IRS Plans To Lay Off 7,000 Probationary Workers

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An anonymous person reached out to the Associated Press (AP) that the IRS will lay off roughly 7,000 workers in Washington D.C.

The layoff was plan to start today, Feb 20. According to the anonymous spokesperson, the layoffs affect probationary employees with roughly one year or less of service. They also mentioned that to get laid off, they had not yet gained civil service protection at the agency. This allegedly largely includes workers in compliances departments. Compliance work includes ensuring that taxpayers are abiding by the tax code, filing their returns and paying their taxes, and other duties.

In addition to the planned layoffs, the Trump administration intends to lend IRS workers to the Department of Homeland Security to assist with immigration enforcement. In a statement made this month, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem asked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to borrow IRS workers to help with ongoing immigration crackdown efforts.

According to the latest IRS data, the IRS has roughly 90,000 employees total across the United States. Racial minorities make up 56% of the IRS workforce, and women represent 65%. It is unclear how the layoffs may affect tax collection services this year. As the nation’s revenue collector, the IRS was tasked during the Biden administration with targeting high-wealth tax evaders for an additional stream of income to the U.S. This is $36 trillion in debt. By the end of the 2024, the IRS collected over $1.3 billion in the back taxes from rich tax dodgers.

Representatives from the IRS and U.S. Treasury did not respond to request for comment from the AP.