IRS Call Return Rate Rises Above 80 Percent with 4,000 New Employees: Yellen

The exterior of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) building in Washington in a file photo taken on March 22, 2013. Susan Walsh/AP Photo

The IRS has consistently answered 85 to 90 percent of phone calls from taxpayers during the current tax preparation period, up from 13 percent a year ago Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on March 16.

The improvement is due in part to the hiring of more than 4,000 new customer service workers, funded through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA).