
The report shows that in FY2024, the IRS collected $5.1 trillion in revenue on an appropriated budget of $12.3 billion, making it a 415-to-1 return on investment. Still, the report warned that tight federal budgets make it harder for the IRS to provide essential taxpayer services like those offered at TAS.
The report also notes enforcement efforts brought in $98.7 billion in FY2024, which accounted for less than 2% of the $5.1 trillion in total IRS revenue. The report suggested that focusing on taxpayer services rather than enforcement would potentially lead to greater compliance and efficiency.
“If the IRS is sufficiently funded to improve taxpayer services and make it easier for taxpayers to interact with the agency through automation, taxpayer experiences will become fairer and more efficient, which likely will improve compliance and reduce the need for costly backend enforcement,” the report states.
The Richmond TAS office, which handles all of Virginia’s cases, should have at least 19 case advocates, according to Warner, but it currently operates with 17, which Warner says is adding to the backlog. Each advocate handles approximately 150 cases per year, making staff shortages a direct cause of service delays.
“Already quite strained with just 17 case advocates, another two advocates and a senior case advocate have accepted the Musk-Trump buyout, which will take effect on May 15,” Warner said. “At that point, only 15 case advocates will remain to serve all of Virginia—a nearly 25 percent reduction in staff.”
Warner cited reports that the Trump administration plans to cut IRS staffing by up to 50%, which he says could further harm taxpayers. A buyout plan, which takes effect on May 14, is expected to reduce the Richmond office by 25%.
In a letter to Erin Collins, the National Taxpayer Advocate, demanded answers on Richmond TAS’s performance and plans for improvements, specifically asking for data on Richmond’s ranking among TAS offices nationwide, the factors behind its underperformance, and what steps the IRS leadership is taking to improve staffing service levels.
