
The IRS has more than 360 taxpayer assistance centers nationwide. NurPhoto / Getty Images
Union criticizes IRS plan to shutter 9 taxpayer assistance centers
The tax agency said that no employees would lose their jobs because of the closures.
The union for IRS employees has objected to the agency’s planned closure of nine taxpayer assistance centers, which provide in-person service.
“We urge the IRS and the Treasury Department to reconsider these closures and make sure that individuals and business owners can access the assistance they need to meet their tax obligations,” National Treasury Employees Union National President Doreen Greenwald said in a Thursday statement. “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.”
IRS said in a statement to Government Executive that “[t]here will be no job losses and no effect on taxpayer service” due to such closures.
“The IRS is reviewing its space portfolio and is identifying opportunities to reduce rent costs through the strategic reduction of its office footprint as directed by an executive order and by the Office of Management and Budget,” according to the statement. “For locations that include [TACs], alternative options for in-person service will be identified to ensure continued support for taxpayers.”
Impacted TACs are in the following cities: Altoona and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Elmira and West Nyack, New York; Owensboro and Paducah, Kentucky; Walnut Creek, California; and Wheeling, West Virginia, according to NTEU. The closures will take effect by Nov. 30.
Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., who represents West Nyack, in a Thursday letter to acting IRS Commissioner and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged him to consider opening a new facility in the same county.
“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,” he wrote. “Forcing them to travel farther distances — often without reliable access to transportation — adds unnecessary barriers to fulfilling their obligations as taxpayers.”
Lawler also pointed out that the IRS building in West Nyack has only one employee, but the TAC hosted nearly 1,000 in-person visits in fiscal 2024.
During the 2025 filing season, there were 546,000 scheduled appointments for face-to-face assistance at TACs, which was more than a 30% decrease compared with the previous filing season according to the independent Taxpayer Advocate Service within IRS. That statistic, however, doesn’t include more than 75,000 individuals who received assistance without appointments.
The planned TAC closures represent a reversal for the tax agency. IRS had used funding from President Joe Biden’s 2022 Inflation Reduction Act to open or reopen 54 centers, bringing the total number to more than 360.
“Reducing the number of customer service centers reverses the progress that the IRS has made when it comes to being accessible and helpful to the American people,” Greenwald also said in her statement.
President Donald Trump requested $3.63 billion for IRS taxpayer services in fiscal 2026. Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday, however, advanced a bill to fund the IRS that would keep such spending flat at $2.78 billion.
The Senate Appropriations Committee has not yet released its version of the bill.
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