Internal Revenue Service

I had a five star experience with the IRS last week! Their office was easy to find and I was greeted with a smile. Every employee I encountered was courteous and respectful. The office was spotless and well-​organized. In particular, the agent who assisted me, TJ Sanni-​Akako, brought humanity and warmth to what could have been a very intimidating process. He is a good teacher and made sure that I understood my responsibilities. The bonus: everyone there seemed to work well with one another and there was a feeling of «team.» I am grateful for the support I received that day and am happy to say that I was able to resolve all outstanding issues within 48 hours.

I have never felt so strongly that a place deserves 0 stars. I came in to verify my identity SIX MONTHS AGO and i have yet to receive my tax return. They told me to wait 12 weeks for my refund to arrive and when it didn’t I kept trying to call the irs number but kept being hung up on.
I called to schedule another appointment today and my account was checked. Apparently they had missed a step closing off my account so my refund never got processed. It’s upsetting to know that our tax dollars are going towards these incompetent employees.

They were so nice and incredibly fast. I’m shocked to be writing a review for the IRS but they were just so kind and efficient the experience surprised me.

Attention, all of you who have problems with the IRS/​your tax returns: The IRS has a separate entity called TAXPAYER’S ADVOCATE which will help you with your long-​standing IRS tax problems – and they are in Seattle, downtown. For FREE!!! Well, it’s your tax dollars at work, but in two months, my advocate had «nannied» my four questionable returns through the IRS review process and I no longer owed $ 150,000 to the IRS from an estate and I received the three refunds I had been owed but had been garnished by the IRS.
After several years of not filing a tax return (though I had paid taxes) and with the IRS hounding me with monthly e-​mails about liens on property for monies owed them from my mother’s estate (which really wasn’t the case), and with a rather unknowledgeable tax preparer who told me to get «a tax lawyer since he didn’t know what to do if the IRS doesn’t talk to him, «I saw I believe Benjamin’s review and called that number which turns out to be that for Taxpayer’s Advocate. The lady told me which returns to send in, informed me I would be assigned an advocate, which fortunately was the same as the initial person„ and she called almost weekly to inform me of the progress. In less than two months, I had my refunds and a letter stating that I no longer owed the IRS one cent! This was absolutely incredible service. And to think I had spent hours on the phone trying to figure out what to do, had paid over $ 700 to the tax preparer to do the initial calling, and had been facing the huge fees of a tax attorney. First, call Taxpayer’s Advocate!

Can’t even get them to help with tax prep anymore. Honestly, why do we put up with it?

After arriving around noon and registering for «Tax Prep», my wait time wasn’t that long; but, shortly thereafter, that was not the case.
After entering the cubicle, I gave the I.R.S. employee my 2011 tax information; in addition to last year’s tax records also prepared by their office. (not by this employee)
The employee proceeds to ask me «why are you here?». After looking somewhat astonished since she was sitting there looking at my tax information AND I had registered for «tax preparation», I thought it wasn’t the most intelligent question to be asking, but I replied that it was for tax preparation. She replied, «well, you didn’t say why you were here».
At this point, I asked if she could speak up a little because her voice came across at barely above a whisper. I might not have bat-​keen hearing, but I never have a problem hearing someone sitting in front of me only three-​feet away. Her reply was that she couldn’t raise her voice. I was able to hear other employees in other booths. (If she has a medical problem, I sincerely apologize.) But, I was also feeling she wasn’t that pleased to be having to do another tax return. She asked if I wanted someone else to help me; but, since my paperwork was already spread out and I wasn’t interested in waiting for another representative, I opted to try my best to hear her. (I later regretted that decision.)
As she proceeded, many questions were asked that have NEVER BEEN ASKED IN THE PAST that I found rather interesting. When it came to my donations to a non-​profit, I was asked what charitable organization I donated to; as she sat there looking at my «Good Will» itemized receipts with totals. Then I was asked where this charitable organization was founded. Does everyone who donates to charitable organizations KNOW where these facilities originate? In this case, I’m assuming the Good Will was founded WITHIN the U.S., along with The Salvation Army, St. Vincent De Paul, Community Services for the Blind, and hundreds of others. Wouldn’t an I.R.S. employee know about the «Good Will», a MAJOR non-​profit? There were about 10 questions pertaining to my donations which totaled under three-​hundred dollars. I was also asked about the value of these items WHEN I ORIGINALLY PURCHASED THEM. To be able to answer THIS QUESTION, I would have had to keep every receipt over the last 20 +years! Although this employee was not responsible for the questions she had to ask (?), she was not the least bit helpful on the best way to proceed. Do I remember what I paid for something over 20 years ago? Hardly
This employee portrayed an attitude of being less than interested in her job in helping a tax payer in what ordinarily would be considered doing a simply tax return.
If an employee does not like their job, there are many others with a pleasant attitude who would love to have a job WITH GOOD BENEFITS.
I might also mention that two years ago, I was turned away when I did not have my social security card with me. This time, it was not even requested.

I agree with these great reviews! These people are helpful, with rarely a long wait time. They should be given mad props for being so knowledgable and helpful, esp. when they don’t have to be!

never thought i would be adding a review about visiting an IRS office, but here goes.
super friendly, well organized office — no waiting, no hassles, easy to engage with. front desk woman was super nice and knowledgeable and asked me how she could help immediately when i walked in the door. was expecting to have something like my usual evil DMV office experience and this was incredibly pleasant.
nice job, folks.

Okay, I’m sure hardly anyone will be able to identify with my situation, but here it is.
After living off the grid and traveling and living abroad for the last 10 years I began to settle down. Up till now I only filed my taxes a couple of times. My reasoning being, I only worked enough to travel again, so my paychecks were always poverty level. I knew I had no tax liability so why bother trying to file when I would only get 25 to 50 bucks back?
Well, in the spirit of goodwill and self preservation I decided to get current with my tax filings.
To make a long story shorter, I looked up IRS on Google, went to the address downtown, shot up to the 32^nd floor, waited about 15 minutes, got all my past w2’s printed out, was given all the info and tax forms I needed to file everything, and walked back to my car. The agent I dealt with had a sense of humor and even chatted with me about my travels.
So, I got home sat down and filled out all my tax forms in about 30 minutes, made copies of everything for my files, and drove to the Post Office to mail it off.
Plus, about a month later, I just got a tax return check in the mail!
Wow, doing your taxes is a breeze! It took me all of 3 hours, including drive time, to do 7 YEARS of tax returns!
I’m sure it may take you a little longer than me, but at least you can get all the help you need quickly and friendly at the IRS in Seattle.
Happy taxes!