UPDATE: IRS Tax Form Program for Libraries

On Tuesday, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that the agency will continue to deliver 1040 EZ forms to public libraries that are participating in the Tax Forms Outlet Program (TFOP). TFOP offers tax products to the American public primarily through participating libraries and post offices. The IRS will distribute new order forms to participating libraries in the next two to three weeks.   The IRS released the following statement on November 4, 2014:

Based on the concerns expressed by many of our TFOP partners, we are now adding the Form 1040 EZ, Income Tax Return for Single and Joint Filers with No Dependents, to the list of forms that can be ordered. We will send a supplemental order form to you in two to three weeks. We strongly recommend you keep your orders to a manageable level primarily due to the growing decline in demand for the form and our print budget. Taxpayers will be able to file Form 1040 EZ and report that they had health insurance coverage, claim an exemption from coverage or make a shared responsibility payment. However, those who purchased health coverage from the Health Insurance Marketplace must use the Form 1040 or 1040A.Your help communicating this to your patrons within your normal work parameters would be greatly appreciated. We also heard and understood your concerns of our decision to limit the number of Publication 17 we plan to distribute. Because of the growing cost to produce and distribute Pub 17, we are mailing to each of our TFOP partners, including branches, one copy for use as a reference. We believe that the majority of local demand for a copy of or information from Publication 17 can be met with a visit to our website at www.irs.gov/formspubs or by ordering it through the Government Printing Office. We value and appreciate the important work you do providing IRS tax products to the public and apologize for any inconvenience this service change may cause.

Public library leaders will have the opportunity to discuss the management and effectiveness of the Tax Forms Outlet Program with leaders from the IRS during the 2015 American Library Association Midwinter Meeting session “Tell the IRS: Tax Forms in the Library.” The session takes place on Sunday, February 1, 2015. Reprinted from District Dispatch, November 4, 2014.