Effect of the Government Shutdown on the IRS

The federal government has shutdown operations on October 1st because Congress did not pass a government funding bill. As a result, tens of thousands of IRS employees have been furloughed and the IRS will only maintain core functions. Tax filing deadlines remain the same and payments are still due in a timely manner despite the shutdown.

During the shutdown, the following operations will cease:

• Refunds will not be issued and the “Where’s my refund” service that is normally available on the IRS website will not be available.
• Audit functions and examination of returns will cease.
• Taxpayer and practitioner assistance will not be available and Taxpayer Assistance Centers (TAC) will be closed.
• There will be no processing of paper returns that do not require remittance.

The following core functions will remain available during the shutdown:

• Processing of electronic returns.
• The Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS) will remain operational during the shutdown.
• Notices will continue to be generated; however, there will be no employees available to make corrections or answer questions regarding notices.

For those individuals who previously extended their tax returns in April, the filing deadline remains October 15th.

The tax team at Marcum LLP will be keeping you up to date on any changes related to the Government shutdown.

For further information on what might be affected, see www.IRS.gov.