IRS Open Aug. 30 as Cost-Cutting Continues; Will Reevaluate Need for Furlough Day in September

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service is postponing the furlough day scheduled for Friday, Aug. 30 due to its successful ongoing efforts to cut costs. In early September, the IRS will reevaluate the need for an additional furlough day before the federal fiscal year ends on Sept. 30.

As a result, IRS offices will be open as usual. This means that all toll-free services, including the Taxpayer Advocate Service, will follow their regular Friday schedule, as will many of the agency’s taxpayer assistance centers (TAC) nationwide. However, because help may be limited or unavailable at some locations, the IRS highly recommends taxpayers check IRS.gov for office hours and services offered at the location they plan to visit before making the trip on Aug. 30.

Taxpayers can often get the tax information they need or resolve a tax problem without having to call or visit an IRS office. A wide variety of web-based online tools and phone-based automated services are available including Where’s My Refund?, the Online Payment Agreement, Withholding Calculator, Order A Transcript, EITC Assistant, Interactive Tax Assistant, Tele-Tax, the Online Look-up Tool for those needing to repay the first-time homebuyer credit and the online preparer tax identification number PTIN system for tax professionals. Visit online tools on IRS.gov to learn more about these tools.

So far, the IRS has taken three furlough days on May 24, June 14 and July 5, due to the budget situation including the sequester. Due to vigorous ongoing efforts by IRS employees to cut costs, the agency was able to cancel the scheduled July 22 furlough and is now able to postpone the furlough originally scheduled for Aug. 30.