IRS Lays Off Hundreds Of Workers In Philadelphia As Tax Season Begins

What To Know Summary:

According to sources familiar with the situation, the IRS is terminating thousands of probationary workers nationwide in the middle of tax season. Reports indicate:

• 400 layoffs in Philadelphia alone, up from an initial estimate of 250-300.
• 6-7 percent of the IRS workforce could be impacted.
• The layoffs primarily target new and recently promoted employees.

Full article:

PHILADELPHIA — A few hundred IRS workers in Philadelphia have been laid off and more layoffs are expected, according to multiple sources. This comes as the Trump administration moves to shrink the federal workforce across multiple agencies.

Between 250 to 300 of those layoffs were Philadelphia probationary IRS workers, who were laid off Thursday, NBC10 reported. The number of layoffs later rose to 400 workers being issued lay off notices, according to Fox 29.

Up To 7 Percent Of Workforce Could Be Impacted

Action News reports the layoffs will represent 6 percent to 7 percent of the IRS's 100,000-person workforce, and that the layoffs target new and newly promoted employees.

It's unclear how many IRS workers will be affected in total. It's also unclear what these layoffs could mean for taxpayers as the day to file taxes, April 15, grows closer.

The administration had previously announced a plan to offer buyouts to almost all federal employees through a “deferred resignation program” to quickly reduce the government workforce. The program deadline was Feb. 6, and administration officials said employees who accept will be able to stop working while still collecting a paycheck until Sept. 30.

However, IRS employees involved in the 2025 tax season were told they will not be allowed to accept a buyout offer from the Trump administration until after the taxpayer filing deadline, according to a letter sent recently to IRS employees.

Billionaire Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency have called for the U.S. to “delete entire agencies” from the federal government as part of his to radically cut spending and restructure its priorities.

Impact To Taxpayers As Tax Season Underway

Jan. 27 was the official start date of the 2025 tax season, and the IRS expects more than 140 million tax returns to be filed by the April 15 deadline.

Taxpayers will notice a few changes when they file their 2024 federal income tax returns.

Some of the changes announced by the Internal Revenue Service involve tax brackets adjusted for inflation, while others are aimed at protecting taxpayers from scams and schemes and tax professionals from having their credentials compromised,

Here's more about what you need to know about tax season.

The Associated Press contributed to this article