I used to visit the IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center in Fort Worth every year. There’d be this strange booth thing in the corner that no one would ever go near. That thing looked like an ATM from 1998 had a baby with a voting machine.
It was self-service kiosks, as it turned out. And it turns out the IRS has just pulled the plug on all of them after confessing that half didn’t work at all. IRS tax kiosk shutdowns occurred in 2025 after the Treasury watchdog discovered that 40 out of 100 of the machines were entirely broken.
About time, honestly.
The Kiosks Were Always Sketchy
The IRS installed 100 self-service kiosks across 37 Taxpayer Assistance Centers back in 2011. They were these stand-alone booths with a laptop inside that connected to the IRS website.
The idea was you could walk up, get tax transcripts, apply for an employer identification number, and do basic IRS stuff without waiting for an actual person.
Sounds good on paper. Reality? The machines used trackballs instead of a mouse. Trackballs! Like it’s 1992. Software was outdated. Half the time they just didn’t work.
In January 2025, the Treasury Inspector General checked eight locations with broken kiosks. All eight were still broken despite the IRS paying a contractor $500,000 yearly to fix them.
The Contractor Got Paid to Do Nothing
This is the part that drives me nuts. IRS signed a $500,000 annual contract in June 2021 for kiosk maintenance. The contractor was supposed to handle hardware, software, printer toner, network gear, helpdesk – everything.
The contractor took forever to repair stuff. IRS kept paying anyway. When things finally got bad enough that the watchdog complained, suddenly parts weren’t being manufactured anymore. Convenient excuse.
From 2023 to 2024, IRS paid roughly $500,000 for basically nothing. Kiosks stayed broken. The contractor kept cashing checks.
The goal was getting everything working by December 31, 2024. Didn’t happen. Shocker.
Nobody Was Using Them Anyway
In 2017, over 80,000 people used the kiosks. From January through July 2024? Only 4,600 people.
That’s a 94% drop in usage. Part of that’s because everyone’s online now. But mostly because the machines didn’t work and looked ancient.
When I saw one at the Fort Worth office, my first thought was, “Is that thing even on?” Never tried using it. Figured it was easier to just use my phone.
Apparently 95% of other people had the same idea.
IRS Tax Kiosk Closures Saved $500K
In October 2024, IRS management told the Treasury Inspector General they weren’t renewing the contract for 2025. That saved $500,000 right there.
The IRS tax kiosk closures became official after the watchdog said, “Hey, maybe don’t keep paying for broken machines nobody uses.”
The IRS agreed to study whether new kiosks with modern technology would work better. Or maybe just give people laptops at the assistance centers. But honestly? Seems like they’re just done with the whole idea.
Can’t blame them. The kiosk program was a 14-year-old experiment that clearly failed.
But Wait, There’s More Closures
As the IRS was closing kiosks, they also indicated that they would have to close a total of nine full Taxpayer Assistance Centers by November 30, 2025.
Locations closing:
- Altoona and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
- Cedar Rapids, Iowa
- Elmira and West Nyack, New York
- Owensboro and Paducah, Kentucky
- Walnut Creek, California
- Wheeling, West Virginia
That would be in addition to previously announced 2025 plans to shut down more than 110 IRS facilities with taxpayer assistance centers. Those closures were postponed until after tax season, however.
The National Treasury Employees Union lost their minds over it. Called the closures “short-sighted” and said people without internet or elderly folks need in-person tax help.
The Budget Cuts Keep Coming
All this is happening because the IRS budget is getting slashed. The House Appropriations Committee voted for a $9.5 billion budget in fiscal year 2026. That’s a 23% cut from 2025.
The Trump administration originally proposed $9.8 billion, which was a 20% cut. House Republicans said, “Nah, let’s cut even more.”
Remember when the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022 gave the IRS extra funding? They opened or reopened 54 assistance centers. Hired more people. Tried improving customer service.
Now they’re backtracking hard. Closing offices, not renewing contracts, trying to cut costs everywhere.
What This Means for You
If you’re one of those people who still goes to an IRS office for tax help, options are shrinking fast.
In the 2025 filing season, there were 546,000 scheduled appointments for face-to-face assistance at taxpayer assistance centers. That’s down 30% from 2024.
With centers closing and kiosks gone, that number’s going to drop even more.
The IRS says there’ll be “no effect on taxpayer service” but come on. You close 9 centers now and potentially 100+ more later; people are going to feel it.
The nearest assistance center could be 100 miles away now. Good luck if you don’t have a car or reliable transportation.
The Online Push Is Real
IRS wants everyone doing stuff online. Makes sense from their perspective – way cheaper than maintaining physical locations and paying staff.
You can get tax transcripts online through IRS.gov. Apply for an EIN online. File taxes electronically. Check refund status online. Most stuff doesn’t require going anywhere.
But not everyone’s comfortable with that. My grandma still doesn’t trust doing important stuff on computers. Prefers talking to an actual person.
The elderly taxpayers and folks without internet access are getting left behind. That’s who the union’s worried about.
What Happens Next
The IRS agreed to study whether a new kiosk program using updated technology would help. Or deploying laptops to assistance centers instead of those booth things.
But realistically? They’re not bringing kiosks back. The experiment failed. Move on.
As for the Taxpayer Assistance Center closures, those are happening November 30 unless something changes. The 100+ additional closures are on hold for now but probably coming eventually.
If you need IRS help in person, better make an appointment soon. Call 844-545-5640 to schedule. Wait times are going to get worse as offices close.
Online services through IRS.gov keep expanding. That’s where they want you. Cheaper for them, more convenient for most people.
Just sucks for the folks who can’t or won’t do it online.
Bottom Line
IRS tax kiosk closures make sense. The machines were old and broken, and nobody used them. Paying $500,000 yearly for useless equipment was dumb.
Closing actual assistance centers though? That’s trickier. Yeah, it saves money. But it also makes life harder for people who need face-to-face help.