Just two weeks ago, a friend at the Internal Revenue Service in Birmingham told me that next year when their lease is up on the building at 801 Tom Martin Drive, they will relocate to a smaller space in a federally owned building downtown. This week we learn …

IRS Plans To Close Three Tax Return Processing Centers

7,200 Jobs to be Phased Out

The three centers that process paper tax returns in Covington, Kentucky/Cincinnati (2019); Fresno, California (2021); and Austin, Texas (2024).

According to the IRS, the result would be a loss of 1,800 employees in Covington; 3,000 employees in Fresno; and 2,400 employees in Austin.

The reason for the closures are largely economic: the percentage of individual tax returns filed electronically has grown from 58% in 2008 to 86% in 2015.

Under the IRS’ plan, only two paper-return processing sites will be left after 2024: Kansas City, Missouri, and Ogden, Utah.