Latest news with #DeferredResignationProgram
CBS News
06-05-2025
- Business
- CBS News
The IRS has lost almost one-third of its tax auditors after 2 months of DOGE cuts, report says
The Trump administration's plan to trim the IRS workforce has resulted in almost one-third of its tax auditors leaving the agency through March, according to a report from the U.S. Treasury Department's watchdog. Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, has sought to trim the federal workforce through a combination of layoffs and so-called deferred resignation. Musk, the billionaire CEO of Tesla, said on the electric vehicle maker's April 22 earnings call that DOGE's efforts "in addressing waste and fraud" will "get the country back on track." The IRS has been a focus of DOGE's cost-cutting efforts, with plans to trim as much as 40% of its workforce this year. Through March, those efforts have resulted in the tax agency losing about 11% of its workforce, the May 2 report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) found. But revenue agents — the IRS workers who perform audits — have seen a much bigger hit, with 31% of those workers, or about 3,600 auditors, taking either the deferred resignation plan or getting fired in the first three months of 2025, the report found. Losing a large share of auditors could impact the federal government's ability to collect tax revenue, given that these agents typically handle cases involving wealthy taxpayers or corporations, experts say. "You lose the very staff trained to keep high-end taxpayers and corporate tax payers in compliance," noted Emily DiVito, senior adviser on economic policy at the left-leaning Groundwork Collaborative and a former policy adviser at the U.S. Treasury Department, which oversees the IRS. She added, "You can see some behavioral effects when taxpayers, especially those that really don't want to pay their bills, come to accept there is very little risk to not paying at all, or even filing." Reached for comment, a Treasury spokeswoman said, "The Biden Administration grew the IRS from 79,431 to 102,309 personnel. Under new leadership, approximately the same number of employees have left the IRS, with a vast majority leaving voluntarily through the Deferred Resignation Program. The roll back of wasteful Biden-era hiring surges, and consolidation of critical support functions are vital to improve both efficiency and quality of service. The Secretary is committed to ensuring that efficiency is realized while providing the collections, privacy, and customer service the American people deserve." The White House didn't immediately return a request for comment about the TIGTA report. While the TIGTA report didn't explain why auditor departures outpaced that of overall cuts at the IRS, the tax agency had made an effort under the Biden administration to hire more auditors in order to beef up revenue collection. In February 2024, the IRS had said it expected to collect hundreds of billions in additional taxes after using funding from the Inflation Reduction Act to hire more auditors. Because the DOGE cuts have focused on firing so-called "probationary workers," or junior federal employees who typically have less than a year or two on the job, there may have been more newly hired auditors who were impacted by the reductions, DeVito said. Reducing federal revenue? Auditing wealthy Americans and corporations can be lucrative for the federal government. In fiscal year 2023, auditors recommended an additional $32 billion in tax assessments, the TIGTA report said. And every $1 spent on auditing the top 0.1% of earners can return about $26 in tax revenue, according to an analysis from Better IRS, an advocacy group for free tax filing. The cuts to the IRS' auditing force raises questions about the effectiveness of DOGE's efforts, given that the tax agency is responsible for collecting the bulk of the nation's revenue, DeVito added. The combination of individual and corporate income taxes provides about 60 cents for every $1 in federal revenue, with the remaining 40 cents coming from payroll taxes and fees, such as paying admission to national parks, according to the Treasury Department. DOGE's cost-cutting efforts may end up costing almost as much as they've saved, according to an analysis last month from the nonpartisan research group the Partnership for Public Service. DOGE claims to have saved $165 billion, but the Partnership for Public Service estimates that the savings have come at a cost of $135 billion due to paid leave, re-hiring mistakenly fired workers and lost productivity. That figure also excludes the impact of multiple lawsuits filed against DOGE's actions, as well as lost tax revenue due to IRS cuts, the group said. The IRS could forego $323 billion in tax revenue over the next decade due to lower tax compliance and a decline in audits, according to an estimate from the Yale Budget Lab. "The argument from DOGE is to save money — that if we don't have as big of a federal workforce, then we are saving the government money," DeVito said. But given the potential to lose out on tax revenue, the IRS reduction "simply doesn't make sense," she said.
