All IRS employees will be exempt from furlough and expected to work until Feb. 7 in the event the government shuts down on Friday, according to an email seen by Bloomberg Tax.
President Donald Trump and GOP lawmakers have been touting what they’re promising will be historic tax refunds this year, citing breaks from the 2025 tax-and-spending law. The party is eager to put more cash in the hands of voters ahead of the midterm elections.
The roughly 74,000 IRS workers would be working without pay.
The Senate is scheduled to vote on a compromise to avoid a shutdown later on Friday. But a short term lapse in funding is likely since the House is out and not expected to return until Monday.
Tax filing season began on time Monday. The agency faces the season after losing a roughly a quarter of its employees, working through last year’s longest-ever shutdown, while also implementing the massive GOP tax-and-spending law.
While the IRS initially kept all employees working during the 2025 shutdown using funds from the 2022 tax-and-climate law, the agency ultimately furloughed about half of its workforce.
Trump also fired about 1,300 IRS workers as part of a broader government wide purge that was a negotiation tool in the 2025 shutdown. Those layoffs were blocked by a federal judge and notices were rescinded.
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