With no federal budget in place, the government shutdown continues, and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is one of the agencies most affected. In December, the IRS released a contingency plan for operations through the end of the year.

Here’s a partial list of functions that directly impact taxpayers and would typically be put on hold during a government shutdown:

  • No tax refunds issued
  • No processing of non-disaster relief transcripts
  • No processing of forms 1040X, amended returns
  • No non-automated collections
  • No audit or examinations (some exceptions apply)
  • No legal counsel
  • No call center during Non-Filing Season

Here’s a partial list of functions that directly impact taxpayers which will typically continue during a government shutdown:

  • Processing of returns with payments
  • Processing disaster relief transcripts
  • E-filing up to the point of refunds
  • Design and printing of tax forms
  • Appeals (statutory deadlines will not be changed)
  • Certain civil and criminal tax cases (statute expiration, bankruptcy, liens and seizures cases)
  • Active criminal investigations
  • IRS.gov

You can read the details here.

The big take away for many taxpayers and tax professionals is that filing deadlines and statutes of limitations will continue as normal. Ditto for collections. But refunds and other services are limited.

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