IRS Practitioner Priority Service (PPS) performance improved noticeably in July 2026. The most significant change was a sharp reduction in courtesy disconnects on both the Individual and Business PPS lines. While hold times remained elevated, courtesy disconnects reduced meaning practitioners were considerably more likely to get into the hold queue and reach an IRS representative than in previous months.
Below is our July 2026 analysis of IRS PPS hold times, callback usage, courtesy disconnect rates, and the best times to call based on practitioner-submitted call data.
July 2026 Highlights
- Courtesy disconnect rates declined significantly on both PPS lines.
- Individual PPS hold times averaged 37 minutes.
- Business PPS hold times averaged 42 minutes.
- Early mornings remained the best time to call the Individual PPS line.
- Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday afternoons continued to perform best for Business PPS.
- July showed the strongest overall operational performance since tracking began.
July 2026 Overview
PPS – Individual
Calls logged: 208
Average reported hold time: 37 Minutes
Callback percentage: 52.11%
Courtesy disconnect rate: 31.73%
Best times to call:
Hold Time & Courtesy Disconnect Monthly Comparison:
PPS – Business
Calls logged: 203
Average reported hold time: 42 Minutes
Callback percentage: 65.52%
Courtesy disconnect rate: 14.29%
Best times to call:
Hold Time & Courtesy Disconnect Monthly Comparison:
Key Findings
- Compared with May and June, July showed the strongest overall improvement in IRS PPS accessibility. The monthly heat maps shifted from predominantly red in May, to mostly orange in June, and finally to several consistent green periods in July, indicating shorter waits and fewer courtesy disconnects.
- On the PPS Individual line, early mornings continued to provide the best opportunity to reach the IRS with lower hold times. We also observed another reduction in average wait times around 6:00 PM ET, likely reflecting lower call volume after East Coast business hours.
- Although the Individual PPS courtesy disconnect rate declined substantially, the reported average hold time increased slightly. This is likely because more callers were put into the hold queue instead of being disconnected before reaching an agent.
- Unlike the Individual line, Business PPS maintained both a lower courtesy disconnect rate and relatively stable average hold times around 40 minutes.
- Day of week continued to have relatively little impact on the Individual PPS line. Time of day remained the stronger predictor of shorter waits.
- The PPS Business line continued the trend observed in previous months: Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday afternoons generally offered the shortest hold times.
Data Limitations
The July 2026 report is based on practitioner-submitted IRS PPS call records collected through Tax Operation Report. While the dataset continues to grow each month, it should be viewed as an observational sample rather than a statistically representative measurement of all IRS call activity.
As participation increases, monthly trends and time-of-day analyses will become increasingly reliable.
Looking Ahead
We’re continuing to expand our practitioner-submitted dataset. If you call the IRS Practitioner Priority Service, consider submitting your experience. Every additional call record improves the accuracy of our hold time estimates, courtesy disconnect tracking, and best-time-to-call recommendations for the tax professional community.