IRS Posts Thousands of Customer Service Jobs After Downsizing

The IRS has issued job postings for thousands of positions in the taxpayer services division after months of staffing cuts that shrunk the agency’s workforce by about one-quarter.

There are 4,500 contact representative jobs open at offices across the country, according to USAJOBS, the US Office of Personnel Management website for federal jobs. Contact representatives help taxpayers with administrative and technical problems either over the phone, in person, or through written correspondence.

There are also 150 open positions for tax examining technicians, who review returns and secure tax payments, according to USAJOBS.

The IRS Taxpayer Services Division lost 22% of its 42,134 workers after the Trump administration’s initiatives to downsize the federal government. National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins said in her mid-year report that the agency needed to quickly hire thousands of customer service employees to prepare for next year’s filing season.

The IRS in its fiscal year 2026 budget request asked for an additional 11,000 customer service workers and $853 million to maintain its customer service phone lines. Funding below the requested amount will “impair taxpayer services” and cause most taxpayers to be unable to reach the agency by phone, the budget document said.

House Republicans proposed cutting IRS annual funding overall by about $2.8 billion, while keeping funding for taxpayer services flat. A top Democrat on a key Senate Appropriations subcommittee indicated that the Senate proposal will be more generous than the House’s.

The job postings come weeks after former Missouri Republican Rep. Billy Long became commissioner and amid continued turbulence in the top ranks at the IRS.

The IRS didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.