IRS says federal workers owe more than $3.5 billion in unpaid taxes; delinquency rate falls

The IRS says federal workers and retirees owed more than $3.5 billion in unpaid taxes last year.

That's a $200 million increase from the year before.

In data released Tuesday, the IRS said almost 305,000 federal workers and retirees owed back taxes, down from 318,000 the year before.

The delinquency rate among federal workers was 3.1 percent. Among executive departments, workers at the Department of Housing and Urban Development had the highest delinquency rate, at 4.7 percent.

Workers at the Treasury Department, which includes the IRS, had the lowest delinquency rate, at 1.2 percent.

Compared with the general public, federal workers are more likely to pay their taxes.

The IRS estimates that the delinquency rate for the general public is between 8 percent and 9 percent.