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FACT BRIEF

Did Joe Biden hire '85,000 new IRS agents to harass hard-working Americans'?

By Ava Menkes
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NO

In May 2021, the Biden administration approved hiring 87,000 new Internal Revenue Service employees by 2031, but only a fraction are agents and the majority are filling expected vacancies.

Tennesse Sen. Marsha Blackburn said in a speech at the RNC, Biden has hired 85,000 new IRS agents to "harrass hardworking Americans."

But more than half of the agency's current employees are eligible for retirement and are expected to leave the agency within the next five years. The IRS will be able to net 20,000 to 30,000 more employees from the new funding.

In 2022, among the IRS' work force of 79,000 employees, 10,000 are actually agents. Within that, 8,000 are revenue agents who audit tax filings and 2,000 investigate potential tax crimes.

The IRS announced Thursday, it collected $1 billion in back taxes from wealthy tax cheats, through the Biden administration's tax package signed in 2022.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
CBS News Americans think they pay too much in taxes. Here's who pays the most and least to the IRS.
Time Why Republicans Keep Spreading the ‘87,000 IRS Agents’ Lie
Internal Revenue Service Inflation Reduction Act of 2022
New York Times Fact-Checking the Misleading Claim About 87,000 Tax Agents
ABC News IRS collects milestone $1 billion in back taxes from high-wealth taxpayers
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Wisconsin Watch, the news arm of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, increases the quality and quantity of investigative reporting in Wisconsin, while training current and future investigative journalists. Its work fosters an informed citizenry and strengthens democracy.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.