As Tax Deadline Day Approaches, Lines At IRS Offices Stretch Out The Door

Agency Blames Staffing Cuts For Long Wait Times At Some Offices

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People have been lining up out the doors of some Internal Revenue Service offices this week to seek help from the IRS before tax deadline day Wednesday.

While more people are filing their taxes online, others are still queueing up in long lines outside.

“I needed some copies of my tax forms from last year and this year. And I waited in line for an hour and 30 minutes just to get these. It’s terrible,” said one woman who had lined up outside offices in Milwaukee.

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The IRS blames funding cuts and staffing reduction for some of the wait.

Some of those at the IRS offices were seeking out actual tax forms to fill out. The forms are usually available at public libraries, but federal forms may not be there this year. A sign at one Milwaukee-area library blamed congressional budget cuts to the IRS.

One woman said she came just to get the form 1040 instruction booklet.

“It’s very frustrating. We pay the taxes and they want us to pay the taxes, and we can’t the information we need,” she said.

One IRS employee stood near the inside office door on Tuesday morning carrying a small stack of instruction booklets, handing them out to anyone who wanted one and answering quick questions from a long line of people.

The agency, meanwhile has been encouraging people to find forms and information at its website.