Revenue agents who conduct audits lead IRS job losses

The IRS lost 11% of its staff through voluntary separations and terminations in the first three months of 2025, and the largest percentage of those who left were revenue agents who conduct audits, a government watchdog said in a report.

After the period covered by the report from the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), the IRS has approved thousands more employees for voluntary separations, TIGTA said. And more job losses are likely as government agencies comply with executive orders from President Donald Trump.

The report, issued Friday, said that over 11,000 IRS employees were either approved for a deferred resignation program (DRP) or received termination notices during their probationary period. Of those who left, 3,623, or 31%, were revenue agents, TIGTA said. By comparison, IT management had the lowest numbers, at 424 employees, or 5% of the total.

Of the employees who separated from the IRS, 7,315 were probationary workers who received termination notices, and 4,128 took the DRP. The numbers covered a period ending in March. However, the final status of probationary workers is unclear as challenges to their firings remain in the courts.

Since taking office in January, Trump has issued several executive orders to reduce the size of government, the report notes.

“Further reductions are anticipated,” TIGTA said.

The IRS announced in April 2025 that it had begun implementing a reduction in force (RIF) that would result in staffing cuts across multiple offices and job categories. So far, the IRS has initiated a RIF to reduce the number of workers in the Office of Civil Rights and Compliance, the Taxpayer Experience Office, and Office of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion in Taxpayer Services.

The tax exempt/government entities business unit, which helps taxpayers with pension plans, exempt organizations, and governmental entities to comply with the tax laws, lost 31% of its staff (694 people), the highest percentage of the six top business units in the IRS, the report said. Taxpayer services lost 1,714 workers, the highest number, but just 4% of staff.

In addition to the RIF initiated in April, the IRS is offering three more voluntary separation programs:

• Treasury deferred resignation program (TDRP), which mirrors the first DRP.  

• voluntary separation incentive payment.  

• voluntary early retirement authority. 

Over 23,000 employees applied for the TDRP, and 13,124 were approved as of April 22, the IRS told TIGTA.

— To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Martha Waggoner at Martha.Waggoner@aicpa-cima.com.