DATA IN THE SPOTLIGHT
The Internal Revenue Service depends on a talented and experienced workforce to ensure that the tax system operates fairly and effectively. Here you can find data on agency leadership and personnel, including changes in staffing levels, position vacancies and turnover, and other issues related to recruitment and retention.
Since January 20, 2025, 25% of IRS workforce and 24 of 31 members (77%) of the IRS senior leadership, including the commissioner, have left the agency. According to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, the workforce reductions could result in delayed refunds, an increase in unidentified fraudulent returns, and paperwork backlogs.
Data highlights:
- Changes in IRS workforce levels by business operating division, January-May 2025 (xlsx)
- IRS Organizational Charts, 2025 (zip)
Related documents and reporting:
Commissioner turnover
- 10/6/2025: Bessent Picks Social Security Chief Frank Bisignano as IRS CEO (WSJ)
- 8/8/2025: Trump removes Billy Long as IRS commissioner, giving him the shortest-ever tenure in the role (AP News)
- 6/12/2025: Senate Confirms Auctioneer Billy Long as IRS Chief (WSJ)
- 4/27/2025: Trump’s Newest IRS Chief Tries to Steer a Leaner Agency Through Turmoil (WSJ)
- 4/18/2025: Trump to Replace Acting IRS Commissioner (WSJ)
- 4/15/2025: Trump Picks Investigator Behind Hunter Biden Tax Case as IRS Acting Leader (WSJ)
- 4/9/2025: Acting IRS Chief to Depart, Extending Turmoil at Agency (WSJ)
- 2/24/2025: Acting IRS Chief Set to Retire This Week (WSJ)
- 1/17/2025: IRS Commissioner to Quit as Trump Takes Office (WSJ)
Additional leadership turnover
- 11/14/2025: Trump Withdraws His Pick for Top IRS Lawyer (WSJ)
- 7/18/2025: IRS Quietly Replaces Acting Chief Counsel (Tax Notes)
- 4/14/2025: IRS chief information officer announces resignation on eve of tax-filing day (Reuters)
- 4/9/2025: Top IRS officials join chief in quitting following immigration data deal (Reuters)
- 3/29/2025: IRS cuts about 50 IT executives, sources say (FedScoop)
- 3/13/2025: Top IRS Lawyer Set to Be Demoted Amid Taxpayer Data-Sharing Clash (WSJ)
- 3/5/2025: IRS Chief Human Resources Official Placed on Leave (TaxNotes)
Workforce cuts
- 10/15/2025: TIGTA: Major Management Challenges Facing the IRS in Fiscal Year 2026 (TIGTA)
- 9/29/2025: Final Results of the 2025 Filing Season (TIGTA)
- 8/14/2025: IRS Terminated Probationary Employees Without Following Internal Procedures and Considering Individual Performance (TIGTA)
- 7/18/2025: Snapshot Report: IRS Workforce Reductions as of May 2025 (TIGTA)
- 6/25/2025: National Taxpayer Advocate Objectives Report FY 2026 (TAS)
- 6/2025: IRS 2026 Budget-in-Brief (IRS)
- 5/2/2025: Snapshot Report: IRS Workforce Reductions as of March 2025 (TIGTA)
Analysis and commentary
- 11/12/2025: Five Questions for IRS CEO Frank Bisignano (Can We Still Govern?)
- 8/12/2025: The IRS faces unprecedented leadership turnover (Brookings)
- 7/17/2025: The new tax bill burdens an already overburdened IRS (Brookings)
- 5/13/2025: What’s Going on at the IRS? (Lawfare)
- 4/18/2025: Cuts, Compliance, and Confidence: What’s At Risk For The IRS And Taxpayers? (TPC)
- 4/15/2025: IRS cuts and privacy threats endanger public trust and revenue (Brookings)
- 4/2/2025: Cuts in Spending and Staff Dim Hopes For Transformational Change At The IRS (TPC)
- 3/6/2025: A hamstrung IRS is a gift to rich tax cheats and a headache for honest taxpayers (Brookings)
- 2/20/2025: New IRS Employees Are Helping Taxpayers, Firing Them Would Be Costly (TPC)
You can also download a spreadsheet with the full list of available data, including the range of years for which data is available.
The IRS Spotlight © 2025 by The Brookings Institution is licensed under CC BY 4.0