Wealthy taxpayers are racing to file tax returns before the IRS comes knocking.

The agency said in February it’s going to up the pressure on rich non-filers, setting off a rush for those wealthy individuals to comply before they receive collection notices, tax professionals said.

“People who have been anxious about not filing are now becoming more anxious because it seems like the IRS might contact them,” said Megan Brackney, a tax controversy lawyer at Kostelanetz LLP.

The move from the IRS comes after decades of under-funding and under-enforcement. After the Democrats’ 2022 tax-and-climate law injected new money into the agency, it can now make up for lost time.

The IRS is first targeting over 100,000 cases of taxpayers with incomes higher than $400,000 who didn’t file returns between 2017 and 2021. The agency has said it will focus enforcement efforts on those making more than $400,000, but Republicans have been skeptical that the IRS will live up to this promise.

The extra funds from the 2022 law as well as the agency’s annual funding will continue to be scrutinized by the GOP as appropriations discussions for next year get underway.

Erin Schilling has the story.

More on the IRS Budget: IRS Deputy Commissioner Doug O’Donnell said threats to reduce the agency’s funding aren’t changing its plans for fighting tax avoidance and investing more in customer service. O’Donnell spoke on Friday at the Tax Council Policy Institute conference in Washington D.C. Read more from Caleb Harshberger.

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairwoman Suzan DelBene (Wash.), a House Ways and Means Committee member, on Friday was bullish about multiple competitive races in New York and California, as Democrats seek to take back control of the House ahead of the 2025 tax fight.

Many of those endangered New York and California Republicans have been strong advocates for raising the $10,000 state-and-local tax deduction cap, and whichever party wins in November will ultimately control the fate of the cap and other expiring tax provisions from the 2017 GOP tax law.

Rejecting vulnerable Republicans’ bipartisan records will be key to Democrats retaking the House come November, DelBene said at a breakfast hosted by the Christian Science Monitor. Control of the House in 2025 will come down to just a handful of competitive districts, many of which are held by Republicans who regularly distance themselves from the far right of their party.

“Moderate Republicans, there just aren’t any left in Congress,” DelBene said .

Vulnerable Republicans have brushed off the attacks on their bipartisan work. Rep. Mike Garcia (R-Calif.), whose district is rated “toss-up” by the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter, on Friday called the assertion of no GOP moderates left “ridiculous,” pointing to his voting record. The newly-released nonpartisan Lugar Center and Georgetown analysis of congressional bipartisanship has two Republicans atop the House ranking—Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.) and Marc Molinaro (N.Y.)— both of whom sit in competitive districts. Fitzpatrick is also a Ways and Means member.

Former Ways and Means Chair Kevin Brady (R-Texas) joined Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld as a senior policy consultant, the firm announced Monday.

Brady joins the lobbying and public policy practice of Akin ahead of the expiration of much of the 2017 tax law, which he helped author. Brady also joined a business group called the Alliance for Competitive Taxation last month.

Kate Ackley has more.

Ways and Means: The House Ways and Means tax subcommittee holds a field hearing Monday in Erie, Pennsylvania on opportunity zones.

Senate Finance: The Senate Finance Committee holds a hearing on Tuesday on child savings accounts and other tax-advantaged accounts benefiting children.

NAEA: IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel speaks at the National Association of Enrolled Agents’ fly-in day on Tuesday.

CERCA: The Council for Electronic Revenue Communication Advancement holds its spring conference on Wednesday featuring speakers from the Senate Finance Committee and the IRS.

Politico: DelBene speaks at an event about the 2024 elections and the future of the tax code Wednesday at an event hosted by Politico.

Tax Foundation: Former Ways and Means Chair Kevin Brady (R-Texas) speaks at a Tax Foundation event on Thursday on Capitol Hill.

California: Lawmakers in California must enact a “trailer bill” to erase a court ruling that gave Microsoft Corp. a $94 million income tax refund, or face a billion dollar budget hole, officials warn. Michael J. Bologna reports.

—With assistance from Maeve Sheehey (Bloomberg Government)