‘Delete’ is one of their favorite terms: Inside DOGE’s IRS takeover ahead of tax season

The chaos at the Internal Revenue Service began almost immediately after the first envoy from the Department of Government Efficiency arrived last month at the agency’s Washington, DC, headquarters.

The chaos at the Internal Revenue Service began almost immediately after the first envoy from the Department of Government Efficiency arrived last month at the agency’s Washington, DC, headquarters. Within minutes of showing up, a twenty-something software engineer dispatched from DOGE began demanding access to the tax collection agency’s most protected internal databases – first the IT systems and then one containing the personal and financial data for millions of American taxpayers and another system housing IRS contracts. Another DOGE staffer sought to shut down nearly all of IRS’s congressionally funded programs and initiatives planned for this fiscal year – many aimed at modernizing the agency and improving the tax filing process. As DOGE has set up shop inside the IRS over the past month, the agency has fired thousands of workers and auditors and set out to shutter more than 110 taxpayer assistance offices across the country. Widespread layoffs are in the works, with plans to cut nearly 20% of all IRS employees by May 15. The barnstorming, which has played out at multiple agencies, has thrown the IRS into turmoil at the height of tax season. While the business of processing returns and issuing refunds has been ongoing, sources say these DOGE actions could undermine the long-term operations of the IRS, which handles nearly all accounts receivable for the federal government. In interviews with CNN, multiple current and former IRS officials, who spoke on the condition that they remain anonymous, described an atmosphere of intimidation, especially of career staffers.