Most IRS phone reps are polite and professional, says TIGTA

People who call the Internal Revenue Service — and get through — generally get “prompt, courteous and professional assistance” from IRS employees, according to a new report.

The report, from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, found that only 11% of the calls they looked at involved unprofessional behavior on the part of IRS service representatives.

After receiving almost 250 complaints during tax season 2024 about unprofessional conduct on calls — including disruptive levels of background noise, and IRS representatives disconnecting calls or not allowing callers to talk to a supervisor — TIGTA pulled a sample of 831 calls from April and May of 2024 to review.

Of the 831 calls, 51, or 6%, involved “unprofessional interactions,” while 3% involved excessive hold times, and 2% had loud background noises.

“Unprofessional interactions” included rushing taxpayers to the end of the call, interrupting or speaking over them, or taking an unprofessional tone.

A further 128 calls, or 15%, were dropped or disconnected by the IRS customer service representative, but TIGTA was not able to determine the cause of the issues.

The calls came from five different IRS phone lines, including ones for tax professionals, individuals, businesses, and Spanish-speakers, which altogether received approximately 2.3 million calls in the two-month review period.

TIGTA recommended that the IRS conduct refresher training for its customer service reps. In response, the agency said that it already conducts annual refresher training for its reps, but will emphasize “professional and courteous customer service in the next training cycle.”

The TIGTA report includes an outline of the steps the IRS expects its representatives to take on a call:

• “Promptly greet the caller. Speak to the caller in a pleasant, courteous, and professional manner. Show a willingness to help.
• “Respond to the caller’s opening statement.
• “Ask questions necessary to determine the nature of inquiry. Paraphrase to show comprehension. Ensure the use of proper tone, voice inflection, and rate of speech.
• “Provide accurate and complete information.
• “Use proper hold procedures by providing a reason for the hold. Ask the caller for permission and wait for a response. When returning to the call, and there is no response, wait 30 seconds before disconnecting the call.
• “Close the conversation by verifying the caller understands the information provided. Conclude the contact courteously.”