IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service Struggles as 400 Workers Depart

The IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service is losing more than 400 employees—and that number could grow.

The office, an independent arm of the IRS that helps solve taxpayer problems, is shrinking by about 22% to 25%, National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins said at an industry conference in Washington, DC on Wednesday.

“This is a huge hit,” Collins said.

The departures all come from employees accepting the resignation packages offered by the Trump administration in an effort led by billionaire adviser Elon Musk to dramatically downsize the federal government. The final numbers are still unclear as paperwork is being processed, Collins said.

Collins said the Taxpayer Advocate Service didn’t have to do reductions in force because so many people left voluntarily. The IRS as a whole is losing upward of 25% of its workforce, much of which is from people taking the administration’s leave offers.

Many of the people leaving are case advocates in offices across the country, Collins said. Advocates work anywhere from 150 to 200 cases each, which is now being spread across the employees who remain at the agency.

“The people that are left are staring at their inventory, and they’re not happy,” Collins said. “We’re really struggling.”

Collins said she is talking to Treasury Deputy Secretary Michael Faulkender, who is also serving as acting IRS commissioner, to allow for exceptions to the government-wide hiring freeze.

“Even if I get authorization to hire, it’s going to be a long time to get people in the door. You have to train them,” said Collins, who added any additional employees needed for the 2026 tax filing season would need to be hired now.