The IRS quietly updated its lapsed funding contingency plan, slightly boosting the number of staff working during the shutdown. The largest increase is Chief Counsel staff working on One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB) implementation.
The updated plan, dated October 18, shows an overall increase of 112 IRS employees working during the shutdown. The IRS had placed 39,867 workers in category A-1 as of October 8 but has now increased that number to 39,979. Workers in this category will continue working during the shutdown, with their work “financed by a resource other than annual appropriations.”
Of the updated plan’s newly added shutdown workers, 45 are at Chief Counsel. These workers will “[p]erform work necessary to implement P.L. 119-21,” or the OBBB, per the updated plan.
Ken Kies, speaking October 22 at a Council for Electronic Revenue Communication Advancement (CERCA) conference, said the IRS and Treasury “are very keenly focused on getting the guidance out” for the new tax law – which has several provisions taking effect for the 2025 tax year. Kies is currently serving as both IRS Chief Counsel and Treasury Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy.
Kies noted during his remarks at CERCA that 45 lawyers had just been brought back to Chief Counsel as of October 20. He described these IRS staffers as “key lawyers with various responsibilities in drafting the OBBB guidance.”
Also added, per the updated plan, are 31 Chief Financial Officer workers, largely consisting of accountants and accounting technicians. The bulk of these workers are Financial Management. Among the tasks of these additional workers is “financial reporting data analytics” for tax administration and collection and payables, including for “end-of-month/end-of-year activities.”
In addition, 15 workers in Research, Applied Analytics, and Statistics (RAAS) were brought back to “provide support” on “exempt activities.” Rounding out the list of additional IRS staff working during the shutdown are single digit headcount increases in the Chief Operations Office; the Chief Risk Office; the Human Capital Office; Privacy, Governmental Liaison and Disclosure; and Procurement.
Despite these slight increases, concerns remain about how the IRS can prepare for the upcoming filing season and implement the OBBB with such drastic staff reductions. Both contingency plan drafts indicate the agency had 74,299 workers as of July 24, 2025, accounting for those participating in the Deferred Resignation Program.
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), in its annual report on IRS management and performance challenges, put the IRS’ headcount at 103,000 as of January 2025. Staffing had dropped by 25%, down to 77,000 workers, as of May, said TIGTA. Departed employees “represented all experience levels, and their departures affected each function within the IRS,” it added.
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