IRS watchdog warns of scaled-back service in agency plans

WASHINGTON (AP) — Got a question for the IRS about your taxes? The agency is pushing you to fire up your computer rather than give them a call.

The IRS may soon dramatically scale back telephone and face-to-face service as part of a plan that would focus more on online accounts for the 150 million individual taxpayers and 11 million businesses seeking help and information, the agency's official watchdog warned.

In an annual report to Congress, National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson said the IRS should be more open about its plans and that service cutbacks may mean an increasing number of people may have to turn to tax preparers and software such as TurboTax to file their returns.

That would increase tax compliance costs for millions of filers.

"Implicit in the plan — and explicit in internal discussion — is an intention on the part of the IRS to substantially reduce telephone and face-to-face interaction with taxpayers," Olson's report says. "The key unanswered question is by how much. ... It is incumbent upon the IRS to be much more specific about how much personal taxpayer assistance it expects to provide."

Taxpayers currently make more than 100 million calls a year to the IRS and more than 5 million visits to the agency's walk-in assistance centers.