Earlier this month, President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing a hiring freeze on federal employees. This freeze is set to last for 90 days for all federal departments and agencies, with one key exception: the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). According to the IRS, job offers with a start date after February 8, 2025, will be revoked.
With the tax filing season already underway and running through April 15, the IRS anticipates processing around 140 million individual tax returns this year. But will Trump’s hiring freeze impact how soon you receive your refund? Here’s what experts are saying.
Will the hiring freeze affect IRS operations?
Tax professionals and former IRS officials have weighed in on the possible effects of Trump’s hiring freeze. Melanie Lauridsen, vice president of tax policy and advocacy at the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), noted that her organization is closely monitoring the situation.
“We are greatly sensitive to the filing season service challenges for members and taxpayers,” she wrote on LinkedIn. While acknowledging concerns about administrative difficulties, she pointed out that the IRS has stated it will “reallocate workers from other areas to help cover filing season processing.”
Lauridsen also highlighted that seasonal employees have already been hired and trained, ensuring that essential processing continues through May. However, former IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig warned that “every facet of IRS operations will be significantly impacted by the current hiring freeze.”
“Fortunately, IRS employees are resilient and have considerable experience with hiring freeze operations,” Rettig said, recalling a similar freeze from 2011 to 2018. He emphasized that despite their efforts, delivering a “private-sector experience” remains challenging given the uncertainty in staffing and resources.
Adding another layer of complexity, a separate executive order signed by Trump requires an end to remote work for federal employees. Nina Olson, executive director of the not-for-profit Center for Taxpayer Rights, raised concerns about this mandate’s impact on IRS staffing.
“With the announcement of returning to work in the office, many IRS employees who are retirement-age and currently teleworking may just decide to retire and lock in their retirement benefits,” Olson said. If this happens, key positions in taxpayer services, such as phone support and error resolution, may go unfilled, leading to delays in processing tax returns.
Despite these potential challenges, Dr. Steven Hamilton, an economics professor at George Washington University, believes the IRS is in a better position than in past years. Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, which provided the agency with $80 billion in funding, the IRS now has a larger workforce than before.
“The IRS will function much better today and in the upcoming filing season with this hiring freeze than they would have, say, four years ago,” Hamilton stated.
Read now: IRS tax refund schedule – Follow this chart to see when your money should arrive
Steps to avoid tax refund delays
If you’re concerned about potential tax refund delays, financial experts recommend taking proactive steps. Christopher Stroup, a Certified Financial Planner and owner of Silicon Beach Financial suggests adjusting withholding allowances and increasing retirement contributions to reduce your overall tax burden.
“By reducing your overall tax burden, you’re less likely to rely on a refund to balance your finances,” Stroup explained.
He also recommends considering quarterly estimated payments, particularly for self-employed individuals, and carefully tracking business expenses to maximize deductions.
Although the full impact of Trump’s hiring freeze remains uncertain, IRS officials and financial experts alike emphasize the importance of early filing and careful tax planning to avoid potential delays in receiving refunds.
