By Anita Hamilton

Remember all those workers at the Internal Revenue Service who got fired back in February? Now the agency says it is bringing them back to active duty just in time for tax day.

That means more people will be available to scrutinize tax returns, answer calls, and tackle the more than 140 million individual tax returns the agency is expecting this season.

The IRS is reinstating 7,000 workers to full-time duty by April 14, the agency told Barron's. After initially firing the probationary employees in February, the agency reinstated them after two federal judges ruled in March that their terminations were unlawful.

But here's the rub: At first the workers didn't actually get their former jobs back. Instead they were placed on administrative leave, which means they get paid but weren't allowed to do any work.

Judge William Alsup in Northern California district court called out the maneuver on March 17, saying that placing reinstated workers on leave en masse "is not allowed by the preliminary injunction, for it would not restore the services the preliminary injunction intends to restore."

Agencies, including the IRS responded by saying that the move was "merely a first step in the process" of returning workers to full duty status. They added that it takes time and multiple steps for agencies to restore employees to full-time work.

While Alsup hasn't issued a further ruling related to the reinstated workers status, the union that filed the suit asked the judge to set a date by which the workers would actually get their jobs back.

The 7,000 employees are getting back to work right as tax season is in full swing. About 80 million -- more than half of the total expected individual tax returns -- had been filed by March 21, according to the most recent data available. Refunds are up by 4.6% from 2024, currently averaging around $3,284.

The IRS had around 90,000 full-time employees before it terminated some workers earlier this year. It previously said that workers involved with tax filing who left voluntarily as part of a separate, deferred resignation plan would be expected to keep working through mid-May.

The deadline for filing 2024 tax returns is April 15.

Write to Anita Hamilton at anita.hamilton@barrons.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

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April 03, 2025 13:29 ET (17:29 GMT)

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