IRS Plan to Shutter Taxpayer Centers Angers GOP Lawmaker (2)

The Trump administration plans to shutter nine IRS taxpayer assistance centers just months ahead of the start of filing season, angering at least one Republican lawmaker whose district is targeted.

The closures, revealed in notices sent to lawmakers in Congress, come amid months of turmoil at the IRS, faced with leadership exits and looming steep budget cuts.

All the locations but one are represented by Republicans in the House.

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) is one such member, and urged Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to spare the office.

“Closing this office without providing a suitable replacement will impose an undue burden on my constituents, many of whom rely on in-person services to resolve complex tax issues,” Lawler wrote in a letter to Bessent dated Sept. 4.

The IRS said in a statement and to lawmakers that it is reviewing its space portfolio to reduce rent costs — aligning with direction from an executive order and the Office of Management and Budget.

“There will be no job losses and no effect on taxpayer service as a result of this effort,” the agency said. “For locations that include Taxpayer Assistance Centers, alternative options for in-person service will be identified to ensure continued support for taxpayers.”

Sites in the following areas will be closed effective Nov. 30: Altoona, Pa.; Wilkes-Barre, Pa.; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Elmira, N.Y.; West Nyack, N.Y.; Owensboro, Ky.; Paducah, Ky.; Walnut Creek, Calif.; and Wheeling, W.Va.

Centers Generally Bipartisan

The notices from the IRS said it’s part of the administration’s sprawling effort to shrink the federal government.

Taxpayer assistance centers tend to help the lowest-income taxpayers and critics of the closures say victims of identity theft also would be hit hard.

“Without these TACs, the people of these communities will have to drive longer distances, possibly 100 miles or more, in order to meet with the IRS and get their questions answered,” said Doreen Greenwald, national president of the National Treasury Employees Union. NTEU represents thousands of IRS workers.

Although Republicans generally favor cuts to IRS funding, they’ve promoted keeping the centers open in the recent past. The Taxpayer Advocate appointed in Trump’s first term called for putting more resources into the centers.

But the second Trump administration said Feb. 25 it planned to terminate the leases on 128 offices that host taxpayer assistance centers and five that include call sites.

The IRS later got an exemption to keep all of the centers open during the 2024 filing season.

Not all Republicans objected. Several noted they were aware of the closings and encouraged constituents to reach out to their offices or the IRS for help. The Democrats impacted though, said it was the latest casualty of the administration’s cuts hurting ordinary Americans.

“This closing of this office is part of a larger pattern of closures, consolidations, and layoffs by the Trump Administration across the federal government that are making it harder for Americans to access critical services,” Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D-Calif.) said in a statement.

As of April 15, roughly 360 TAC sites were open across the country, with 239 TACs understaffed and 21 unstaffed, according to a National Taxpayer Advocate report.