IRS agents to stop visiting taxpayers unannounced over safety concerns
David Zimmermann
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The Internal Revenue Service announced Monday that its agents will rarely make unannounced visits to households.
Under the policy change, IRS agents will no longer knock on doors but rather mail written letters to tell taxpayers to schedule a meeting with the agency. The IRS said the shift was made to “reduce public confusion and enhance overall safety measures for taxpayers and employees,” according to a news release.
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IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said the change was part of a larger effort to renew IRS operations following the Inflation Reduction Act’s enactment last year and the creation of the 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,” said Werfel. “Changing this long-standing procedure will increase confidence in our tax administration work and improve overall safety for taxpayers and IRS employees.”
The IRS will abandon most of its tens of thousands of unannounced visits per year while still retaining less than a few hundred of those visits for “extremely limited situations,” the release noted. Such cases include, but are not limited to, the service of a subpoena or seizure of assets.
“These visits created extra anxiety for taxpayers already wary of potential scam artists,” Werfel said. “At the same time, the uncertainty around what IRS employees faced when visiting these homes created stress for them as well. This is the right thing to do and the right time to end it.”
While the IRS commissioner said the change was made voluntarily, Republicans claim the organization’s decision was prompted by their oversight hearings held in recent months.
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The Republican-led House Judiciary Committee and its Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government started investigating the federal agency after IRS agents made a surprise visit to Matt Taibbi’s home in March. Taibbi, who works as an independent journalist, was testifying about the Twitter Files before the Republican select subcommittee on the same day the IRS visited his home.
The IRS did not immediately respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.