Tax season has just begun, but it may be about to get more difficult for taxpayers and tax preparers such as CPAs and accountants. The move could also delay income tax refunds.
According the Associated Press and ABC News, up to 15,000 workers at the Internal Revenue Service could be laid off from their positions in the next week. These are workers who have been recently hired and are most likely to be in lower level positions, such as taxpayer response, phone centers, and junior audit positions, who are still on probationary status and lack civil service employment protections.
The IRS has approximately 90,000 full-time employees. The projected 15,000 workers would therefore reflect about 17 percent of the agency’s workforce.
“For many years, one of the top priorities at the AICPA has been to promote efforts that ensure the IRS has the appropriate resources to meet the needs of taxpayers and preparers,” said Mark Koziel, the president and CEO of the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), the largest organization of professional accountants in the U.S. “Our goal is to support taxpayers and our members during times of uncertainty and to provide guidance to help navigate any changes that may affect critical, time-sensitive interactions with the IRS.”
“Many are concerned with potential challenges that could arise from recent changes throughout government, Koziel continued. “While there is a lot of speculation and many unknowns, the AICPA is actively monitoring the situation and engaging with IRS leadership and other key stakeholders to understand and mitigate the impact of these changes on IRS services.”
That this is coming during tax season will definitely pose a challenge. If the layoffs occur, they will come from directives of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a new albeit unofficial government agency created by President Donald Trump, which is tasked with pursuing perceived inefficiencies in the federal bureaucracy. Trump has engaged Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to lead these efforts.
The move comes after similar layoffs in other federal agencies, which has spurred concerns about the swiftness of the actions, many of which have occurred after only a few days of review by non-audit or accounting staff, into sensitive government systems.
“IRS service levels and modernization efforts have seen progress since the COVID-19 pandemic and we are committed to seeing those efforts continue,” Koziel added. “Americans deserve a fully functioning agency that can be respected by taxpayers and their preparers, thereby allowing them to comply with their tax obligations.”
DOGE’s access to government servers has also concerned data privacy experts, since the information they have accessed may include personally identifying information such as Social Security Numbers, as well as bank account information, and even employment, health and personal data from various government departments.
- Related: The Biggest Tax Credit Many People Miss: The EITC
- Related: Taxes for Gig Workers: Many Are Unprepared for Lower 1099-K Reporting Threshold
- Related: Taxpayers Warned of New Tax Season Text Message Scam
- Related: Here’s What to Expect for Your Taxes in 2025 and Beyond
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Thomas Garcia February 16 2025 at 8:28 am
You guys are full of crap,with your misinformation as you liberal pundits say, the Government is not laying off anyone , the government is making those lazy federal workers get back to work or voluntarily quit with 6 months pay, so quit all this false information and scare tactics.