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IRS CEO says filing season running smoothly as lawmakers press on data disclosures, refunds and modernization
Summary
At a House Ways and Means hearing, IRS CEO Frank Bizignano told lawmakers the 2026 filing season is on schedule with higher average refunds and faster processing, while Democrats pressed the agency about court findings that it improperly shared taxpayer data and urged accountability and clearer guidance for delayed refunds.
The House Ways and Means Committee on March 2 heard from Frank Bizignano, the Internal Revenue Service’s chief executive officer, who told lawmakers the 2026 filing season opened on schedule and that the agency has received more than 55 million individual returns and issued roughly 37 million refunds totaling about $137 billion through March 2.
Bizignano said the IRS is seeing heavier use of online services — "visits to irs.gov increased 43% over last year" — and credited new technology and organizational changes for faster processing and shorter wait times. "Bigger refunds, quicker refunds, and an easier IRS to operate through," he told the committee, saying amended-return processing that once took about 16 weeks is on track to be reduced to single-digit days.
The committee’s Democratic members used the hearing to demand answers about court findings and injunctions that the IRS unlawfully shared taxpayer information with the Department of Homeland Security and ICE. Multiple members repeatedly cited a federal finding that roughly…
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