Opens in a new tab

Federal workers owe IRS $3 billion

December 15, 2009

As Uncle Sam looks to refill his coffers, he need look no further than his office buildings.

Just released data shows that in 2008 almost 300,000 federal employees and retirees failed to pay more than $3 billion in
income taxes.

The tax delinquent employees come from nearly every federal agency with more than 25 employees, according to IRS documents.

The IRS is the only federal agency where
employees can be fired for not paying their taxes. The non-compliance
rate for IRS employees in 2008 was 0.76 percent. The good news is that the IRS delinquency rate is down from 0.89
percent reported in 2007, the last time such data was released.

In fact, the Treasury Department, which includes the IRS, had the best compliance rate.

Other notable agencies with hat harbor tax scofflaws include:

  • Executive Office of the President (includes the White House), with 50 employees who owe $812,917;
  • U.S. Senate, with  231 employees who owe $2,469,026;
  • U.S. House of Representatives, with 447 employees who owe $5,809,631; and
  • U.S. Tax Court, with three employees who owe $39,752.

Which agency has the worst compliance rate? The U.S. Postal Service. It has 28,913 employees who owe $297,933,756. Still, that's much better than in 2007, when more than 54,000
postal employees owed more than $407 million.

You can read more on the government employee and retiree tax delinquents at TaxProf Blog, The Tax Lawyer's Blog, WTOP and the Associated Press.

Related posts:

Want to tell your friends about this blog post? Click the Tweet This or Digg This buttons below or use the Share This icon to spread the word via e-mail, Facebook and other popular applications. Thanks!

Share:

The More Tax Posts tab at the top of this page will take you to, well, more tax posts. You also can search below for a tax topic. 

Latest Posts
Reconstructing disaster damaged tax (and other) documents

October 20, 2026

Tax and financial documents are needed to file claims after major disasters. If they are…

Read More
TAX-SAVVY WAYS 
TO WRAP UP 2026

It’s over! With October’s extended filing deadline behind us, it is now time to focus on year-end moves to reduce your 2026 tax bill. 

You’ll find ways to do just that on the Tax Tips page (see the More Tax Posts drop-down menu at the top of the blog), as well as the separate tax tip pages for each month, notably October through December. If you’re on the Tax Tips page, you’ll find a monthly list at the end of this column. If you’re on another blog page, you can head straight to the October tips; at the bottom of that tips page you’ll find links to all the other 11 months’ collections of tax advice.

Not to spoil what you’ll find in that tax advice, but it does cover such things as tax deductions for charitable donations, investment moves that could reduce tax due, and ways to max out your tax-favored retirement savings. 

Finally, as the year winds down, things get hectic. There are lots of other things to occupy our time, like the much more fun upcoming holidays. But don’t lose sight of taxes, since timing is key. To be of use, most tax moves must be made by the end of the tax year. That’s Thursday, Dec. 31, which also is the last business day of the year. 

So that you don’t miss that final tax year deadline, also keep an eye on the countdown clock below. It will keep you on top of just how much time is left to make important, tax-saving moves. (Note: I’m in the Central Time Zone, so adjust accordingly for where you live.)

Comments
Leave the first comment