- The IRS is unlikely to answer even half the telephone calls it receives, and levels of service may average as low as 43%.
- Taxpayers who manage to get through are expected to wait on hold for 30 minutes on average and considerably longer at peak times. I myself have been on hold for over 4 hours in recent weeks.
- The IRS will answer far fewer tax-law questions than in past years. During the upcoming filing season, it will not answer any tax-law questions except "basic" ones. After the filing season, it will not answer any tax-law questions at all, leaving the roughly 15 million taxpayers who file later in the year unable to get answers to their questions by calling or visiting IRS offices.
- Tax return preparation assistance has been eliminated.
In addition to these service declines, the budget cuts will have a negative financial impact as well. IRS Commissioner John Koskinen outlined how the already strapped agency will absorb the latest cut of $346 Million to their fiscal year 2015 budget. The consequences include fewer audits and case closures. Fewer automated collections system and field collection case closures. A continued hiring freeze which should result in the loss of 1800 employees through attrition during 2015. The resulting reduced enforcement staffing means that the agency will lose at least 2 billion in revenue that otherwise would have been collected.