"Switcheroo at IRS: Seeking temporary workers with diminished job benefits, after rescinding permanent job offers"
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is gearing up for significant changes to the tax code, as part of the "Big Beautiful Bill" signed into law by President Trump. The agency is scrambling to prepare its workforce and IT systems for these changes, but faces challenges in staffing its call centers.
According to recent reports, the IRS is planning to fill more than 2,150 frontline customer service positions. However, the agency is only filling 600 full-time lead and supervisory contact representative positions, with the remaining 1,520 seasonal positions open to both the public and internal candidates.
The IRS is using its direct hire authority to fill these positions, which allows for faster hiring decisions. The average time it takes to hire a federal employee is 101 days, but the IRS is aiming to make hiring decisions within 40 to 45 days.
However, the agency's efforts to hire full-time employees have been met with setbacks. The IRS initially put out hiring notices to fill 4,500 full-time contact service representative jobs, but quickly withdrew them.
The IRS is not considering a widespread reduction in force at this time. Instead, the agency is planning to reinstate 700 employees who accepted deferred resignation offers.
The IRS held hiring events at several of its campuses across the country this month, but the decision to convert IRS customer service positions from full-time to part-time with fewer work restrictions for the next tax filing year remains unclear.
The move to seasonal hires has been met with criticism from some quarters. NTEU Chapter 66 President Shannon Ellis stated that the IRS moving these positions from full-time to seasonal jobs amounted to a "bait-and-switch."
The IRS needs to hire 11,000 call center representatives to maintain its current level of phone service. Without these hires, the IRS would only be able to answer about 16% of phone calls during next year's filing season.
More than 8,600 taxpayer services employees have left the IRS under the Trump administration, and more than 70% of the job posts are for seasonal hires that can't stay on the job for more than four years.
The Trump administration proposed giving the IRS over $850 million to help hire employees and roll out new automation tools. However, the House Appropriations Committee advanced its fiscal 2026 spending bill without these funds and deeper overall IRS budget cuts than what the administration proposed.
President Donald Trump extended a governmentwide hiring freeze to last until Oct. 15, but the original executive order states that the IRS hiring freeze will remain in effect indefinitely.
These staffing challenges come at a critical time for the IRS, as some of these changes will go into effect as soon as next year's filing season. The agency will need to ensure it has the necessary resources to provide efficient and effective service to taxpayers.
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