IRS Early Resignation Offer Accepted by Almost 18,000 Employees

Almost 18,000 IRS workers who weeks ago signaled they planned to take a resignation offer and leave the agency will do so—thousands fewer than initial estimates, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Those employees signed the second deferred resignation offer that came from the Trump administration, a drop from over 23,000 who initially applied. Monday is the deadline for the workers to finalize the offer so the total number isn’t final yet.

“The Biden Administration grew the IRS from 79,431 to 102,309 personnel,” a Treasury spokeswoman said in a statement. “Under new leadership, approximately the same number of employees have left the IRS, with a vast majority leaving voluntarily through the Deferred Resignation Program.”

Losing a chunk of the IRS staff is expected to impact the amount of revenue the government collects in taxes and embolden people to avoid paying what they owe.

The deal allows for employees to be on paid administrative leave through Sept. 30. The administration deemed a small fraction of IRS employees critical to agency functions and denied their application for the offer.

The roughly 18,000 number is in addition to 5,000 employees who took the first-round resignation offer earlier this year. The IRS also initially fired an additional 7,000 probationary workers but those workers have since been brought back.

IRS workers 40 years or older got a 45-day window to consider the resignation offer, plus a seven-day rescission period after they sign. Many used it as insurance in case they got fired in future workforce cuts, which are paused due to court rulings.