IRS Workforce Cuts: Impact on Taxpayer Services and Federal Downsizing

The IRS plans to cut up to 50% of its 90,000 employees through layoffs, attrition, and buyouts. This is part of the Trump administration's broader effort to reduce the federal workforce by closing agencies and offering incentives for employees to leave. Former IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig, now a shareholder at Chamberlain Hrdlicka's tax controversy and litigation practice, has warned that these cuts could hurt taxpayer services, stating: “Randomly terminating large numbers of taxpayer service representatives will hurt the efforts of tens of millions of Americans.”

Despite recent technology upgrades, the IRS still struggles with heavy workloads and underfunding. In addition to the layoffs, the Trump administration plans to reassign IRS employees to the Department of Homeland Security to help with immigration enforcement. According to Doreen Greenwald, national president of the National Treasury Employees Union, about 4% to 5% of IRS workers have accepted the administration’s deferred resignation offer.

If you’d like to read more, check out APNews’s article here.