The Internal Revenue Service violated its own policies when it fired thousands of probationary employees earlier this year at the direction of the Trump administration, the Treasury Department's inspector general said in a report released last week.

The watchdog found the agency failed to follow required notice procedures and did not weigh individual performance before issuing pink slips.

Treasury's Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) reviewed the February and March actions, when the IRS moved to terminate probationary staff during tax season. While contemporaneous reporting put the number of terminations around 6,700, TIGTA said 7,315 probationary employees received termination notices in that period.

"Internal procedures were not followed when sending the termination notices. Policies and procedures require the IRS to give probationary employees a 30-day notice and consider their performance prior to terminating them," TIGTA said.

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Although the IRS cited "performance" in form letters, the watchdog said the agency did not consider how employees were actually performing. More than half of those terminated had no rating on file. Among the rest, 99% were rated "Fully Successful" or better, including some marked "Outstanding."

The episode unfolded against a broader push to shrink the federal workforce and to redirect the IRS after the agency's 2022 funding boost. Reports from earlier in the year chronicled the Trump administration’s plans for mass layoffs and the political fight over the IRS's mission and resources, including debates tied to the administration's Department of Government Efficiency and longer-running efforts to step up audits of high earners.

IRS officials told TIGTA they processed the terminations under Office of Personnel Management guidance and later White House directives streamlining probationary actions. Still, TIGTA concluded the IRS failed to meet its internal 30-day notice and performance-review standards.

In May, under Treasury direction and amid court challenges, the IRS reinstated all 7,315 affected employees to full work status. Many later opted to resign or accept a deferred resignation program.

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