IRS to furlough nearly half of its workforce as shutdown enters second week

WASHINGTON (AP) — The IRS will furlough nearly half of its workforce as part of the ongoing government shutdown, according to the an updated contingency plan posted Wednesday to the agency website. Most IRS operations are closed, the agency said in a separate letter to IRS workers.

The news comes after President Donald Trump and Congress failed to strike an agreement to fund federal operations and the government shutdown has entered its second week, with no discernible endgame in sight.

The agency’s initial Lapse in Appropriations Contingency Plan provided for the first five business days of operations, when states that the department would remain open using Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act funds.

Now, only 39,870 employees, or 53.6%, will remain working as the shutdown continues.

Last week Trump said roughly 750,000 federal workers nationwide were expected to be furloughed across agencies, with some potentially fired by his administration.

The layoffs come as earlier this year the IRS embarked on mass layoffs, spearheaded by the Department of Government Efficiency, affecting tens of thousands of workers. At the end of 2024, the agency employed roughly 100,000 workers — and currently hovers around 75,000.