Internal Revenue Service Advisory Council (IRSAC)
c/o Internal Revenue Service
1111 Constitution Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20224
RE: Professional Managers Association Written Statement for IRSAC July 2025 Meeting
On behalf of the Professional Managers Association - the non-profit professional association that has, since 1981, represented professional managers, management officials, and non-bargaining unit (NBU) employees at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) – we write to provide the IRSAC with information and insights into the extremely challenging circumstances that IRS managers are currently leading through. PMA believes engaging in this public forum is important, because we are currently hard pressed to find willing leaders in the IRS, Treasury, or in the majority of Congress who will substantively engage on critical issues facing IRS managers and the IRS workforce and their nexus with tax administration and customer service.
The challenges facing IRS managers—particularly in light of losing over 30,000 staff, workforce restructuring and reorganizing, increasing workloads, a decimated budget, and ongoing modernization efforts—warrant thoughtful attention from all IRS stakeholders. We believe IRSAC is well-positioned to advocate for transparency around IRS operations that can yield the strategic attention by policymakers necessary to develop solutions that enhance operational efficiency, support and sustain managerial leadership, and ultimately improve IRS taxpayer service and customer experience. Key Issues IRS Managers Elevate to IRSAC.
1. Impact of Workforce Restructuring and the Deferred Resignation Program (DRP)
• Concern: Loss of institutional knowledge, increased workload for remaining managers, uncertainty in leadership pipelines. IRS managers are not being provided with transparent data about their workforce including the effects of buyouts, the DRP, and other voluntary and involuntary employee separations. The publication by the Taxpayer Advocate of the 2025 mid-year report1 provided the first public information about specific impacts of workforce cuts and staff departures on the IRS, by business function and by the professions and positions of affected employees. Prior refusal by the IRS and Treasury to release this basic workforce information, including to Congress as it considers FY 2026 funding, have limited the ability of policymakers to connect the dots between IRS workforce capabilities, customer service, and tax administration.
• PMA is hearing from members and IRS employees who took the DRP and would like to take the offer to come back to service. They are finding it challenging to do so. The IRS should publish exactly which positions they need to fill and explain how folks on DRP can return to the service if their prior positions are slated to be filled.
• IRSAC Role: Recommend strategies for continuity planning and knowledge transfer; advice on management development pipelines. Call for increased transparency and improved communication.
2. Gaps in Communication and Implementation of Policy Changes
• Concern: Inconsistent or delayed internal communication related to program rollouts, technology changes, or compliance initiatives.
• IRS managers are learning about new directives and guidance via media reports instead of from agency leadership. IRS managers are not included in the planning around changes both major and minor, severely limiting their ability to lead and effectiveness in implementation.
• IRSAC Role: Advocate for more structured internal communication tools or leadership support materials during periods of change.
3. Managerial Capacity and Support
• Concern: Managers are increasingly tasked with complex responsibilities while understaffed and sometimes handling the duties of multiple managers, impacting service delivery and compliance programs.
• The IRS is undergoing a rapid period of workforce contraction, shedding over 30,000 positions this year with additional losses anticipated. This is not sustainable.
• Amidst unpredictability on the IRS budget along with the hiring freeze, the agency has not yet started hiring for 2026 tax season; that is a red flag.
• IRSAC Role: Propose enhancements in managerial training, resource allocation, or operational streamlining. Request additional information from the IRS about workforce planning and allocation and impacts on service and agency performance.
4. Technology Integration and User Challenges
• Concern: Managers often mediate between staff frustrations and technological demands placed upon them, balancing the need for adoption with the very real challenges of usability, training gaps, inconsistent performance, and lack of frontline input in the design phase. These issues are often compounded by limited resources and timelines that do not reflect operational realities. In many cases, managers find themselves responsible for troubleshooting issues, addressing morale concerns, and communicating system workarounds—all while meeting performance expectations tied to new systems
• IRSAC Role: Recommend user-driven input in technology development and more inclusive testing phases before full implementation. Involving frontline managers and staff in user testing and feedback loops before major platforms or systems are finalized and deployed. Encouraging the IRS to adopt pilot programs or phased rollouts that allow for real-time evaluation, adjustment, and communication of lessons learned.
5. Retention and Morale
• Concern: Declining morale among front-line managers due to perceived lack of recognition, limited advancement opportunities, and burnout. PMA is seeing managers voluntarily downgrade their positions to line-roles because the inadequate financial renumeration does not justify the added stress and work required by management positions.
• In the association’s history, this is the most dire leadership environment the IRS has experienced, with very few IRS employees eager and interested in becoming IRS managers.
• IRSAC Role: Discuss cultural and structural recommendations to improve retention and engagement, particularly in mid-level leadership.
6. Training and Professional Development
• Concern: IRS managers need significantly stronger access to continuous, structured leadership training, particularly as they take on expanded responsibilities due to widespread attrition and organizational changes. In today’s environment, many are promoted or reassigned to new roles—often managing more complex teams or broader responsibilities—without sufficient preparation or support.
• This challenge is especially acute for mid-level and department managers, who are responsible for supervising multiple frontline managers and large numbers of employees. These leaders play a critical role in setting the tone for performance, communication, leadership development, labor relations training, manager development and morale across entire divisions. Yet many are navigating expanded roles with minimal formal leadership development, no transition planning, and inconsistent expectations.
