IRS Partial Re-Opening Status
2020-05-06
The IRS issued a statement on Saturday, April 25 saying that the agency has requested, but not required, thousands of employees to volunteer to return to work, and provided an offer for incentive pay.
The IRS said:
- “No employees have been requested to return to work in a manner inconsistent with federal COVID-19 guidelines, and the requirement for employees voluntarily returning to the workplace to wear face coverings is an example of the IRS exceeding the federal safety guidelines and measures.”
- “Employees can use any face covering that is consistent with CDC recommendations, including those fashioned from common household materials. The IRS also has been working to obtain PPE for our employees and expect many to be delivered as early as this weekend and upcoming week.”
According to the IRS, employees are needed to fulfill the following key responsibilities:
- opening mail that has been held for a number of weeks;
- processing of paper tax returns that may offer refunds to taxpayers;
- working on returns with refundable credits;
- answering taxpayers’ questions on our toll-free lines; and
- performing Income Verification Express Service and certain lien/levy functions.