Bend, Salem IRS offices reportedly set to close under DOGE cost-cutting moves, workforce reductions
(Update: Adding video)
SALEM Ore. (KTVZ/KPTV) - Tax season is in full swing and the acting head of the Internal Revenue Service announced he plans to retire Friday. This comes as the Trump administration is set to close more than 100 IRS offices, including two in Oregon, in Bend and Salem, Fox 12 in Portland and national news outlets reported Thursday.
According to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the IRS offices in Salem and Bend are set to close.
DOGE’s “wall of receipts” lists the price to lease the Bend office at over $1 million and says that the government is set to save just under $200,000 with its closure.
They say closing the Salem location would save over $250,000.
Newsweek reports the DOGE is saying that several of the IRS offices have already closed.
But the IRS website as of Thursday afternoon still lists the Bend Taxyaper Assistance Office as open for appointments at 250 NW Franklin Avenue, and the office was open and staff were working when KTVZ News visited.
KTVZ News has reached out to the IRS Oregon spokesman for more information.
The DOGE wall of receipts lists the two locations under “termination via mass modification,” which refers to large changes to government contracts.
The list also shows a $94,681 savings for a Bend, Oregon Bureau of Reclamation contract.
Experts say the IRS closures could slow down the process of getting your return and will make it significantly harder for the IRS to hold rich tax evaders responsible.
The Trump administration and Elon Musk say they are making the federal government more efficient with these cuts, and saving taxpayers money.
