The April 15 Senate Finance Committee hearing, "The President's Fiscal Year 2027 IRS Budget and the IRS 2026 Filing Season," with Internal Revenue Service Chief Executive Officer Frank Bisignano included discussion of filing practices, customer service, the sharing of taxpayer data and private information, and the R&D credit. Members also debated the merits of the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" (OBBBA).

Chairman Mike Crapo (R-ID) highlighted the "Taxpayer Assistance and Service Act" he sponsors with Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR) to digitize more tax returns, upgrade "where's my refund" tools and IRS online accounts, strengthen standards for paid tax preparers, expand IRS call-back options, allow the U.S. Tax Court to hear cases relating to refunds, increase the independence of the National Taxpayer Advocate and IRS Independent Office of Appeals, and protect victims of fraud from indefinite IRS scrutiny.

Senator Wyden blamed the Administration for ending the Direct File program and questioned the IRS CEO role, asserting that the new position may represent and "end-run around the vetting process." He focused his questioning on IRS information sharing with other government agencies.

In testimony, Bisignano said refunds have increased — the average refund this filing season is over $3,400, an increase of 11% compared to last filing season — and that "the IRS is using artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced analytics to identify high-risk areas of non-compliance and fraud with greater accuracy."

Senator Crapo asked how many Americans have benefited from the no tax on tips, overtime, and auto loan interest, and how many have opened Trump Accounts. Bisignano said:

• 53 million Americans have claimed one of the new tax cuts from the OBBBA
• 30 million claimed the senior deduction
• 25 million benefited from the overtime deduction
• 6 million benefited from the tips deduction
• 1 million benefited from the auto loan interest deduction
• 5 million opened Trump Accounts for dependents
• 1.2 million opened Trump Accounts for newborns

(See news release here.)

Statements and testimony are available here.

Additional information is also available in the attached WCEY Tax Alert.