As millions of Americans gear up for the 2025 tax season, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) also expects its largest wave of job eliminations. A maximum of 15,000 of its staff, including the majority of its probationary staff, will be losing their jobs under the effort for lowering the spending of the federal government under the regime of Mr. Trump. With tax returns already underway, experts say the job eliminations could lead to slow refunds, even more prolonged customer service delays, and more lenient tax law enforcement.
According to IRS officials, the layoffs will begin imminently and conclude before the April 15 tax filing deadline. The bulk of those affected are probationary employees who handle taxpayer inquiries, phone center operations, and junior audit roles.
The move aligns with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) goals, headed up by President Trump and led by Elon Musk. DOGE has been assigned with streamlining what has been considered wasteful expenditure in federal agencies, and the IRS has been a top target for elimination.
While electronically filed returns with direct deposit must be able to be processed with minimal delay, those with review and additional verification requirements may be slowed. The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) has sounded alarm with regard to the drain on IRS resources, warning taxpayers and tax pros, too, will be harmed by the changes.
The layoffs are a stark reversal of the initiative of the Biden administration to overhaul the IRS. The Inflation Reduction Act had allocated $80 billion for shoring up tax collection, customer service, and computer systems of the IRS. But GOP lawmakers were able to resist and lower this amount. Additionally, the Trump administration’s “deferred resignation initiative” has not helped. Where other federal personnel were encouraged to resign with their salary and benefits up to and including September 30, the IRS personnel were directly excluded from this till after tax season. This has also been a source of frustrations for the IRS personnel, with many of them believing they are being exploited for expenditure reduction purposes.
The impending job eliminations raised alarm among economists, policy makers, and tax specialists.
“This couldn’t be worse for taxpayers,” said tax veteran analyst Mark Reynolds. “The tax season’s bad enough, and reducing the workforce of individuals who process returns and deal with taxpayers is a recipe for disaster.”
An anonymous IRS staffer discussed future anxieties: “Morale has never been lower. We’re being asked to do more with fewer assets, and taxpayers will be the ones who suffer.”
Meanwhile, proponents of the slashing note the IRS has been bloated and inefficient for years. “Taxpayers are owed a leaner, more accountable IRS,” said Sen. John Caldwell (R-TX). “This action is about being fiscally responsible.”
