Internal Memo Shows IRS Feared Staffing Cuts Could Disrupt Tax Season, Sought 8,000 Hires

The Internal Revenue Service sought and received special authority to rapidly hire 8,000 employees after internally warning that staffing shortages threatened its ability to manage the 2026 tax filing season, according to an internal memorandum obtained by NOTUS.

The request contrasts with public statements by Trump administration officials, who have repeatedly dismissed concerns about the impact of workforce reductions at the agency. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently called warnings about IRS staffing cuts "a complete fallacy," while IRS Commissioner Frank Bisignano told lawmakers in March that predictions the agency would fail because of staffing reductions were wrong.

Internally, as NOTUS reports, IRS officials painted a different picture. In a February memo to the Treasury Department, the agency's top human resources official, Alex Kweskin, wrote that the IRS had experienced "massive cuts to its staff in 2025 through workforce reduction initiatives" and warned that "ongoing staffing shortages put the 2026 Filing Season at risk."

The IRS ultimately received expedited hiring authority through September under a federal provision reserved for agencies facing a "critical hiring need or severe shortage of candidates." The authority allows the agency to bypass some of the procedures that typically slow federal hiring.

According to the memo, the IRS continues to face backlogs involving tax returns, taxpayer correspondence and delinquent accounts. The agency plans to hire clerks, tax examiners, accounting technicians, tax specialists and customer service representatives.

The hiring push follows the departure of roughly 28,000 IRS employees last year, or about 27% of the agency's workforce. The Taxpayer Services division alone lost approximately 9,000 workers.

Former IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said staffing reductions often become visible only when taxpayers need assistance resolving problems with returns, refunds or audits. "For taxpayers it means longer waits, greater uncertainty and delayed resolution of stressful tax matters," he said.

The staffing challenges come as the IRS has also taken on additional responsibilities, including implementing more than 100 tax code changes stemming from last year's One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

The agency has faced scrutiny on other fronts as well. A Treasury Inspector General report released this week found problems with an information-sharing agreement under which the IRS provided taxpayer address information to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The report said automated systems used to match records produced questionable results because of inconsistent or incomplete data, raising concerns about the accuracy of information shared with immigration authorities.

The IRS's staffing difficulties also mirror broader concerns across federal agencies following workforce reductions under the Trump administration. At the Social Security Administration, which has cut more than 7,000 positions this year, disability advocates report growing delays, increased difficulty obtaining in-person assistance and a rising number of unresolved claims, despite agency assertions that service has improved through technology and automation.