Managing notices has become increasingly complicated for enterprise tax and compliance teams. In 2025 and the first months of 2026, notice volume skyrocketed – and is only expected to intensify in the coming months. In addition to responding to record-high numbers of notices, enterprise teams have had to contend with agencies that continuously amend the way correspondence is issued, routed, and resolved. Amid those changes, there have also been major shifts in international and tax policy in recent years.
As a result, the increasingly risky compliance landscape that enterprise organizations have had to navigate over the past months will remain challenging to navigate. Here’s what to expect for the remainder of 2026 – and how tax notice management and resolution software can help you manage tax notices effectively, regardless of external stressors.
An Over-Burdened IRS Demands Fast, Error-Free Responses
In 2025, the IRS was directed to improve operational efficiency, better protect data, invest in technological upgrades, and modernize its infrastructure. As part of its effort to embrace a more digitally driven future, the agency has embarked on a “paperless processing” initiative and is urging taxpayers to respond to notices through digital and self-service channels.
These objectives are ambitious. Unfortunately, the workforce tasked with implementing them was greatly reduced in 2025, as was their budget. Further budget cuts are planned for 2026.
This shifting environment has, and will continue to, impact enterprise teams in the following ways:
- The IRS is taking longer to process notices, and its backlog is growing; this could delay resolutions and refunds for tax teams
- The stretched-thin agency has less tolerance for delays and errors; this puts increased pressure on organizations to respond to all correspondence quickly and accurately
- Tax teams may be expected to use self-service tools to respond to notices
A Constantly Changing Regulatory Environment Calls for Increased Vigilance & Agility
Geopolitical tensions, economic uncertainty, and rapid technological changes have all impacted policy and reporting requirements. In recent years, tax policies such as Pillar Two and SALT have reshaped how organizations conduct business both nationally and internationally.
Organizations can expect further updates to tax policy at the local, city, state, federal, and international levels through the end of this year. These include changes to the SEC’s tax disclosure guidance and amendments to domestic research and development bonuses and clean energy credits. Routine updates to multi-state taxation and employment tax compliance will add complexity.
How Enterprise Teams Can Weather the Continued Storm
As enterprise teams have learned in recent months, they have no control over agency and regulatory changes. What they can control, however, is whether their internal notice processes are built for speed, organization, and visibility. As external stressors continue to mount, teams need a scalable, consistent system for managing and responding to notices. If the past months have taught corporate tax teams anything, it’s that corporate tax notice compliance automation software has become nonnegotiable.
If your organization processes 5,000 to 25,000+ tax and compliance notices annually, manual processes will no longer suffice. To remain compliant and avoid interest exposure through the remainder of 2026 and beyond, your internal processes must be automated and transparent.
