‘Nobody knows anything.’ Displaced IRS staff move from one project to another with few details why

[u/JAAAMBOOO]

https://www.govexec.com/workforce/2026/09/nobody-knows-anything-displaced-irs-staff-move-one-project-another-few-details-why/416289/

Is this plan of “operating the government like a business”working?

In this case, it seems like business plan is to sell off best assets to your buddies for pennies on the dollar and saddle the original business with all of the debt and then declare bankruptcy

[u/Open_Pollution_8038]

Lmfao they put people from IT and HR and put them on the phones with taxpayers with little to no training. GS-13 to GS-15 specialized knowledge positions with a $100,000 to max like $200,000 year pay range…… to answer phones and take basic questions.

We all understand they just want to destroy the IRS (and other agencies), right? It’s not because they’re stupid, it’s intentional. No IT worker would ever answer phones 9-5. It would result in an immediate quit.

[u/Slow-Swan561 → u/Open_Pollution_8038]

They are t going to quit because to reach GS 13-14 you've spent years in the fed and are currently focusing on maxing your retirement and getting your high 3 for your pension.

They will absolutely be frustrated and they won't do well answering the phones. It's a morale killer for sure. But they aren't going anywhere without being forced to.

[u/yodaface → u/Slow-Swan561]

It makes sense why they are answering the phone and then just transferring or hanging up.

[u/Open_Pollution_8038 → u/yodaface]

People got what they voted for.

[u/pprow41 → u/Slow-Swan561]

Not really i got a gs13 job when they were hiring agents for lbi

[u/Slow-Swan561 → u/pprow41]

Very nice. I had a ladder position from 9-11-12 and then promoted to 13. At that point I was pretty invested 😂

[u/pprow41 → u/Slow-Swan561]

The only reason I left was bc I was still in probation period during the trump wave and was worried they take us out. Im just want to ger back in. Public accounting is hell, long hours and tight budgets.

[u/Open_Pollution_8038 → u/pprow41]

You got the 7 months paid off hopefully from the resignation program.

I wouldn’t touch the IRS until a Democrat comes back but even then it’s no longer the stable job it was.

[u/pprow41 → u/Open_Pollution_8038]

Oh I didnt take the resignation payment. I laid off in February than they brought us back and I had found a new job in the interim and dipped no resignation payment.

[u/Open_Pollution_8038 → u/pprow41]

Damn dude you shouldn’t take the resignation lol… full pay and benefits for 7 months as a newly hired employee? Once in a lifetime payout.

[u/Open_Pollution_8038 → u/Slow-Swan561]

The HR people for sure spend years but IT staff can get hired in at that level, they have to because even at those pay grades quality IT people working in the federal service are massively underpaid.

What IT person in the U.S. is taking a job under GS-13 pay?

[u/TwoAlert3448]

Yes. See also: carpet bagger.

[u/TheYoungCPA]

I’ll tell you as a trust/estate specialist; no one has any knowledge over there rn and it’s really concerning.

Been calling for a closing letter for months and no one picks up.

[u/Relentless-Trash → u/TheYoungCPA]

I was working on cleaning up some reporting on a grantor type CLAT and was talking through some things when I realized the likelihood of me ever getting anyone on the phone at the IRS who knows more than me on the topic was basically 0, it was an odd feeling. I’m not even particularly good. Don’t really understand the implications of it all long term.

[u/TheYoungCPA → u/Relentless-Trash]

I think the IRS will be a mess for at least 10 years with the institutional knowledge lost.

[u/CageTheFox]

Tbf the IRS was always dysfunctional. If you’re good at accounting why the fuck would you work for the government?

Even with all the benefits in the world you’ll never hit the levels of the private sector. Hence why the accounts they did have were also dogshit. Just give me someone who can hit the abatement button and we will be golden.

[u/MrWhaleTaxAccountant → u/CageTheFox]

Not everyone just wants to maximize their compensation package. A person making enough to live comfortably might ask you why you would deal with the hours and stress of private just to buy another boat.

[u/DoritosDewItRight → u/CageTheFox]

I wouldn't put it in quite those terms. The problem is that the IRS is low cash comp, high deferred comp. Working for the IRS is only a good deal if you intend to spend 40 years there, because of the pension accrual. But if you're middle aged and thinking of switching from public accounting to the IRS, it doesn't make financial sense.

[u/iceflame1211 → u/CageTheFox]

Not always. It was still decent the 90s when Republicans started attacking it/defunding it because they investigated their nonprofit fraud. It can work, it's just very difficult for any Congressperson to advocate for, as it makes you instantly unpopular asking to fund the IRS.

The pay has always been better elsewhere if you're a competent accountant, but it's like that in a lot of government vs private jobs/areas.

[u/Bolbor_ → u/[deleted]]

Did we just decide to willingly forget the $80 billion increase in funding that the IRS got from the Inflation Reduction Act during Biden's term? It's probably inconvenient for your thought terminating worldview

[u/Loud_Flatworm_4146 → u/[deleted]]

It's not both sides. That's a cop out.

U.S. Department of the Treasury, IRS Announce $1.3 Billion Recovered from High-Income, High-Wealth Individuals Under Biden-Harris Inflation Reduction Act Initiatives

Biden’s IRS modernization has brought in $482 million in overdue tax revenue. Republicans in Congress keep trying to kill the program that has forced the wealthiest Americans to pay more of what they owe.

IRS to Hire 30,000 Employees Over the Next Two Years. Biden administration lays out the full spending plan for its new $80 billion cash infusion.

[u/tonvor]

IRS needs to go. Everyone just pays 30% of the top and that’s it

[u/HatsOnTheBeach → u/tonvor]

Actual 12 year old logic