Prior to COVID there 73,000 workers at the IRS. Biden increased the workforce by more than 25%. Now there are 100,000
Posted on | March 18, 2025 | No Comments
In fiscal year 2019 (ending September 30, 2019), the IRS employed approximately 73,519 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees, according to historical staffing trends and reports from that period. This number reflects a workforce that had been gradually declining over the previous decade due to budget cuts and high attrition rates, reaching some of its lowest levels since the 1970s. By early 2020, just before the pandemic significantly impacted operations in March, the workforce was likely close to this figure, though exact monthly or daily counts are not typically published.
For context, the IRS workforce had been significantly larger in earlier decades—around 100,000 employees in the late 1990s and early 2000s—but by the time COVID-19 emerged, it had stabilized at a lower level, hovering around 73,000 to 74,000 employees. This number includes both permanent and seasonal staff, with seasonal hires typically boosting the total during tax filing seasons.
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