IRS employees involved in the 2025 tax season will not be allowed to accept a buyout offer from the Trump administration until after the taxpayer filing deadline, according to a letter sent Wednesday to IRS employees.
The letter states that certain critical positions in Taxpayer Services, Information Technology, and the Taxpayer Advocate Service are exempt from the administration's buyout plan until May 15. Taxpayers have until April 15 to file their taxes unless they are granted an extension.
President Donald Trump announced a plan to offer buyouts to federal employees through a 'deferred resignation program' to quickly reduce the government workforce. The program deadline is Feb. 6, and employees who accept will be able to stop working while still collecting a paycheck until Sept. 30.
The buyouts, sent to roughly 2.3 million workers, are for all full-time federal employees with some exemptions, including military personnel, employees of the U.S. Postal Service, and positions related to immigration enforcement.
Union leaders and worker advocates have criticized the proposal and question whether the government will honor any buyout contract. Doreen Greenwald, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, has advised federal workers not to accept the offer, citing concerns about the impact on services to the American people and the employees themselves.
Since federal employees are currently working under a continuing resolution that keeps the government funded until March, funding for the buyout plan has not been approved. Greenwald emphasized the importance of federal employees having control over their careers and urged them not to sign the buyout document.
The NTEU union represents approximately 150,000 employees in 37 departments and agencies. Greenwald highlighted that federal employees play a crucial role in delivering key services for the American people and expressed concern that accepting the buyout offer could harm both services and employees.
The 2025 tax season is set to begin on Jan. 27, with the IRS expecting more than 140 million tax returns to be filed by the April 15 deadline. Greenwald emphasized that the majority of the federal workforce operates outside of Washington, D.C., and urged caution in considering the buyout offer.