• Additionally, seasonal managers—who are vital to meeting IRS workload demands especially during tax filing season—receive wholly inadequate onboarding and training for the complex responsibilities they are assigned. This not only affects their performance and confidence but also places a heavier burden on permanent staff to fill training and procedural gaps.
• The current IRS approach to managerial development leaves new and mid-level leaders underprepared, unsupported, and overextended, which ultimately affects employee engagement, retention, and service delivery across the agency.
• DOGE decommissioned the IRS University and cut all contracts for training, kneecapping these capacity- building functions.
• IRSAC Role: IRSAC can elevate the issue of manager and leader development and investment and recommend systemic improvements by: Advocating for the development of a comprehensive, tiered leadership training framework tailored to each level of IRS management—from seasonal to frontline to department-level roles.
• Encouraging mandatory, role-specific onboarding and transition planning for managers taking on new or expanded duties.
• Recommending dedicated mid-level leadership development programs focused on multi-team management, operational leadership, change management, and strategic communication.
• Promoting regular access to ongoing professional development opportunities, mentorship, and peer-to- peer learning networks to reinforce growth and support.
• Supporting increased investment in seasonal manager training and mentorship, to ensure these temporary leaders are empowered to succeed and contribute effectively.
• Empowering IRS managers through more intentional training and development not only sets them up for success but also strengthens the agency’s long-term operational capacity and institutional leadership pipeline.
7. Taxpayer Experience and Public Trust
• Concern: IRS managers are on the front lines of implementing policy changes, service enhancements, and organizational priorities. Yet too often, they are excluded from the early stages of policy development and are not informed in a timely or strategic manner. This leaves them unprepared to address questions from their teams, explain the rationale behind decisions, or effectively guide their employees through transitions.
• In many cases, managers are the last to learn about new initiatives—receiving updates at the same time, or even after, the rest of the workforce and employee unions. This not only undermines their credibility as maintain operational stability during periods of change.
• Managers need to be equipped with advanced knowledge, talking points, and implementation guidance before initiatives are rolled out to frontline staff. As the bridge between senior leadership and employees, managers play a vital role in communicating goals, reinforcing priorities, and driving adoption. Keeping them in the dark until the last minute damages trust, weakens execution, and results in avoidable confusion and inefficiencies.
• IRSAC Role: Elevate the need for managerial input when shaping taxpayer service improvements, enforcement practices, and compliance education campaigns
• Formalize a communication protocol that ensures managers receive information, context, and resources before broad workforce announcements are made.
• Involve managers in the policy design and feedback process, particularly for initiatives that affect daily operations, staffing, or employee expectations.
• Provide toolkits or briefing materials to managers to help them explain changes and reinforce consistent messaging across teams.
• Recognize managers not just as implementers, but as key stakeholders in successful organizational change.
Ensuring that managers are informed first, and included meaningfully in policy development, strengthens internal communication, reinforces leadership credibility, and supports a more unified and resilient workforce.
8. Issues in Tax-Exempt and Government Entities (TE/GE) Oversight
• Concern: Managers in the Tax Exempt and Government Entities (TE/GE) division face a growing number of guidance. These challenges are particularly pronounced in the Exempt Organizations (EO), Employee Plans (EP), and Federal, State and Local Governments (FSLG) sub-functions, where legal intricacies and compliance requirements are both nuanced and evolving.
• TE/GE managers report that: Case complexity continues to increase, especially in areas involving charitable tax law, retirement plan compliance, and governmental entity reporting, often requiring interpretation of overlapping sections of the Internal Revenue Code (e.g., Sections 501(c)(3), 403(b), 457, and 115).
• Delays in receiving technical advice, closing agreements, or interpretive support from Counsel and headquarters functions frequently leave managers navigating gray areas without adequate direction.
• The volume of work continues to grow, exacerbated by attrition and hiring lags, leaving fewer experienced employees to handle increasingly difficult determinations and compliance checks
• IRSAC Role:Elevate the need for managerial input when shaping taxpayer service improvements, enforcement practices, and compliance education campaigns.
• Formalize a communication protocol that ensures managers receive information, context, and resources before broad workforce announcements are made.
• Involve managers in the policy design and feedback process, particularly for initiatives that affect daily operations, staffing, or employee expectations.
• Provide toolkits or briefing materials to managers to help them explain changes and reinforce consistent messaging across teams.
• Recognize managers not just as implementers, but as key stakeholders in successful organizational change.
9. Public Perception and Professional Standards
• Concern: IRS managers uphold high standards, yet face growing public scrutiny and media pressure, especially during enforcement or compliance campaigns.
• Managers are often left without timely guidance, limiting their ability to address concerns and maintain trust with their teams and the public. Inconsistent communication and lack of support can undermine professionalism and damage morale.
• IRSAC Role: Recommend expanded training on ethical leadership and public-facing professionalism during investigations or audits.
• Promote consistent messaging, manager-focused communications training, and proactive internal guidance to equip managers to lead confidently in a high-visibility environment.
We respectfully ask IRSAC to consider how mid-level leadership challenges—such as retention, workload redistribution, performance management, and effective communication—impact taxpayer service and compliance outcomes. IRS managers are eager to contribute solutions and seek better alignment between field operations and policy development .
PMA would be pleased to further discuss these issues with the IRSAC or the relevant subcommittees, and I can be reached at kelly@promanager.org. Thank you for your consideration of PMA’s perspective.
Kelly Reyes
Executive Director
Professional Managers Association
