The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is anticipating big changes in its workforce. Approximately 20,000 other employees have accepted a deferred resignation offer as part of an effort to shrink the agency’s workforce. With the tax deadline looming, this effort is coming together just in time. It’s part of a larger initiative launched in the Trump administration to shrink the federal workforce.
According to an internal document reported by the Federal News Network, the IRS plans to cut up to 40% of its workforce. In 2024, the agency grew to over 102,000 employees. As of January, over 12,000 personnel and probationary staff have already left voluntarily or through layoffs. This small reduction would be in keeping with the IRS’s stated aim to reduce and simplify operations and thereby achieve greater efficiency.
The Treasury Department indicated that the number of IRS employees departing under President Donald Trump is “approximately the same” as the number added under President Joe Biden. These continual changes to the workforce are indicative of a broader strategic effort to boost productivity and maximize quality of service.
The White House estimates that only 10% of the eligible workers will take the upcoming resignation offers. If you decide to step down, you will be given paid leave. This benefit is only good through the end of the current fiscal year, September 30. If all interested employees proceed with the buyout, the IRS could see its workforce shrink by roughly 20%, raising questions about how this will impact agency operations and taxpayer services.
“The roll back of wasteful Biden-era hiring surges, and consolidation of critical support functions are vital to improve both efficiency and quality of service,” stated a spokesperson for the Treasury Department. This declaration puts a fine point on the administration’s intentions to improve the quality of IRS operations while balancing workforce reductions.
Additionally, another spokesperson emphasized, “The Secretary is committed to ensuring that efficiency is realized while providing the collections, privacy, and customer service the American people deserve.” This commitment represents a major acknowledgement by this administration that finding workforce efficiencies can go hand-in-hand with keeping critical routine services intact.
The IRS is preparing to begin contacting employees who have expressed desire to leave. The timetable for this follow-up remains unclear. Whether the agency will be able to sustain future operational capacity will depend on how many employees accept buyout offers. It depends on the agency’s overall ability to manage its greatly reduced staffing levels.