Golden, Collins, King demand IRS re-open Bangor and Augusta Tax Assistance Centers

WASHINGTON — U.S. Representative Jared Golden and U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King are calling on the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to immediately reverse the closure of its Augusta and Bangor Tax Assistance Centers (TAC).

TACs are physical offices which offer assistance to Mainers who lack stable internet access, need help navigating technology, or otherwise need in-person assistance. With the Presque Isle TAC having previously been shuttered and Downeast Maine long lacking its own TAC, some rural Mainers already traveled hundreds of miles to access the IRS’ services in Bangor. If the Bangor and Augusta offices — the only locations available in the Second District — were to remain closed, a resident of Fort Kent could face a roughly ten-hour, 600-mile trip to Maine’s only remaining TAC in South Portland.

The trio recently contacted the IRS after receiving reports from constituents that the TACs they planned on using this filing season had closed. Following confirmation of the closures from the agency, the lawmakers are now making the case that rural Maine deserves the same quality of assistance as those living in the southern part of the state — especially for navigating the new tax provisions created by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. 

“TACs provide critical services to rural communities and seniors,” the lawmakers wrote. “...We ask that you restaff and re-open the TACs in Bangor and Augusta in a timely manner, and work with the Maine Congressional Delegation on a longer-term strategy to avoid future prolonged disruptions to these services in Maine.”

In addition to asking for a long-term plan to re-open the Presque Isle TAC, the lawmakers are also pressing the IRS for answers on how the federal hiring freeze affected TAC staffing in Maine, whether Mainers who are unable to access tax assistance will receive an extended deadline to file, and what the agency’s plans are to help affected Mainers in the meantime.

Last year, the IRS rolled back a previously scheduled closure of its Bangor TAC after outreach from Maine’s delegation. 

The full letter can be found here, and is included in full below:

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March 10, 2026

The Honorable Scott Bessent
Secretary and Acting IRS Commissioner
U.S. Department of the Treasury
1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20220

Dear Secretary Bessent:

We write to share our concerns regarding the closures of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Taxpayer Assistance Centers (TAC) in Bangor and Augusta, Maine. TACs provide critical services to rural communities and seniors. Now, with the 2026 filing season in full swing, many of our constituents must travel for four and a half hours and over nearly 300 miles to Portland for in-person services. We urge you to reopen the Augusta and Bangor TACs without delay.

Recently, the Maine Congressional Delegation received outreach from constituents reporting the closures of the Augusta and Bangor TACs. Previously, the Bangor TAC was at risk of closure in December 2024. The Congressional Delegation sent a letter to the IRS urging reconsideration of this decision. We deeply appreciate that the IRS ultimately kept the Bangor TAC in service through the 2025 filing season. However, unfortunately, we received confirmation from the IRS Office of Legislative Affairs that both the Bangor and Augusta TACs will be closed during this tax filing season, absent the rapid hiring and onboarding of new staff. South Portland is now the only city in Maine with a TAC that provides in-person services.

Some of Maine’s most rural counties relied on the Bangor and Augusta TACs as their primary service center. Residents in Piscataquis County, which is 100 percent rural, regularly used Bangor and Augusta as their major service centers. Augusta was the closest TAC for residents of Washington County, the easternmost county in the United States, after the closure of the Bangor TAC. Washington County residents had to commute over two hours to Augusta to receive basic tax services and now will have to drive over three hours to South Portland. The same is true for Aroostook County, the second largest county east of the Mississippi River by total area, where some Mainers traveled over 200 miles to receive assistance from the Bangor TAC. Although the Office of Legislative Affairs indicated that taxpayers can use online resources, such as IRS.gov, for tax filing guidance in the interim, we fear that these resources may not be sufficient for taxpayers with complicated situations or those seeking to better understand the changes to the tax code as a result of the new tax provisions Congress approved last July in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Further, many of these communities have limited Internet and broadband access, making in-person TAC services essential.

As you know, the Office of Management and Budget announced a federal government-wide freeze on hiring, which also affects the IRS. This hiring freeze does not have a clear end date, creating uncertainty for our constituents in the middle of tax season. For these reasons, we ask that you restaff and re-open the TACs in Bangor and Augusta in a timely manner, and work with the Maine Congressional Delegation on a longer-term strategy to avoid future prolonged disruptions to these services in Maine. In addition, the Congressional Delegation would also value the opportunity to work with you to find a long-term solution that would reopen the Presque Isle TAC in Aroostook County and ensure that it can sustainably provide in-person services.

To get a better understanding of how the IRS plans to provide adequate taxpayer services to our constituents throughout this filing season and beyond, please provide us answers to the following questions by Tuesday, March 31st, 2026:

1. Is the IRS committed to meeting the demand and providing the same level of service in person, online, and by phone?
    
2. What is the IRS’s in-person assistance strategy?
    
3. How many Mainers have utilized services at the following TACs since 2008? Presque Isle, Bangor, Lewiston, Augusta, and South Portland.
    
4. What steps is the Southern Portland TAC taking to meet increased volume of service inquiries, including those which are in-person that go beyond the services offered online and by telephone?
    
5. Will residents be eligible for an extension to file their taxes if they are unable to receive in-person services at the South Portland TAC that goes beyond the automatic October 15th exemption that taxpayers can request?
    
6. While the Bangor and Augusta TACs are closed, how does the IRS plan to provide sufficient taxpayer services to rural Mainers with limited or no broadband access?
    
7. Did Treasury include TACs in their request for exemptions to the federal hiring freeze? If not, is there an indication when the federal hiring freeze will be lifted so the Bangor and Augusta TACs can be restaffed? Does the IRS have any plans to temporarily staff the Bangor and Augusta TACs in the interim?
    
8. How can the IRS prevent future TAC closures that are a result of staffing shortages?
    
9. What plans, if any, does the IRS have to expand TACs in Maine?

Thank you for considering our request, and we appreciate your attention to this important matter.

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