The Internal Revenue Service is drafting plans to cut its workforce by as much as half through layoffs, attrition, and incentivized buyouts. Two people familiar with the situation spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to disclose the plans publicly. The layoffs are part of the Trump administration’s efforts to shrink the federal workforce.
The plan involves closing agencies, laying off probationary employees who have not yet gained civil service protection, and offering buyouts to almost all federal employees through a “deferred resignation program.”
John Koskinen, a former IRS commissioner, said a reduction of tens of thousands of employees would render the IRS “dysfunctional.” The federal tax collector employs roughly 90,000 workers across the United States. According to the latest IRS data, people of color make up 56% of the IRS workforce, and women represent 65%. In February, around 7,000 probationary IRS employees with one year or less of service were laid off.
Irs workforce reduction plans unveiled
IRS employees involved in the 2025 tax season were informed that they would not be allowed to accept a buyout offer until mid-May, after the taxpayer filing deadline. The Trump administration also intends to lend IRS workers to the Department of Homeland Security to assist with immigration enforcement.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem asked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in a February letter to borrow IRS workers for ongoing immigration crackdown efforts. In the New York Times, Koskinen and six other former IRS Commissioners wrote: “Aggressive reductions in the I.R.S.’s resources will only render our government less effective and less efficient in collecting the taxes Congress has imposed.”
According to a White House memo sent to federal agencies in late February, agencies are to develop a report by March 13 on their reduction in force plans. However, it remains unclear whether the White House will approve the IRS’ reorganization plan and over what period of time it would be implemented.
Representatives for the White House, the Treasury Department, and IRS did not respond to a request for comment.
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