IRS Finally Agrees to Keep Austin Office Open to Process Tax Returns and Maintain Austin Jobs

February 17, 2022

Washington, D.C. — Just now, following advocacy from U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), and Congressmen Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-N.J.-09), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that it will halt the planned 2024 closure of the IRS Austin Tax Processing Center. This center is one of three remaining IRS facilities which process paper returns. Maintaining the Austin facility will better allow the agency to support the workforce needed to process 10 million outstanding paper returns from last year, as well as new returns from this season.

This decision will save jobs in Austin, empower the center to better recruit and keep local talent, and serve taxpayers nationwide by reducing processing delays and more quickly getting taxpayers across the country their rebate checks.

“Great day for Austin workers and for Austin taxpayers—as well as taxpayers nationwide,” said Rep. Lloyd Doggett. “Keeping our IRS Center running means more tax returns will be processed in a timely manner with quicker rebates and Child Tax Credit payments. Austin workers gain job security while the agency gains the ability to recruit more Central Texas talent. I’m pleased that our request was approved to meet both the growing needs for taxpayer service and the need for job security for Austin workers.”

The previously-planned 2024 closure of the Austin facility was part of a long-standing plan to consolidate paper return processing at the agency. Given the extensive paper backlog and hiring challenges that have plagued the agency for the last two filing seasons, this was no longer in the interest of either taxpayers or workers, Doggett and other lawmakers argued today.

Earlier today, Doggett and the other lawmakers wrote to IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig: “We are concerned to learn that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is still considering closing its Austin Tax Processing Center, despite the immense backlog in unprocessed tax returns and Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) applications, continued customer service issues, and staffing challenges facing the IRS. We write to echo the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration’s (TIGTA) recommendation that the IRS postpone the closure of this facility until hiring challenges and processing backlogs are adequately addressed.”

In a message just sent to local workers, announcing the reversal, Austin IRS leadership said: “We continue to build on our strong workforce and passion in serving the nation’s taxpayers. IRS employees are our most valuable commodity.”

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Issues:Growing Our Economy