The IRS will lay off thousands of probationary workers in the middle of tax season, according to two sources familiar with the agency’s plans, and cuts could come as soon as next week.

The IRS started accepting 2024 tax returns on Jan. 27, and the agency posted the first statistics from tax season 2025 last Friday, Feb. 7. This year's numbers show that the agency has already processed more than 11 million returns and issued more than 3.