Government Shutdown Ends

The partial government shutdown is over, which means the workers that were currently in the wings waiting to continue their work, may return. For those of you looking for your tax refunds, this means that the IRS employees are able to come back to work.

Initially, 88% of IRS employees had been furloughed after the start of the partial government shutdown that began back on December 22, 2018. With growing fears of slowed productivity and tax refunds, the IRS issued a new plan in January, calling for 57% of IRS employees to work during tax season. Once the new temporary measure was passed to allow workers to return, all the IRS workers have returned.

Still questions remain on how the IRS will address issues that arose during the shutdown. During the shutdown the IRS suspended all audits, examinations, and appeal activity unless the statute of limitation was about to expire. The IRS is also facing a large amount of correspondence cases that continued to build up during the shutdown.

Government shutdowns are never an easy task, they can be complicated and effect a wide range of Americans. This year, they began to affect our tax refunds and some other portions of the government. Luckily for all of us, the shutdown is over and the IRS is fully open once again. The IRS will be fully staffed until February 15, unless a permanent measure is passed, so be sure to file before then if possible. If you have questions about your taxes, contact us at the Center for Financial, Legal & Tax Planning, Inc.