Don't Mess With Taxes

Need an in-person helping hand with a tax problem? New and reopened Taxpayer Assistance Centers (TACs) across the United States and Puerto Rico could be the place to find it. Plus, the Internal Revenue Service is holding community visits in places far from TACs. (Photo by Austin Kehmeier on Unsplash).

An IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center (TAC) is your source for personal tax help when you believe your tax issue cannot be handled online or by phone, and you want face-to-face tax assistance.

Now, with the money provided by the Inflation Reduction Act, the IRS is reopening TACs that had been closed, as well as adding additional centers, and holding a series of visits to communities that are too far from the IRS offices to make visiting them realistic.

Reopened and new TACs: Thirty-two TACs, listed below, have reopened since August 2022.

Three new TACs have been added. They are in Greenville, Mississippi, and DASE (Guaynabo) and Ponce, Puerto Rico.

Those 35 TACs now serving taxpayers across the country and in PR represent this week's By the Numbers figure.

Where to go: OK, you're ready to head out to a TAC, but which one? You can find the one nearest you by using IRS.gov's Taxpayer Assistance Center Office Locator.

By entering your address or just Zip Code, it will provide the closest (you set the mile radius) TAC center's address, days (they're closed on federal holidays) and hours of operation, and phone number you can call for an appointment. The online search showed a TAC in North Austin I can visit.

But the TAC proximity for lots of folks is, well, not very proximate. Check out the map below that was created when I searched for Texas TACs and those within 500 miles of Lone Star State borders. There's a lot of empty space out there.

Special visits for out-of-reach areas: That's why the IRS also is holding Community Assistance Visits. The agency's first was held in June in Paris, Texas, known by more people than its actual population thanks to the 1984 eponymously-titled movie and a lyric in one of The Chicks' songs.

But it was Paris' geographic location, not pop culture iconography, that prompted the IRS visit. The closest permanent TAC is about 90 miles away.

"A key part of the IRS transformation effort will be getting taxpayers the help they need," said IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel in announcing the TAC re-openings and community outreach visits.

In-person assistance is a vital piece that the IRS cannot overlook, added Werfel. "To help people farther away, these special community visits are designed to get into places where IRS offices are a long distance away or are not convenient for some taxpayers," he said.

For the Paris visit, the IRS partnered with the local United Way organization. The agency also welcomed tax professionals, lawyers and preparers, and their clients to work on account-related issues.

The IRS will be working with other community groups for future visits, which are planned in at least seven locations through October. The initial list includes Alpena, Michigan; Hastings, Nebraska; Twin Falls, Idaho; Juneau, Alaska; Lihue, Hawaii; Baker City, Oregon; and Gallup, New Mexico.

Planning your TAC or IRS community visit: This latest focus on in-person help follows the IRS' special Saturday walk-in hours earlier this year at many TACs across the country and in Puerto Rico.

IRS Publication 4995-A, shown below, notes the general services provided at TACs. When you find your local center, it also will provide more on what it can or cannot handle.

You also need to be ready, whether you're going to a TAC or one of the IRS community visits.

In addition to any tax documents related to your tax issue, bring your current government-issued photo ID and, if it's not on that document, your taxpayer identification number, such as your Social Security number.

You also might find these items of interest:

• Don't ignore tax identity theft letters from IRS
• IRS' tax withholding tool makes filling out W-4 easier
• When the Taxpayer Advocate Service can, and can't, help

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