It’s okay, Billy, we’ve all gotten confused about due dates at a new job before.
On Tuesday, the IRS clarified that it hasn’t set an opening date for next year’s filing season. This comes after new IRS Commissioner Billy Long told an audience at the Tax Summit of the National Association of Enrolled Agents in Salt Lake City in July that he pushed for an earlier tax filing start date “around Presidents Day,” but that IRS staff wanted more time. So, we guess it’s a case of “he said, but they didn’t?”
His heart might have been in the right place, even if he did put his foot in his mouth. In 2026, the IRS will probably need extra time to prepare for filing season because staffing will be at the lowest level since 2019, and Republicans have cut its budget by almost 40%. In 2026, Presidents Day falls on February 16, marking a later start date than in recent years, which have typically begun in late January or early February, the Journal of Accountancy reported.
Long has very little experience with tax policy, or inside any government tax department. Instead, he made his name as an auctioneer, in real estate, and as an AM radio host in Missouri, before becoming a congressman in 2011.
Before becoming the head of the IRS, his most intimate experience with the tax code involved trying to eliminate it entirely and replace it with a flat tax system. He is not an accountant or CPA, but has dabbled in questionable tax advising.
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