A letter sent to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employees said those involved in the 2025 tax season won’t be able to accept the buyout offer President Trump offered federal employees until after the taxpayer filing deadline.
The letter said critical filing season positions “in Taxpayer Services, Information Technology and the Taxpayer Advocate Service” are exempt from the Trump administration’s buyout until May 15, The Associated Press reported.
Taxpayers have until April 15 to file their taxes unless they’re granted an extension.
The buyout plan is part of the Trump administration’s goal to decrease the number of federal workers quickly.
The government had set a Thursday deadline for federal workers to decide if they wanted to take the deal. All they had to do was reply to an email and say “resign.” But a judge extended the deadline until Monday midday Thursday.
Employees who choose to take the deal will stop working but receive a paycheck and benefits through the end of September.
The AP noted that it’s unclear if IRS employees who take the deal would only receive five months of pay instead or if they would get the full eight months like other federal employees who choose to leave.
In 2023, the IRS received $80 billion as part of the Inflation Reduction Act. Many of the people hired with that budget increase were taxpayer service workers, who helped answer phones and assisted auditors in collecting money from people and businesses that underreport their income.
The IRS was expected to hire thousands of people and help get the agency’s employment rate back on track. In 2023, its staffing levels were 20 percent lower than they were in 2010.
The IRS said it will be relocating workers from other areas to assist with tax filing season as the federal buyouts were expected to impact the workforce.
However, former IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig, who served under Trump’s first administration, said every facet of the agency’s operations will be “significantly impacted” by the hiring freeze.
“Fortunately, IRS employees are resilient and have considerable experience with hiring freeze operations,” he wrote in a post online. “IRS employees do their best with the limited resources and support received.”
