The Internal Revenue Service is preparing to shed as much as 50 percent of its staff, according to four people familiar with the matter, a significant cut that could jeopardize the agency’s ability to complete its basic mission of collecting taxes.
The I.R.S. started the Trump administration with roughly 100,000 employees. It has already laid off more than 7,000 people who had recently joined the agency and had fewer job protections, and thousands more have taken Elon Musk’s offer to resign. Those cuts, as well as normal attrition, are expected to count toward the Trump administration’s goal of halving the number of people who work at the I.R.S., two of the people said.
The Trump administration has been preparing “reduction in force” plans for agencies across the government as part of the next phase of its effort to rapidly slash the federal work force. It is unclear how quickly the next batch of terminations could take place at the I.R.S. and how they will affect specific departments there. The tax collector is in the middle of reviewing Americans’ tax returns as part of the annual filing season, and officials have delayed some firings until after the busy period ends in the spring.
A spokeswoman for the I.R.S. declined to comment.
Losing half of its employees would severely strap the I.R.S., which has struggled for years with hiring and retaining a work force that can process millions of tax returns every year and conduct complex audits. Americans may have to wait longer to receive refunds or speak with I.R.S. employees in future filing seasons, while corporations and rich Americans may face less scrutiny from the thinly staffed tax agency.
Mr. Musk’s cost-cutting effort, the Department of Government Efficiency, has taken a keen interest in the I.R.S. in recent weeks, with two of its representatives, Gavin Kliger and Sam Crocos, working from its Washington headquarters, according to people familiar with the matter. They have pushed for access to agency databases, including, most recently, one that has information about the agency’s contractors.
Leadership of the I.R.S. has been in turmoil, with two leaders stepping down under Mr. Trump. The current acting commissioner, Melanie Krause, put the chief human capital officer at the I.R.S. on administrative leave this week, according to two people familiar with the matter.
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