ATLANTA — At a scheduled walk-in event to help taxpayers at the Atlanta Internal Revenue Service office, hundreds showed up in a line that was wrapped around the building for several blocks.
Channel 2′s Veronica Griffin went to the IRS office on W. Peachtree Street to learn more, where some in the line told her they’d received letters saying their refunds were being held until some information could be verified.
Most of the people in line who Griffin spoke to had received a date and time to come verify themselves, but in some cases, those dates are months away. Saturday’s event was for walk-in appointments.
Some taxpayers, like Leslie Gabriel, say they have been outside the building since 7 a.m. to try and get to the front of the line.
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In a page on the IRS website, the federal agency said it had a series of planned once-a-month walk-in events to help taxpayers without appointments.
It’s unclear at this time if all of the people in the crowd received the letter about their refunds being held by the IRS, pending verification.
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Speaking to people in line at the IRS building, some of the people waiting in line told Griffin that they received letters asking them to verify their identities to get their tax refunds.
At the office, others said they were told it could take up to 180 days for the refunds to come in, once verified.
A few in the crowd also said that they had appointments scheduled, but they may not get to them until July.
The situation in Atlanta comes just days before Monday’s tax day deadline.
The IRS said in a statement to Channel 2 Action News that they would be taking extra steps next week to assist taxpayers in metro Atlanta.
The IRS has surged resources to expand in-person service, opening or reopening more than 50 new walk-in centers over the past two years and ensuring they are fulling staffed. The IRS has added more than 11,000 additional hours of availability this Filing Season, making this the most hours of in-person service the agency has provided in our history.
Delays on Saturday occurred due to overwhelming taxpayer demand for assistance, and the IRS is committed to serving those who weren’t able to receive in person help. For people we couldn’t serve in person, we are collecting names and numbers when possible so an IRS representative can call them back. To further assist taxpayers in the Atlanta area, we will be taking special steps to help on Monday and throughout the week. We will be working to fully staff our offices next week and adding more people to help on our phone lines.
We also remind taxpayers there are many ways to get help from the IRS. We encourage taxpayers needing assistance to schedule an appointment by calling (844) 545-5640. Many issues can be resolved over the phone to help people avoid a trip to an IRS office. Taxpayers can also get an automatic extension to file until Oct. 15 by visiting IRS.gov.
— IRS spokesperson
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