This tax season, the IRS will offer limited Saturday walk in help to taxpayers.
The country’s 35 tax assistance centers will be open between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. The agency announced Friday that the center will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the second Saturday in the next four-months. The agency said that this is after the IRS banned walk-in visits during pandemics and restricted service to appointments.
Starting February 12, taxpayers can have their questions answered at tax centers located in Birmingham, Alabama, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and Seattle. Additional Saturday sessions will also be offered on March 12, April 9, and May 14.
This effort is intended to assist taxpayers who require face-to-face assistance. Sue Simon, who works as a Saturday volunteer at the IRS, said that this effort was meant to help taxpayers. She stated that people who have never filed taxes before may need assistance claiming credits, including Child Tax Credit payments.
The IRS requires that all visitors bring photo IDs and social security cards for their household members, as well as any IRS notices or letters.
This week, the agency announced that it will reassign 1,200 employees to assist with tax returns processing. It has struggled to administer pandemic programmes with historically low staffing levels, while simultaneously processing multiple seasons of tax returns.
According to the most recent IRS data, more than 240,000,000 tax returns were processed by the IRS in 2020. The IRS issued approximately $736 billion in refunds and $268 billion in stimulus payments. Around 59 million people visited or called an IRS office during that time.
