Could the IRS treasures be delayed by Trump’s policy?

President Donald Trump’s recent executive orders, including a federal hiring freezing and a mandate for remote federal employees to return to the office, have raised concerns about potential delays in tax offers during the tax archive season 2025.

With Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which processes approx. 140 million tax returns annually and issues refund an average of $ 3,100 per year. Files, even smaller aftermaths can affect millions of Americans.

Will Trump’s executive orders affect the IRS cat -archiving season?

One of Trump’s latest executive orders places an unlimited hiring of freezing across federal agencies, including the IRS.

This means that new jobs on the agency cannot be completed and job offers expanded to the employees who will start after February 8 have been canceled.

Another executive order that requires federal employees working externally to return to the office could accelerate early pensions at the IRS, as further strained staff. Employment freezing also prevents the IRS from replacing workers lost to retirement.

Treasury secretary Scott Bessent has the authority to lift that employment freezing, but he has not given any indication that he plans to do so.

With fewer employees available for process returns, taxpayers may experience longer waiting times for refund.

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In January, Melanie Lauridsen, vice president of tax policy and advocacy at the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, wrote on LinkedIn that the freezer should not affect seasonal IRS employees, as they should have already been employed and received training to start working from January to May.

She added that the IRS had the opportunity to redistribute workers from other departments to help with the treatment of tax returns.

How long does the IRS take refund?

The IRS typically deals with tax fusions within 21 days of receiving an electronically archived return. Paper returns can take six weeks or longer, the agency said. However, the timeline depends on several factors, including staff, system updates and fraud on the detection of fraud.

In previous years, the IRS staffing deficiency has led to backlog problems. A 2023 report from the national taxpayer’s lawyer Erin Collins found that the IRS had a backlog of almost 10 million unprocessed tax returns at one point during the pandemic.

Why can tax fusions be delayed?

There are several reasons why a tax refusal may be delayed, even without an employment freezing.

Error or incomplete information

Discounts on tax returns, such as incorrect social security number or missing documents, can slow down the processing. The IRS warns that even minor errors can result in delays.

Identity theft or fraud

If the IRS suspects fraud, it may take further time to verify the taxpayer’s identity. Cases of identity theft have helped to repay delays in previous tax seasons.

Claims certain tax credits

Refunds for taxpayers claiming the earned income tax credit or additional tax credit on childcare cannot be issued until mid-February to enable enjoy detection, according to the IRS.

Paper archiving instead of e-archiving

Paper returns take significantly longer to process than electronically archived returns. The IRS reports that e-archived reimbursement is typically issued within 21 days while paper returns can take up to eight weeks.

Bank processing times

Even after the IRS releases a refund, banks and credit unions can take further time to deposit the funds, especially around federal holidays.

The IRS has not officially said that employment freezing will delay the tax. However, with fewer available employees and a wave of potential retirement, tax professionals advise to archive early and ensure accuracy of return to avoid unnecessary delays.