The Trump administration plans to shutter more than 120 IRS offices that have taxpayer assistance centers as the White House’s efficiency zeal carves deeper into the tax agency.
The plan, outlined in a Tuesday letter from the U.S. General Services Administration that was obtained by The Washington Post, comes in the midst of the federal tax filing season that ends April 15, and as the administration is working to reduce agencies’ headcount and scale back the footprint of the federal government. Last week, the IRS started laying off approximately 7,000 probationary employees.
At least 128 taxpayer assistance centers will have their leases terminated or not renewed when they expire, according to a list included with GSA’s letter. It’s unclear whether the assistance centers — which provide free, in-person help for tax filers, on an appointment basis — will relocate or simply close.
All soft-term leases, which can be ended on short notice, are expected to be terminated except for those deemed “public-facing,” according to the letter, which was signed by Michael Peters, the GSA’s commissioner for public buildings. Those leases will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, the letter said.
The IRS did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Peters acknowledged there are concerns about accommodating workers called back to the office under a return to in-person work order, but said there was an “excess of federal space identified prior to the covid-19 pandemic.”
The U.S. DOGE Service, which has led the Trump administration’s cost-cutting efforts, has established a strong foothold in the GSA and other agencies. GSA is working with federal agencies to “fully optimize the federal footprint,” acting press secretary Will Powell said. “We’ll share more information on specific savings and facilities as soon as we’re able,” he said.
The IRS in recent years opened more assistance centers as part of a push to improve customer service using additional funding made available through the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. More than 50 assistance centers were opened or reopened between the passage of the act and mid-January 2024, bringing the total to more than 350 nationwide, the agency has said.
Those centers can be crucial for people facing complicated tax problems or dealing with identity theft, said Nina Olson, the IRS’s former national taxpayer advocate.
“Sometimes you need to sit down and talk to someone,” said Olson, who is now executive director of the Center for Taxpayer Rights.
Some of the help centers could be consolidated or have their services moved online, said Charles Chandler, president of Wrightwood Properties, an Arlington, Virginia, firm that helps landlords leasing to the government.
The GSA acts like a broker between a government agency and buildings where they lease space, said Diana Parks, chair of the National Federal Development Association. Because the security required for most government offices may force landlords to spend additional money, federal leases typically include a commitment of five to 20 years before the government agency can move out with notice during a “soft-term” period, she said.
It’s “unprecedented to see this level of lease terminations,” said Parks, who has been in the industry for decades.
Internal office space can be colocated with taxpayer help centers. While the GSA could have separate leases for an office and an attached public-facing assistance center, experts in federal development said it’s uncommon for one agency to have two leases at the same address.
IRS employees will have 120 days or more to vacate the offices after the lessors are notified, which will be “in the immediate future,” the letter said.
