A practitioner’s perspective on the Taxpayer Advocate’s 2025 report

Every filing season reveals something important: The tax system does not operate in theory. It operates in real time, for real people, often under real pressure. When the system works well, taxpayers gain confidence and compliance becomes smoother. When it strains, taxpayers feel it first, and it’s often tax professionals who are the ones helping them navigate the consequences. 

That is why the National Taxpayer Advocate’s 2025 Annual Report to Congress and Purple Book of legislative recommendations are such valuable contributions. At the National Association of Tax Professionals, we respect the Taxpayer Advocate role and appreciate our strong working relationship with the Taxpayer Advocate Service. Their work keeps the real taxpayer experience front and center in conversations about how the system should work, and the annual recommendations often serve as a catalyst for meaningful improvement. 

These reports are more than policy documents. They reflect the challenges tax pros face every day in helping taxpayers meet their obligations, respond to IRS inquiries and resolve disputes. The question for the profession is not simply what the reports identify, but what these challenges mean in practice for taxpayers and the preparers who serve them. 

The Taxpayer Advocate rightly emphasizes taxpayer service as a continuing priority. IRS performance has improved in several areas since the most difficult years of the pandemic backlog, and the dedication of IRS employees deserves recognition. But taxpayers don’t experience the IRS through statistics. They experience it when something goes wrong and they need help. A delayed refund affects a family’s financial stability. An unclear notice creates anxiety and confusion.  

An inability to reach the IRS places taxpayers in limbo, who often turn to their preparer for answers that the preparer cannot access directly. Tax professionals support efforts that move beyond incremental improvement toward consistent, dependable service that taxpayers can count on year after year. 

The report’s focus on modernization is also well placed. Practitioners see firsthand how outdated systems and paper-based processes slow resolution and increase cost for everyone involved. At the same time, new tools only matter if they actually work during filing season, when practitioners and taxpayers rely on them most. New digital tools should meaningfully improve practitioner access and case resolution. A system that is technically “online” but cannot handle real-world complexity does not reduce burden. It shifts it. NATP encourages continued investment in secure, practitioner-informed tools such as reliable transcript access and communication channels that prevent problems rather than respond after the fact. 

One area where practitioners would welcome even greater urgency is IRS correspondence. Tax preparers regularly help clients interpret letters that contain unclear or incomplete next steps. Fixing IRS notices isn’t a minor detail. It’s one of the fastest ways to reduce confusion for taxpayers and support voluntary compliance, allowing IRS resources to focus on substantive issues rather than preventable misunderstandings. 

These discussions also highlight a perspective that warrants greater attention in national reform efforts: the role of the tax preparer community. Most taxpayers do not interact with the Internal Revenue Code on their own; they rely on professionals to translate requirements and serve as advocates when problems arise. Preparers are not on the sidelines of tax administration; rather, they are central to how the system functions. Reforms developed without practitioner input risk overlooking the realities of filing-season pressures and client needs. When practitioners are included early, solutions for taxpayers and the IRS are more likely to succeed. 

The Purple Book includes recommendations related to preparer oversight and enforcement mechanisms. NATP has long supported raising standards across the profession. Taxpayers deserve accountability from anyone preparing returns. At the same time, oversight must be balanced and carefully implemented. Policies should elevate professionalism without creating unintended barriers that reduce access to qualified tax help, particularly in underserved communities. Education, fairness and due process must remain central to any framework designed to strengthen preparer quality. 

Additionally, no modernization effort can fully succeed without adequate staffing. Practitioners continue to see delays in areas that require human resolution, including identity theft cases and amended returns. Technology can improve efficiency, but it cannot replace trained humans in high-touch problem areas. If we expect timely answers and faster resolution, the IRS must be equipped to deliver them. 

NATP shares the Taxpayer Advocate’s commitment to taxpayer rights. But rights are protected not only by principles but also by functioning systems. A taxpayer cannot fully exercise their rights if they cannot reach the IRS, and a practitioner cannot effectively represent a client if resolution takes months or longer. Taxpayer rights and tax administration must be viewed together because trust improves when the system responds appropriately. 

NATP appreciates the Taxpayer Advocate’s continued spotlight on systemic challenges. From the practitioner perspective, the priorities are clear: improve IRS communication and notice clarity, build digital tools that reduce burden for taxpayers and preparers, strengthen professional standards in ways that elevate the field responsibly, ensure the IRS has the capacity to resolve complex cases and treat tax professionals as essential partners in effective administration. 

Tax preparers want the system to succeed. NATP’s members build their careers through helping taxpayers comply with the law and resolving issues with confidence. Reports like these help move the conversation forward. The next step is to ensure that reforms translate into practical, lasting improvements for the taxpayers we all serve. If we keep taxpayers, practitioners and effective administration aligned, we can build a tax system that earns trust not just in moments of progress, but year after year.