IRS workers can't take Trump's "buyout" until after tax season
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
The federal tax filing deadline is April 15, 2025. Photo: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Some government employees who work for the Internal Revenue Service and choose to take the so-called "buyout" offered by the White House, will have to stick around through tax season 2025, according to an email viewed by Axios.
Why it matters: The processing of tax returns and refunds could be delayed if the IRS were to lose employees during the busy filing season.
The big picture: This means these IRS workers won't get the full eight months of paid leave that's been offered in the Fork in the Road, "deferred resignation" program cooked up, in part, by Elon Musk.
- Workers who have already replied "resign" to the note that went out last week will be contacted with instructions about when to return to work, per the email viewed by Axios.
- The deadline is Feb. 6 for workers to resign and take advantage of this offer, which would allow them to get paid through Sept. 30.
IRS employees to work past April 15 tax deadline
Zoom in: The email sent to all IRS employees on Wednesday says that "specific, critical filing season positions in Taxpayer Services, Information Technology and the Taxpayer Advocate Service are exempt from the [program] until May 15, 2025."
- Nearly half of the IRS' roughly 100,000 workers work in services or IT positions, per Bloomberg, which first reported on the email.
- Even those who choose to resign "are required to remain working through at least May 15, 2025, even if they respond to the [agency] email by the February 6 deadline."
- Those who already resigned "will be contacted with further instructions about when to return to work."
What they're saying: "Not only is this a clear case of bait-and-switch — they were originally told they would be paid to not work through Sept. 30 — but it proves that the terms of OPM's so-called offer are unreliable and cannot be trusted," said Doreen Greenwald, the president of the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents IRS workers, in a statement.
- "We do welcome the admission, however, that IRS employees are vital to the agency mission."
- The IRS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump's federal resignation program
State of play: The rollout of the White House deferred resignation has been rocky — with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), updating and changing its guidance, and issuing memos justifying its legality, over the past week.
- But from the start OPM, which functions like a human resource department for the federal government, has told agency heads that they had discretion in choosing which federal employees can participate in the buyout program.
- Yet the "buyout" offer went out to all federal employees — causing some confusion.
- Three unions representing federal workers filed a lawsuit Tuesday seeking to halt the deadline, calling it "unlawful and arbitrary."
What to watch: The concerns around resignations at the IRS underscores the fact that some critical government functions could be impacted by the buyout program.
More from Axios:
