IRS Crypto Chief Trish Turner Quits After Just 3 Months, Jumps to Private Sector

She’s now set to become tax director at the private firm Crypto Tax Girl—a high-profile move that underscores both the IRS’s turbulence in managing crypto oversight and the demand for government insiders in the private sector.

In a farewell note on LinkedIn, Turner reflected on her 20-year IRS career with the kind of polished gratitude you’d expect from a seasoned bureaucrat:

“After more than 20 years with the IRS, I have closed an extraordinary chapter of my career with deep appreciation for those who shaped my journey and made the work so meaningful. Together, we navigated complex challenges, built lasting programs, and laid the groundwork for the IRS’s digital asset strategy as it shifted from niche to mainstream.”

She didn’t name her next gig, but Bloomberg Tax quickly reported that Turner would join Crypto Tax Girl, a fast-growing advisory firm. Its founder, Laura Walter, confirmed the news, saying Turner would help clients navigate the “big crypto tax and compliance changes on the horizon.”

Turner posted a farewell note on LinkedIn

Turner’s departure is only the latest in a string of high-level exits from the IRS’s crypto unit. Her predecessors, Sulolit “Raj” Mukherjee and Seth Wilks—both hired from the private sector—lasted about a year before walking away. If you’re keeping score, that’s three leaders gone in less than two years. For an agency trying to get its arms around digital asset taxation, the churn is a problem.

It’s not just a staffing issue. Crypto taxation in the U.S. is a political battlefield. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) proposed in March to slash the IRS workforce by 20%. Meanwhile, the Treasury’s Inspector General has criticized the IRS criminal investigation unit for repeatedly botching digital asset cases. Congress is sniffing around too: the House Ways and Means Committee is holding hearings to design a proper tax framework for crypto.

And, in one of the most surreal twists, President Trump signed a resolution earlier this year scrapping a Biden-era rule that would’ve forced DeFi protocols to report transactions directly to the IRS. The agency is trying to build a strategy while the political ground keeps shifting beneath it.

Turner’s jump to Crypto Tax Girl is more than just a personal career pivot. It highlights the power imbalance between regulators and industry. The IRS is struggling to attract and retain digital asset experts when the private sector can pay more and move faster. Every time someone like Turner leaves, the agency loses institutional momentum while the industry gains a valuable insider.

For crypto investors and businesses, though, her new role could be a boon. Having someone who literally helped design the IRS’s digital asset framework now advising clients is like hiring the architect of the maze to guide you through it.

The bigger takeaway: U.S. crypto tax policy is in flux, and the IRS seems perpetually understaffed, underfunded, and outmaneuvered. Until the agency stabilizes its leadership, the private sector—and firms like Crypto Tax Girl—will continue to outcompete it for talent.