From this morning's Washington Post:

The Trump administration plans to shutter more than 110 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 113 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.

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 360 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.