Forbes
05-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
IRS Has Shed More Than 11% Of Its Workforce With Thousands More Cuts On The Way
DENVER, CO - FEBRUARY 20 : From left, Donald McCorvey, Yvette Oseguera Torres, Jodie Malito, three former Internal Revenue Service workers leave their office after being laid off in downtown Denver, Colorado on Thursday, February 20, 2025. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post) President Trump has repeatedly called for significant reductions in the size and scope of the federal government workforce. In addition to executive orders signed by Trump, efforts to cull employees have been led by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), including the so-called "Fork in the Road" or Deferred Resignation Program (DRP). As a result, the IRS has reduced its workforce by more than 10%. In February 2025, the IRS had approximately 103,000 employees. As of March 2025, more than 11,400 IRS employees received termination notices as probationary employees or voluntarily resigned under the DRP. That represents 11% of the workforce. Of those reductions, 7,315 probationary employees received termination notices, and 4,128 employees were approved to accept the DRP (an additional 522 employees were pending approval as of the date of a recent report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). The report focused on the probationary employees identified for termination and those who voluntarily participated in the initial DRP. The deferred resignation program (DRP) allowed federal employees to resign but retain all pay and benefits through September 30, 2025. Employees who accepted the DRP were also exempted from any return-to-office requirements. Employees had until February 6 to accept the offer. The IRS subsequently recalled some workers, noting that specific, critical filing season positions would be exempt from the DRP until May 15, 2025. Those who had previously accepted the offer and stopped working but fell within the exception were advised to be told when to return to work. In January 2025, the IRS, like other federal agencies, was asked to identify all employees on probationary periods. While probationary employees are often recent hires (meaning within the last one to two years), they don't have to be—those who have been serving for years but were recently moved or promoted into a new position also qualify as probationary. The IRS subsequently fired approximately 7,000 probationary employees in response to an executive order signed by President Trump on February 11, 2025. Following the order, the Office of Personnel Management advised various federal agencies, including the Department of the Treasury (which includes the IRS), to fire non-essential probationary employees. Several legal challenges followed, and in March, U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup for the Northern District of California ordered six agencies, including the Treasury Department, to rehire the employees. In his ruling, Alsup said the federal government was required to follow normal reduction in force (RIF) rules. The government appealed the ruling—that case is currently pending in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. In the meantime, the matter was escalated to the U.S. Supreme Court, which paused Alsup's order on administrative grounds. The unsigned Supreme Court order indicated that the group of unions and non-profit groups lacked standing to sue. Standing is a legal term that refers to your right to bring a lawsuit or have a court hear your case—to be heard, you typically have to show that another party has harmed you and that the only fix for that harm can be found in court. The idea is to ensure that matters that end up in court aren't frivolous and are raised by the right parties. The Supreme Court's order does not mean that it found the firings lawful, just that the wrong parties raised the issue in court. (According to the IRS, before the Supreme Court's decision, the probationary employees who received termination notices were reinstated and placed on administrative leave. According to TIGTA, it is unclear whether any probationary employees will remain reinstated or be terminated in a large-scale Reduction in Force (RIF).) In March 2025, a federal court in Maryland ruled the probationary employees needed to be reinstated. Specifically, U.S. District Judge James Bredar granted a preliminary injunction to stop the firings of probationary federal workers in those localities. (That doesn't mean the employees can't be sued, but it does mean that the federal government has to follow already established procedures.) The Supreme Court's ruling in the California case does not apply here. The report did not focus on numbers from the second DRP (reportedly, over 23,000 employees applied for the TDRP, and 13,124 were approved as of April 22, 2025) nor the planned Reductions in Force (RIFs). Further reductions in the workforce are anticipated. In February 2025, the President signed an executive order that advised federal agencies to begin preparations to initiate large-scale RIFs. TIGTA's report indicates that the separations disproportionately impacted employees in certain positions. For example, approximately 31% of revenue agents are no longer at the agency. An IRS Revenue Agent is an auditor of tax returns—they typically have a degree in accounting or a related field and receive additional tax training from the IRS. They may work with individual taxpayers as well as businesses. TIGTA found that 18% of revenue officers are no longer at the IRS. An IRS Revenue Officer is not an auditor—they're primarily focused on collections, including issuing liens and levies. IRS Revenue Officers are typically involved in working significant tax debts. According to former IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel, the median debt that an IRS Revenue Officer is seeking to collect is $110,000. (IRS