The IRS has released its 2025 Data Book, which provides the latest stats on revenue collected, refunds, taxpayer services, audits and compliance, and the agency’s budget and workforce.
The IRS noted that during the 2026 filing season, approximately 45% of individual tax returns filed claimed one or more of the new tax breaks contained in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which Republicans are now calling the Working Families Tax Cuts Act, including tax deductions on tips, overtime, car loan interest, and for senior citizens.
The average refund on a return claiming one of these deductions was more than $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,” IRS CEO Frank Bisignano said in a statement on June 5. “The numbers in the Data Book tell the story of an organization that serves as a key partner in the administration’s mission.”
Highlights from FY 2025 include:
- Individual income tax withheld and tax payments, combined, totaled $2.9 trillion before refunds.
- The IRS collected $486.4 billion in income taxes, before refunds, from businesses.
- More than 224.2 million returns and other forms were filed electronically. These represented 82.6% of all filings. For individual tax returns, 93.7% were e-filed.
- The IRS issued 116.9 million refunds to individuals, amounting to $516.4 billion.
- Fourteen million tax refunds included a refundable child tax credit, and 22.2 million included a refundable Earned Income Tax Credit.
- The IRS assisted 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 almost 2.9 million returns with the aid of 76,314 volunteers.
- 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 and approved tax-exempt status for 88.6% of these applications.
- The IRS closed 497,621 tax return audits, resulting in $26.8 billion in recommended additional tax.
- The IRS closed 987,460 cases under the Automated Underreporter Program, resulting in $5.9 billion in additional assessments. In addition, the IRS closed 592,773 cases under its Automated Substitute for Return Program, resulting in nearly $2.9 billion in additional assessments.
- 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 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 timely and collected almost $3.5 billion with delinquent returns.
- 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.
- IRS Chief Counsel office received 48,544 cases and closed 47,575 cases, including those received in prior years. Of the cases closed, 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.
- The Chief Counsel office received 21,588 Tax Court cases involving a taxpayer contesting an IRS determination that they owed additional tax. In addition, Chief Counsel closed 21,718 cases involving $8.5 billion in disputed taxes and penalties.
- The IRS’s actual expenditures were $19 billion for overall operations.
- The IRS used 95,226 full-time equivalent positions in conducting its work, up from 90,516. However, “employees in pay status” dropped from 99,628 in 2024 to 80,967 in 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.
Photo credit: gregobagel/iStock
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Tags: Income Taxes, IRS, tax refunds, tax returns, Taxes
