Salinas, Bynum Request Answers from IRS on Closure of Taxpayer Assistance Centers in Oregon

Salem, OR – Today, U.S. Representatives Andrea Salinas (OR-06) and Janelle Bynum (OR-05) sent a letter to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Acting Commissioner Melanie Krause expressing concern about the IRS’ decision to close two Taxpayer Assistance Centers (TACs) in Salem and Bend.

“The Salem office is in the State’s capital and serves residents from several counties. If this were to close, residents would be forced to drive over 70 miles south, or over 50 miles north, to reach another TAC. The Bend TAC is the only one east of the Cascade Mountain Range, and the only TAC serving Eastern Oregon. If it were to close, the closest TAC would be over 100 miles away,” wrote the Members.

TACs provide valuable assistance to taxpayers who cannot resolve their issues through other methods or prefer to receive assistance in person. Certain tax-related matters, such as alien clearances and Identity Protection Personal Identification Number assignments, require an in-person appointment. In their letter, Reps. Salinas and Bynum stated that recent improvements to TAC services, such as decreased wait times, could be erased due to these office closures.

“As Members who represent Salem and Bend, we urge you to reconsider these closures and maintain the Bend and Salem offices so taxpayers across our state can continue to access the necessary and often required in-person TAC services within a reasonable time and distance,” the Members concluded.

Read the full letter below or click here.

March 10, 2025

 Acting Commissioner Melanie Krause
Internal Revenue Service
1111 Constitution Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20224

Dear Acting Commissioner Krause:

We write to express our deep concern regarding the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) decision to close two Tax Assistance Centers (TACs) located in Salem and Bend, Oregon.

The Salem office is in the State’s capital and serves residents from several counties. If this were to close, residents would be forced to drive over 70 miles south, or over 50 miles north, to reach another TAC. The Bend TAC is the only one east of the Cascade Mountain Range, and the only TAC serving Eastern Oregon. If it were to close, the closest TAC would be over 100 miles away.

TACs provide invaluable face-to-face assistance to taxpayers who: Cannot resolve their issues through other methods; prefer to obtain tax-related information in-person; or simply need in-person assistance. Additionally, some tax-related matters require an in-person appointment such as alien clearances, E-Services secure access authorizations, Identity Protection Personal Identification Number assignments, immediate levy or lien releases, identify verification or making tax payments via cash.

In FY2022, TAC Assistors conducted 643,322 appointments nationwide, including the centers in Bend and Salem. In FY2023, the IRS reported improvements for taxpayers attempting to schedule TAC appointments compared to the two previous years, including measures such as decreased wait times between the date an appointment was requested and the date an appointment was scheduled. Nationally, the number of TAC appointments also increased in FY23, in part because the IRS opened new TACs and reopened previously closed locations that had been shuttered during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Closing the Bend and Salem offices will erase the valuable improvements to customer service TACs have made in recent years.

As Members who represent Salem and Bend, we urge you to reconsider these closures and maintain the Bend and Salem offices so taxpayers across our state can continue to access the necessary and often required in-person TAC services within a reasonable time and distance.

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