Revenue Agents and IRS Revenue Officers are both different from Special Agents who work criminal matters with IRS-Criminal Investigations. There are about 3,000 employees in CI—about 70% of whom are special agents, and only those special agents carry firearms.) Business units at the IRS were impacted at different rates. The IRS previously notified its workforce that it initiated a RIF for the Office of Civil Rights and Compliance (formerly the Office of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion). The communication indicated that approximately 5% of the office left through the DRP and attrition, with an additional 75% of the office to be reduced through an RIF. Later in April, the IRS announced that it had initiated a RIF for the Taxpayer Experience Office and the Office of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion in Taxpayer Services. Additional cuts followed. The top six business units affected by the cuts are: IRS reductions in workforce by business unit. Every state, including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, had probationary employees who received termination notices or accepted the DRP. IRS reductions in workforce by state Iowa, Colorado, Mississippi, and Idaho had the highest percentage of employee separations compared to the IRS workforce in those states. By the numbers, Texas, California, New York, Georgia, and Pennsylvania had the most separations. Most (91%) of the 7,315 probationary employees who received termination notices had less than one year experience with the IRS. Of those remaining, 615 employees had between one and five years of service, while 31 had more than five years. That doesn't mean that those employees were unskilled. The IRS hiring efforts paid off: even though most probationary employees had not been with the IRS long, some were in highly skilled technical positions, like IT specialists and data scientists. According to TIGTA, 1,488 probationary employees were GS-13 (13% of all employees at that grade level). The GS-13 pay grade is generally reserved for top-level positions such as supervisors, high-level technical specialists, and top professionals holding advanced degrees. Probationary employees who received termination notices tended to be under age 40. For example, 549 probationary employees were under 25 years old, which was 14% of all IRS employees in that age group. The demographics for employees who accepted the DRP were quite different. For example, nearly four in ten employees who accepted the DRP had been at the IRS for 11 years or more. And, nearly half (47%) were more than 55 years of age. In addition to mandatory reductions, IRS employee levels will also be impacted by attrition, including those employees opting for retirement. Importantly, they will not be replaced. As part of his January 20 executive order, Trump issued a hiring freeze that was intended to be temporary, with one exception—the IRS. While the freeze was slated to expire for other federal government agencies after 90 days, the hiring freeze for the IRS will remain in place until "it is in the national interest to lift the freeze."
Time of India
05-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Over 15,000 USDA workers accept Trump-era payouts to leave their jobs
More than 15,000 employees at the US Department of Agriculture have accepted financial incentives to leave their posts, as part of President Donald Trump's ongoing efforts to downsize the federal workforce. According to a USDA briefing shared with congressional staff and reviewed by Reuters, this represents roughly 15% of the department's total employees. The departures follow two rounds of what the administration has called the Deferred Resignation Program . In February, nearly 3,900 staff signed agreements to leave. That number surged in April, with over 11,300 additional contracts finalised, bringing the total to 15,182. The USDA has said that figure may still rise as older staff were given more time to decide and some who agreed to resign have yet to sign their contracts. A spokesperson confirmed the resignations and said Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins is focused on improving the department's efficiency. Those exiting include hundreds of frontline Farm Service Agency employees and thousands from the Natural Resources Conservation Service, both of which play key roles in assisting American farmers. The move comes alongside broader cuts across government departments, with intelligence agencies also targeted. The Trump administration reportedly plans to reduce CIA staff by 1,200 over several years, while thousands of roles at the NSA and other agencies could also be axed. The CIA noted some cuts will come from early retirements and slowed hiring, and defended the downsizing as a 'holistic strategy' to better align with national security priorities. Diversity, equity and inclusion programmes across intelligence bodies have also been scrapped, though legal challenges are ongoing. Meanwhile, the administration has removed several top officials, including the head of the NSA and Cyber Command, further signalling the scope of the shake-up. While the job market nationwide remains relatively steady — with 177,000 new jobs added in April — concerns are growing that Trump's tariff policies and domestic spending cuts could ultimately cool economic momentum. Economists warn that shrinking the federal workforce could hurt job growth and trigger wider repercussions, especially for sectors dependent on public funding or contracts. For now, the unemployment rate remains low at 4.2%. But the long-term effects of Musk-backed federal cutbacks under the Department of Government Efficiency may yet reveal deeper consequences for American workers and government services alike.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
I'm a federally employed military spouse and feel forced into retirement. It's making me sad that I voted for Trump.
