The IRS spends some $600 million annually on real estate costs across more than 500 buildings totaling some 22.3 million square feet. Image: Jonathan Weiss/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffThe IRS has reduced its office space footprint by about 8 percent since fiscal 2018 but it lacks a comprehensive plan for shedding unneeded space and until it has one, “it will continue to struggle to sufficiently address the significant amount of unneeded space that it currently occupies,” an inspector general report has said.
“Specifically, the IRS lacks a long-term space reduction plan that clearly specifies the space reductions it expects to achieve annually beyond FY 2026, and that sufficiently decreases its unneeded office space by maximizing the space savings associated with current practices in remote work, telework, and workstation sharing/hoteling,” it says.
The report notes that the IRS, like many agencies, increased its use of telework and remote work due to the pandemic, opening the potential for reducing office space—on which it some $600 million annually on real estate costs across more than 500 buildings totaling some 22.3 million square feet.
The report said that as of last year, more than half of IRS buildings had a workstation occupancy rate of 50 percent or less, but the agency has not implemented workstation sharing/hoteling for three-fifths percent of its employees on frequent telework. However, of 30 planned space reductions for fiscal 2023, only 10 were completed—although they accounted for the majority of the space involved.
Further, the agency currently is planning for only a further 2 percent reduction in space through 2026, which “may not materially impact the IRS’s workstation occupancy rate . . . Although the IRS has identified potential future space reduction projects through its strategic facility plan process, it has yet to translate this information into a long-term space reduction plan that outlines how and when it will achieve these reductions.”
It said management agreed with recommendations to reassess its long-term office space needs, including projections of potential reductions and timelines, while leaving the plan flexible to account for changes in levels of offsite work.
The IRS recently directed executives, managers, and non-bargaining unit employees with telework agreements in the Washington, D.C. area to be in the office at least half of their time.
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