The IRS is reportedly preparing to reduce its nearly 100,000 workforce by as much as half through layoffs, buyouts, and attrition — and experts say the disruption is already interfering with this tax season.
Close to 7,000 probationary employees were laid off on February 20, and now the agency is reinstating and placing those workers on paid administrative leave until further notice. That figure adds to about 5,000 IRS employees who have reportedly accepted the Trump administration’s fork-in-the-road deferred resignation offer to cut down federal spending.