A military spouse who has worked in government for 25 years is retiring early ahead of another move. Retiring gives financial safety, but she feels forced into the choice by the hiring freeze and DOGE. The situation — and how it's impacting military families— makes her sad she voted for Trump at all. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with a federally employed military spouse who's taking up the Department of Defense on its Deferred Resignation Program/Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (DRP VERA) offer because she feels she's out of options. She has requested anonymity because her early retirement is not yet approved. Business Insider has verified her identity and employment. White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly told BI that "President Trump has consistently stood up for our military families — delivering crucial reforms that improved VA healthcare, decreased veteran homelessness, and enhanced education benefits. His efforts to cut wasteful spending and make agencies more efficient will ensure our government can better serve all Americans, especially our veterans and their loved ones." My 25 years of government service are about to come to an end — not because I want them to, but because I feel I don't have another choice. I'm opting into the DRP VERA before my husband and I move to Hawaii in June for his job in the Navy. Part of me is at peace, but another part is full of resentment. I feel pushed into this choice — pushed by DOGE. It's been such a stressful, emotional decision. I'm not ready to end the only career I've known, but I'm also not ready to stay behind as my husband moves thousands of miles away. I agree with DOGE that the government should get smaller. There are plenty of things that can be cut, but I expected more organization and empathy when I cast my vote for Trump in November. At this point, I'm sad I voted for him at all. I'm no stranger to military moves. My dad spent 23 years in the Navy, I've been married to two different Navy guys, and I've worked for the DoD since I was in my early twenties. Finding a new job during past moves with my ex and my current husband hasn't always been easy. The application process is long, and waiting for the right opening is frustrating, but it's always been possible. Federal employment was the safest option for me, a rare type of stability in a life of movement. This time feels totally different. Trump says he supports military spouses, but relocating during a hiring freeze doesn't feel like support to me, not to mention that summer is peak military move season. Nobody in HR has answered my questions. I'm asking them to show me how they're supporting us, and so far, they've not shown anything. Even though Trump has made accommodations for military spouses working in the government, the hiring freeze would make it impossible for me to get a new job in Hawaii. As of just a few weeks ago, I was planning to stay behind in Virginia and wait out the freeze. Neither I or my husband was keen on that, but it just wasn't financially feasible for me to go to Hawaii without a paycheck or any sense of how to get a job in the private sector for the very first time — in my 50s and without a degree. When the DoD announced a second opportunity to take a DRP VERA, which is open to anyone older than 50 with more than 20 years in the government, I knew it made sense financially. Assuming it's approved, I'll keep getting my paycheck through September. The finances are simpler now, but my internal life isn't. I don't talk politics much anymore — it's too personal for me at this point. Now it's my life, as well as other military lives, caught up in the balance. Have a tip? Contact this reporter via email at atecotzky@ or Signal at alicetecotzky.05. Use a personal email address and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely. Read the original article on Business Insider
Business Insider
29-04-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
I'm a federally employed military spouse and feel forced into retirement. It's making me sad that I voted for Trump.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with a federally employed military spouse who's taking up the Department of Defense on its Deferred Resignation Program/Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (DRP VERA) offer because she feels she's out of options. She has requested anonymity because her early retirement is not yet approved. Business Insider has verified her identity and employment. White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly told BI that "President Trump has consistently stood up for our military families — delivering crucial reforms that improved VA healthcare, decreased veteran homelessness, and enhanced education benefits. His efforts to cut wasteful spending and make agencies more efficient will ensure our government can better serve all Americans, especially our veterans and their loved ones." My 25 years of government service are about to come to an end — not because I want them to, but because I feel I don't have another choice. I'm opting into the DRP VERA before my husband and I move to Hawaii in June for his job in the Navy. Part of me is at peace, but another part is full of resentment. I feel pushed into this choice — pushed by DOGE. It's been such a stressful, emotional decision. I'm not ready to end the only career I've known, but I'm also not ready to stay behind as my husband moves thousands of miles away. I agree with DOGE that the government should get smaller. There are plenty of things that can be cut, but I expected more organization and empathy when I cast my vote for Trump in November. At this point, I'm sad I voted for him at all. 'Doesn't feel like support to me' I'm no stranger to military moves. My dad spent 23 years in the Navy, I've been married to two different Navy guys, and I've worked for the DoD since I was in my early twenties. Finding a new job during past moves with my ex and my current husband hasn't always been easy. The application process is long, and waiting for the right opening is frustrating, but it's always been possible. Federal employment was the safest option for me, a rare type of stability in a life of movement. This time feels totally different. Trump says he supports military spouses, but relocating during a hiring freeze doesn't feel like support to me, not to mention that summer is peak military move season. Nobody in HR has answered my questions. I'm asking them to show me how they're supporting us, and so far, they've not shown anything. Even though Trump has made accommodations for military spouses working in the government, the hiring freeze would make it impossible for me to get a new job in Hawaii. As of just a few weeks ago, I was planning to stay behind in Virginia and wait out the freeze. Neither I or my husband was keen on that, but it just wasn't financially feasible for me to go to Hawaii without a paycheck or any sense of how to get a job in the private sector for the very first time — in my 50s and without a degree. Finances are simpler, but internal life isn't When the DoD announced a second opportunity to take a DRP VERA, which is open to anyone older than 50 with more than 20 years in the government, I knew it made sense financially. Assuming it's approved, I'll keep getting my paycheck through September. The finances are simpler now, but my internal life isn't. I don't talk politics much anymore — it's too personal for me at this point. Now it's my life, as well as other military lives, caught up in the balance.
