IRS Warned Federal Workers About Tax Debts

This Washington Post article reported that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) had mailed notices to approximately 525,000 current and former federal employees and retirees alleging unpaid federal taxes, prompting concern from tax experts that the notices could be used as a pretext to fire recipients. The notices, designated IRS Notice LT36 and dated June 23, 2025, began: "According to our records, you are one of approximately 525,000 current or retired federal employees who are noncompliant with respect to their federal tax obligations as of April 30, 2025." The one-page notice did not specify the amount owed or the nature of the tax deficiency, but told recipients that government employees should "lead by example" and pay their balances promptly, warning that the IRS "will follow up with you directly" if recipients did not timely comply. The notices, which are not public, were sent through the IRS's longstanding Federal Employee/Retiree Delinquency Initiative program, under which the agency can levy up to 15% of federal salaries and pension payments without the procedural protections available to private-sector taxpayers. Tax experts warned the disclosures could be cross-referenced with employing agencies as grounds for termination, given the administration's simultaneous expansion of suitability grounds for federal employee removal — including the new suitability rule's addition of "failure to comply with financial obligations" as a removable offense.