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IRS visits overview:
- Who: The United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) said it will end most unannounced visits to households and businesses.
- Why: The IRS said the move is aimed at increasing confidence in its work and ensuring the safety of the public and IRS revenue officers.
- Where: The IRS is based in Washington, D.C.
The Internal Revenue Service has said it will stop most unannounced visits to homes and businesses. The group said it hopes ending unannounced IRS visits will reduce confusion for the public and avoid having issues where the safety of the public or IRS revenue officers could be at risk.
Unarmed agents have been doing unannounced visits for decades, looking to collect owed debts or unfiled tax returns. The agency will now send letters to schedule meetings.
The move is part of a group of overall changes after the Inflation Reduction Act last year, which led to the creation of the new IRS Strategic Operating Plan in April.
“We are taking a fresh look at how the IRS operates to better serve taxpayers and the nation, and making this change is a common-sense step,” IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said. “Changing this long-standing procedure will increase confidence in our tax administration work and improve overall safety for taxpayers and IRS employees.”
Werfel said safety has become more of a concern in recent years and the increase in IRS scam attempts has led to more confusion from the public. He noted the scam artists have also begun to show up at homes, which can create confusion even for local law enforcement officials.
Safety issues also came up when agents would show up unannounced and attempt to collect a tax debt.
Treasury employees’ union supports change to IRS visits policy
The National Treasury Employees Union said it supports the move as it will increase safety for IRS agents.
“The safety of IRS employees is of paramount importance and this decision will help protect those whose jobs have only grown more dangerous in recent years because of false, inflammatory rhetoric about the agency and its workforce,” said Tony Reardon, National President of the National Treasury Employees Union.
The IRS plans to launch a free tax-filing option in 2024 that could create a tax-filing system that is competitive with private tax preparers.
Have you ever been visited by the IRS? Let us know in the comments.
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