If you owe the IRS for the first time this year — you’re not alone.
Millions of Americans who filed their taxes were shocked to find out they’re not getting tax refunds. In fact, they owe the IRS for the first time ever.
According to Politico.com, the number of taxpayers who get refunds is slowly shrinking every year.
The number of people who owe taxes has surged since last year, and the year before that.
IRS officials are concerned that fewer tax refunds means fewer people will be motivated to file their tax returns.
“We want to make sure that people are, in fact, filing,” said Bob Kerr, a former longtime IRS official. “And there are a whole bunch of people who do it because it pays to do it.”
“I think this is really going to be a problem,” Kerr added.
More people owing taxes puts a strain on IRS employees.
This may explain why President Biden signed a bill in 2022 for 87,000 new IRS agents — to chase down people who owe taxes.
“It stresses the tax system — the IRS has got a lot more tax debtors,” said Jim Buttonow, a CPA in Summerfield, North Carolina.
