Udall, Heinrich Urge IRS to Expand Office Hours, Make Tax Assistance Available to Rural New Mexicans

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich sent a letter to the commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to express concerns about reduced office hours and cuts to services, particularly for rural and elderly New Mexicans. The letter follows numerous complaints from residents of Fort Sumner, Santa Fe, and Albuquerque, including reports that the Albuquerque IRS field office is closing as early as 10 a.m. and turning away taxpayers who may have traveled hundreds of miles for assistance. As New Mexicans work to file their tax returns before the April 18 deadline, Udall and Heinrich urged the IRS to expand its services and ensure taxpayers across the state can access paper forms and other assistance.

"We are concerned that our constituents are being turned away without justification or adequate alternatives," Udall and Heinrich wrote in the letter. "There must be substitutes in place to help individuals who are unable to access local offices during normal business hours. We support alternatives like Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Centers and Tax Counseling for the Elderly, but these programs are not substitutes for access to IRS offices."

Udall and Heinrich urged IRS field offices to offer appointments in both English and Spanish, and to consider other ways the agency can prevent taxpayers from being turned away at the door.

"IRS must do everything in its authority to ensure that taxpayers in our state and across the country have the resources they need," the senators continued. "We look forward to working with you to ensure that New Mexicans have access to the assistance, information, and forms for the upcoming tax filing season."

The full text of the letter is available HERE and below:


The Honorable John Koskinen
Commissioner
Internal Revenue Service
U.S. Department of the Treasury
1111 Constitution Avenue, Room 3241
Washington, DC 20224

Dear Commissioner Koskinen:

We write to express our ongoing concern over the reduced hours at Internal Revenue Service offices in New Mexico. Degraded access to tax resources coupled with fewer IRS offices have a compound effect in our state given its size.

Despite regular hours listed as 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., we have heard first hand from the New Mexico Taxpayer Advocate that the IRS field office in Albuquerque is closing as early as 10:00 a.m. This leaves individuals who have traveled hundreds of miles across the state without the ability to speak to an IRS agent or even access to physical forms. We are concerned that our constituents are being turned away without justification or adequate alternatives.

There must be substitutes in place to help individuals who are unable to access local offices during normal business hours. We support alternatives like Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Centers and Tax Counseling for the Elderly, but these programs are not substitutes for access to IRS offices. We request details about plans for IRS field offices to offer appointments to taxpayers in English and Spanish, as well as other strategies that IRS uses to prevent individuals from being turned away at the door.

Taxpayers want to meet their obligation under the law and pay their fair share of taxes. We understand the IRS has limited resources with reduced budgets, and we support IRS's existing taxpayer assistance programs. However, IRS must do everything in its authority to ensure that taxpayers in our state and across the country have the resources they need. We look forward to working with you to ensure that New Mexicans have access to the assistance, information, and forms for the upcoming tax filing season.

Sincerely,

U.S. Senator Tom Udall
U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich