Trump admin accused of 'hiding stuff' by delaying annual report before midterms

The Trump administration is once again delaying the release of detailed IRS data showing how Republicans’ 2025 tax cuts affected millions of Americans’ taxes, even as it tries to sell voters on the law ahead of the midterm elections, according to Politico.

The numbers document which tax breaks were claimed by people in different income brackets, as well as how much they paid in taxes. The IRS typically releases the data after each filing season, but this year’s release is more anticipated because it is expected to give the first detailed look at how taxpayers are using the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, including its new deductions for overtime wages and tipped income.

The data was "scheduled for release in July and updated again in September," but the agency hasn’t published either, Politico reported. The IRS said it is awaiting approval from the Treasury Department under Secretary Scott Bessent to publish the figures.

Who benefits from the law has been a point of dispute. A Congressional Budget Office analysis of the law published in August 2025 estimated that, over 2026 to 2034, resources would decrease for households toward the bottom of the income distribution and increase for households in the middle and toward the top. The Associated Press reported that CBO’s figures showed the poorest 10% of households losing roughly $1,200 a year because of restrictions on programs such as Medicaid and food assistance, while the richest 10% gained $13,600 from the tax cuts. House Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith (R-Mo.) said CBO “has a troubled track record of getting its estimates incorrect.”

“I think they are hiding stuff that doesn’t line up with all the crowing the CEO has been doing,” Nina Olson, a former national taxpayer advocate, said of Frank Bisignano, the IRS’s day-to-day leader, who has joined Republican lawmakers in touting the breaks to voters. Some critics say the delay is part of a pattern of the administration withholding routine releases of tax data, Politico reported.

The IRS has also faced criticism for withholding its periodic report on the tax gap, the share of taxes owed but not paid. The last estimate came out in October 2024, and an IRS spokesperson told the Boston Globe in September that the agency is updating its methodology and will release the figure when it is ready.

A Trump administration official told Politico in an emailed statement that its “priority is to release accurate and reliable data” following “major changes” to the tax code.

Politico noted that such data has "caused problems for the majority party before." Republicans took heat when figures from the first year after their 2017 tax cuts showed "fewer people taking deductions for charitable contributions."