The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is considering using AI to assess the complexity of identity theft cases and route them to employees as it struggles with a backlog that has left victims waiting an average of nearly 20 months for resolution.
A new audit by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) found that the IRS has made progress in reducing its Identity Theft Victim Assistance (IDTVA) backlog, but hundreds of thousands of cases remain unresolved, and most of the delay occurs before an employee begins working on them.
From fiscal year 2023 through fiscal year 2025, taxpayers waited an average of 20 months for the IRS to process an identity theft case. The agency aims to resolve claims within 120 days. TIGTA reported the average at 582 days as of June 2025; current IRS guidance puts it at 580 days, or about 19 months.
TIGTA examined a statistically selected sample of 114 cases closed in fiscal 2023 and found an average processing time of 655 days. Only four were completed within 120 days.
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