- The Trump administration will terminate up to 7,000 IRS workers on Thursday, Feb. 20, according to reports. Managers began receiving emails earlier this week, alerting them to the impending cuts.
- The layoffs are part of the administration’s latest effort to reduce the federal workforce and significantly reduce government spending.
- The government does not consider some IRS workers essential for the upcoming tax filing season as the April 15 deadline draws near.
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The Trump administration and its Department of Government Efficiency have targeted the Internal Revenue Service. Reports indicated the IRS will lay off between 6,000 and 7,000 workers Thursday, Feb. 20.
The IRS employs over 90,000 employees, and the deadline to file 2024 income tax returns is approaching.
Who will the government terminate?
Like recent layoffs in other federal agencies, the terminations will target probationary employees or people on the job for less than one year.
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IRS Small Business/Self-Employed Division managers received an email from high-ranking officials earlier this week. The email indicated the government would cut 3,500 workers from that department, deeming them not critical to filing season.
Large Business and International Division managers also received the email, encouraging them to support “offboarding activities” in the office on Thursday, Feb. 20, and Friday, Feb. 21.
CBS is also reporting that managers in the Large Business and International Division also received an email, telling them to go into the office on Thursday and Friday to support “offboarding activities.”
Didn’t the Biden administration recently beef up the IRS?
Under former President Biden, the Inflation Reduction Act boosted funding for the IRS by $80 billion over the next 10 years. Congress has since rescinded some of that funding. The Associated Press is reporting that by the end of 2024, the IRS had collected $1.3 billion in back taxes from tax dodgers.
An executive order from President Trump earlier this month instructed heads of agencies to work with DOGE on large scale reductions of the federal workforce.
What other recent developments might affect IRS employees?
Also, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has asked the Treasury Department if her department can borrow IRS workers to help with the Trump administration crack down on illegal immigration.
