IRS cut 11% workforce as of March 2025: TIGTA

The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) has reported that the IRS has seen approximately 11% reduction in workforce, with 11,443 employees affected by March 2025.

“We initiated this review to provide an update on the IRS’s efforts to reduce its workforce. This report provides a snapshot of IRS business units impacted,” the TIGTA said.

The reduction follows the US President Donald Trump administration's deferred resignation programme (DRP) and probationary terminations, impacting the IRS's operational capacity.

According to TIGTA, the DRP allowed federal employees to voluntarily resign with pay until 30 September 2025.

The IRS records indicate 7,315 probationary employees received termination notices, while 4,128 employees accepted the DRP.

This resulted in an 11% workforce reduction, from approximately 103,000 employees as of February 2025.

The separations have disproportionately impacted specific positions within the IRS, the report said.

For instance, around 31% of revenue agents were separated, compared with only 5% of IT management.

Nationwide, the workforce reduction has affected every state, plus the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

Iowa, Colorado, Mississippi, and Idaho experienced the highest percentage of employee separations relative to their taxation workforce.

The IRS issued termination notices to 7,310 probationary employees in February 2025 and five more in early March 2025.

These employees were informed of their termination due to performance issues.

TIGTA said: “At the time the probationary employees were issued termination notices, several senior IRS officials raised concerns that many of these employees did not have documented performance issues.”

In March 2025, a federal court ruled for the reinstatement of the probationary employees.

The IRS has since recalled these employees, placing them on administrative leave.

The final outcome for these employees remains uncertain as legal proceedings continue.

"IRS cut 11% workforce as of March 2025: TIGTA " was originally created and published by The Accountant, a GlobalData owned brand.

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