IRS on Pause: A Complete Tax Nightmare
With much of the IRS shut down amid the government funding lapse,
tax professionals and their clients are facing delays.
What’s Going On:
The IRS placed tens of thousands of employees on furlough starting October 8 as the government shutdown took hold.
Only about 39,870 staff remain working at the agency — roughly 39% of its pre-shutdown workforce.
The divisions hit hardest: enforcement, appeals, the Tax Court, and the Taxpayer Advocate’s office.
Core processing (e-filing systems, payment acceptance) continues, but many support services are paused or severely limited.
Impacts for You and your Tax Professional:
Longer wait times: For taxpayer inquiries, responses to notices, audits, and collections matters.
Back-logs building: With many functions halted, work is stacking up — issues that typically would’ve been addressed promptly may now drag.
New law guidance delayed: Even though some IRS staff working on tax-law guidance are exempt, the shutdown threatens to slow down rules, interpretations and rollout of new legislation.
Filing deadlines unchanged: Clients still must file and pay on time; the shutdown does not excuse late filings or payments.
Summary:
What’s changed: IRS furloughs, most operations scaled back.
What continues: Core e-filing, payments accepted, deadlines stand.
Primary risks: Service backlogs, slow guidance, delayed responses.
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See Roger Russell’s Accounting Today’s article or other sources for more information.