https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/08/irs-furloughs-workers-government-shutdown.html

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Politics

IRS furloughs nearly half of its workforce due to government shutdown

Published Wed, Oct 8 20253:25 PM EDTUpdated 3 Hours Ago
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Dan Mangan@_DanMangan
WATCH LIVE
Key Points

  * The IRS said that it is furloughing nearly half of its workforce
    due to the ongoing government shutdown.
  * About 34,000 IRS workers are being furloughed, according to the
    agency. Another 39,870 employees, representing 53.6% of the
    workforce, will remain on the job.
  * The announcement came as the federal shutdown entered its eighth
    day without an agreement between Republicans and Democrats in
    Congress on a funding deal that would end the crisis.

People exit the the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) building in
Washington, D.C., on Feb. 20, 2025.
Kent Nishimura | Reuters

The IRS on Wednesday said that it was furloughing nearly half of its
workforce due to the ongoing government shutdown.

About 34,000 IRS workers are being furloughed, according to the tax
agency. Another 39,870 employees, representing 53.6% of the
workforce, will remain on the job.

The furloughs came as the shutdown of federal government operations
was in its eighth day, and as dueling funding resolutions that would
end the crisis for the sixth time failed to pass in votes by the
Senate.

"Due to the lapse in appropriations, most IRS operations are closed,"
the agency said in a message to employees on Wednesday.

"An IRS-wide furlough began on October 8, 2025, for everyone except
already-identified excepted and exempt employees," the message said.

"Employees who are not exempt or excepted are furloughed and placed
in a non-pay and non-duty status until further notice; however, all
employees should plan to report to work for their next tour of duty."

Furloughed IRS workers were told in a letter that they will receive
back pay when the shutdown ends. That letter came a day after an
internal draft memo suggested that the Trump administration might
question its obligation to give back pay to some furloughed
employees.

The furloughs come as the tax agency was already dealing with the
effects of mass layoffs that reduced its workforce by about 25%, from
around 100,000 workers to about 75,000 now. The layoffs were
implemented after President Donald Trump returned to the White House
in January.

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