TIGTA: IRS reassigned staff after layoffs for filing season

The IRS moved almost 1,200 workers to Taxpayer Services “to address critical staffing shortages and potential 2026 filing season backlogs” after more than 11,000 employees left the division as various buyouts were offered, a watchdog report said.

Also, the employment changes reached the highest levels of the IRS, beyond the numerous people appointed as commissioner, the June 9 report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) said.

From January 2025 to Jan. 10, 2026, the IRS involuntarily assigned 1,173 employers for 120 days to assist with the filing season in Taxpayer Services. That division lost 11,330 employees, TIGTA said. The detail started on Feb. 22 with a tentative end date of June 13. However, most assignments were extended for another 120 days, TIGTA said.

Of the 1,173 employees on detail, 639 (54.5%) are paid at levels that often include senior, supervisory, and highly specialized technical employees on the Office of Professional Management general schedule.

TIGTA said it is performing a separate review to assess the impact of the IRS redeploying resources to Taxpayer Services as staffing levels reflected in the report do not account for personnel reassigned before the 2026 tax season.

Those affected by the staffing changes include high-ranking IRS officials. During 2025, for example, seven commissioners served at the IRS.

The IRS said 142 of its senior executive service (SES), or roughly 46%, separated, took a deferred resignation program offer, or used some other incentive to leave as of January 2026.

SES members serve in key IRS positions just below top presidential appointees. Prior to January 2025, the commissioner and chief counsel were the only two IRS noncompetitive appointment positions subject to presidential appointment with Senate confirmation, the report said.

During 2025, the IRS expanded the number of senior positions that may be filled through noncompetitive appointment authorities, the report said. This includes the CEO, CFO, deputy chief of criminal investigation, human capital officer, and the chief of staff.

According to the IRS, these positions do not require Senate confirmation, although CEO Frank Bisignano also serves as the commissioner of the Social Security Administration, which does require Senate confirmation.

“The IRS’s creation of new senior positions, and the redesignation of certain existing positions as noncompetitive appointments, is a change in the agency’s governance structure,” TIGTA said. “Expanding the use of noncompetitive appointments to functions traditionally led by career officials may affect perceptions of independence and continuity of agency operations.”

— To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Martha Waggoner at Martha.Waggoner@aicpa-cima.com.