The Government Shutdown and the IRS

        The current shutdown of the Federal government has essentially frozen certain departments. In some cases, employees just go home, others work with no pay, and others are continuing to work with pay. The IRS has planned for this situation at the end of 2018, and still has some functions that are still active.

          At this point, no extensions have been issued. Any petitions or appeals must be filed by their assigned deadline. If a Taxpayer has an established payment plan with the IRS, they must continue those payments.

          Tax Season is still expected to begin in January, with some refunds being issued starting in mid-February. However, if the Government Shutdown continues past December 31, the issuing of refunds and the processing of forms will typically be suspended. Essentially, the plans for the start of 2019 would be pushed back. The IRS would move to conserve as much as possible, while still trying to function as a government agency. We will see how this all works out in the coming days.

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