An audit by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration found the IRS failed to recover more than 590 information technology assets from employees who departed the agency in 2025.
Between April and July 2025, approximately 22,000 IRS employees left through voluntary separations, the Deferred Resignation Program, or other incentives. These employees were assigned more than 32,000 IT assets, including laptops, smartphones, and related hardware.
Although most assets were returned, the audit identified 1,308 assets (4 percent) that appeared not to have been returned as of November 2025. As of April 2026, the IRS had still not located 594 assets valued at more than $270,000.
The audit found that IRS policy required employees to return assets upon departure but did not specify a timeframe for return, contributing to inventory inaccuracies. The agency also lacks a policy to recover the cost of unreturned assets from separated employees. The Inspector General recommended the IRS perform a reconciliation to locate missing assets and update its asset management system.