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The reminder comes as the IRS faces tax changes enacted via President Donald Trump<\/a>‘s “big beautiful bill” after staffing cuts<\/a> from Elon Musk<\/a>‘s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, and other reductions.\u00a0<\/p>\n These cuts didn’t significantly impact the 2025 filing season because many critical IRS roles were exempt<\/a> through May 15, 2025, and June 30, 2025, according to a September report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, an independent federal agency.<\/p>\n However, the workforce reductions \u2014 amounting to 17% to 19% of “key IRS functions” for the filing season \u2014 could impact processing and customer service in 2026, according to the report.\u00a0<\/p>\n “The Internal Revenue Service is ready to help taxpayers meet their tax filing and payment obligations during the 2026 filing season,” IRS CEO Frank Bisignano said in a news release<\/a> last week.<\/p>\n “IRS information systems have been updated to incorporate the new tax laws and are ready to efficiently and effectively process taxpayer returns during the filing season,” he said.<\/p>\n The IRS expects roughly 164 million individual income tax returns in 2026, with most taxpayers filing electronically.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Your IRS online account has several features that could save time during the 2026 tax season, experts say. <\/p>\n The portal includes prior tax records, your refund status, balance due for each year, IRS notices, audit status updates and certain information returns<\/a> that employers and financial companies report to the agency, such as Forms W-2, 1095-A for marketplace health insurance and 1099-NEC for contract work. <\/p>\nHow to access your IRS online account<\/h2>\n