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The Internal Revenue Service is auditing far fewer wealthy Americans after it lost 27% of its audit and collection staff in a single year, a federal watchdog found. People who owe back taxes got no such break: the amount collected on unpaid bills held steady.
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration released the report Aug. 26. It covers the federal budget year that ended Sept. 30, 2025. In that year, audits of people earning more than $400,000 fell 27%, and the money audits brought in dropped 35%, to $6.5 billion.
The job losses came during the federal downsizing push led in early 2025 by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. The IRS went from 27,217 auditors and collectors to 19,612 in one year, and the number kept falling afterward.
If you owe the IRS, can it still take your paycheck?
Yes. The IRS can garnish wages, meaning it takes part of each paycheck. It has to send a final warning letter first and wait at least 30 days. After that, the garnishment repeats every payday until the debt is paid or the IRS stops it.
The staff cuts didn’t slow down collection of unpaid bills. The IRS collected $81.8 billion in fiscal 2025, about the same as the year before. Most of it came in through automated letters that need few workers.
Tuesday’s election won’t change what you owe. If an IRS letter arrives, you can pay the balance or set up a payment plan on IRS.gov. After a final warning letter, you have 30 days to request a hearing, which puts the garnishment on hold.
How much did IRS audits of the wealthy fall?
The sharpest drop was in audits of partnerships, businesses whose profits pass straight to their owners’ personal tax returns. New audits of partnerships fell 76% from 2023 to 2025. Part of that drop came from an internal IRS reorganization that started before the layoffs.
Audits matter beyond the money they recover. The IRS estimates that about $696 billion in taxes went unpaid in 2022, mostly from income people left off their returns. The inspector general noted that audits also push people who aren’t audited to report honestly.
The IRS says it’s making up the difference with technology. In April, IRS Chief Executive Officer Frank Bisignano told senators that data tools and new technology had raised enforcement revenue 12%. Overall tax collections hit a record $5.3 trillion in fiscal 2025.
Could the next Congress cut IRS funding even deeper?
It could. The Trump administration asked Congress to cut the IRS enforcement budget 18%, to $4.1 billion. A House Republican bill goes further, to $3.6 billion, down from nearly $5 billion this year.
Current funding runs out Dec. 11. Congress could pass a full budget before then or push the decision into 2027. If it waits, the lawmakers elected Tuesday will decide after they take office Jan. 3.
The cuts would land on top of losses that have already happened. Extra enforcement money from the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act ran out at the end of 2025, and the inspector general warned that the full effects of the staff losses will show up over time.