Some functions in IRS remain open during the shutdown.
getty
Due to the government shutdown—now in its third week—IRS operations are limited. Despite the need to prepare for the upcoming tax filing season—with new tax laws like no tax on tips—the IRS has laid off about half of its employees. This means that some businesses, such as Criminal Investigation, remain open while others, such as Taxpayer Assistance Centers (TACs), are closed.
Here’s what you need to know.
Do I need to file my taxes?
Yes. You must continue to file taxes as normal. All tax deadlines remain in effect, including those covering individuals, companies, partnerships and employers.
Will my tax return be processed?
It depends. You can still file your tax return online or in paper form –– although processing of paper returns will be delayed until full government operations resume.
Will tax refunds be paid?
Not necessarily. The IRS has confirmed that tax refunds generally will not be paid during the shutdown with one exception—if you file a Form 1040, the IRS will continue to pay refunds on electronically filed, error-free tax returns that can be automatically processed and filed immediately.
Do I have to pay my tax bill?
Yes. Even if the IRS doesn’t pay you, you must pay the IRS.
The IRS will continue to accept and process any payments and remittances received, whether received electronically or by mail. This includes payments that accompany paper tax returns.
There is no grace for late payments—your tax payment deadlines remain firmly in place.
Will the IRS open their mail?
While the IRS will be able to receive mail and file tax payments, the agency generally will not respond to paper mail.
If you send mail to the IRS during the shutdown, you should expect a longer delay for a response after government operations fully resume due to the increased backlog of mail.
Will someone at the IRS answer the phone?
The IRS says “limited” live IRS customer support will be available. This seems to be the case – taxpayers and tax professionals report difficulty contacting an IRS representative by phone. I can mention that the Professional Priority Service (PPS) hotline — the line that tax professionals can call directly — does answer calls, but generally, if you don’t call early, your chances are pretty slim.
Most automated toll-free phone applications will remain functional. Automated phone applications typically include Where’s My Refund? line (800.829.1954) that allows taxpayers to check the status of their federal income tax refund (I called, it’s working, although refunds are limited) and the transcription phone line that can be used to mail you a tax copy.
Can I get personal help?
No. Closed IRS Taxpayer Assistance Centers (TACs) will be closed. All TAC appointments are canceled until the government reopens.
What if I have scheduled an appointment with appeals or the taxpayer advocate?
You don’t have to do anything — if you have an appointment related to Independent Appeals Office or Taxpayer Advocate cases, it will be cancelled. IRS staff will reschedule these meetings when the government reopens.
What if I have a Tax Court hearing scheduled?
Also canceled — at least for the next few weeks. The Tax Court attached the following to it website: “Due to the continuing effects of the federal government shutdown, the United States Tax Court has determined that it is appropriate to cancel all in-person and remote trial sessions for the weeks October 20, 2025and October 27, 2025. A decision regarding the cancellation of the following weeks of trial will be made and announced via the Tax Court’s website no later than one week prior to the commencement of these sessions.”
Will the taxpayer remain open?
No. While dozens of employees remained with the Tax Services Support Service in some capacity during the shutdown—including Erin Collins (the National Taxpayer Advocate) and 75 local advocates and various support workers—TAS released notice on its website that it will be closed: “Please note that due to a lack of an approved federal budget, all Taxpayer Advocate Office offices across the country are closed. No staff will be available to assist you during this time.”
Can I get online help?
Yes. The IRS website, www.IRS.gov, will remain available, along with some of the automated tools on the website, such as Where’s My Refund, the IRS2go phone app and online payment reconciliations.
What about income verification?
The IRS Income Verification Express (IVES) service will remain available. IVES allows taxpayers to authorize mortgage lenders, banks and others to request their tax return or pay stubs for income verification. The IRS only releases tax records to third parties with the taxpayer’s consent.
Can I get my tax statement?
The IRS encourages you to use automated tools to obtain transcript information (again, anecdotally, it’s worth noting that returns and other information received during the shutdown may not be automatically updated on transcripts).
If you can’t access a transcript through the automated tools, you can try calling the IRS. Tax professionals who cannot access transcripts through the online tool can call PPS and request that they be uploaded to a secure mailbox, but again, calling can be difficult.
The IRS has indicated that it will process transcript requests related to disaster relief.
Will the IRS process my application for tax-exempt status?
No. The IRS will not process applications or determinations for tax-exempt status or pension plans during the shutdown.
Will IRS enforcement actions continue?
Yes. IRS Criminal Investigation (CI) work will continue during the shutdown, as will compliance work related to statute of limitations protections. CI will operate at near “normal” levels as federal courts, prosecutors and law enforcement partners continue to work as usual.
How many IRS workers are still on the job?
According to the 162-page IRS contingency plan, about half—34,429 of the total employee population of 74,299—of the IRS workforce will be laid off. The remaining 39,870 non-fired employees are those who will perform shutdown duties, as well as those necessary to perform activities required by law and to protect life and property. You may remember from my previous report that the law allows the IRS to process tax returns with taxpayer payments to protect those dollars.
Will the next tax period be delayed?
So far, the IRS has not indicated that there will be a delay in preparing for the next tax season.
Some Customer Service Representatives (CSRs) will remain on the job. This includes approximately 3,500 new CSR hires who will be onboarded between September 22nd and November 3rd. According to the IRS, it is “critical that they stay in training during a shutdown if they are going to be ready for filing season.” This will require approximately 420 trainers, 35 managers and the new hires, totaling 3,955 exempt employees.
And so far, guidance is rolling in – slowly, but it’s happening.
Have we seen this before?
In 2018, the government shutdown lasted 35 days, the longest in history. By the time it restarted, the IRS was weeks behind schedule in training and hiring new staff for the 2019 tax season. At the time, the National Taxpayer Advocate informed House officials that it would take “at least a year” for the IRS to return to normal operations.
Why so long? When the lights came back on, the IRS had a backlog of five million pieces of unanswered mail. At the height of the shutdown, the IRS was receiving more than 700,000 pieces of mail a day. Since the in-person taxpayer assistance centers, fax lines and phone systems were shut down, taxpayers and tax professionals were forced to send all requests—even routine requests—via US Mail.
The IRS and the rest of the government turned the lights back on on January 25, 2019. The agency was already underfunded when work resumed — no extra hands on deck. If the IRS were to reassign workers from other departments to process mail at a rate of 20,000 extra letters a day — meaning they would be taken away from other work — the agency estimated they would be able to deal with the mail backlog in only 250 business days, or about a full calendar year.
The Shutdown So far
The 2025 US government shutdown officially began shortly after midnight on October 1, 2025, after Congress failed to pass a spending resolution. That date—October 1, 2025—was significant because September 30, 2025 marked the end of the fiscal year. Without a plan, government funding ended.
A shutdown usually means federal agencies don’t have the funding to keep the lights on. However, according to the first version of the 2026 Credit Emergency Plan released by the IRS on September 29, 2025, the agency used money from the Inflationary Reduction Act (IRA)—to stay open for the first five days of the shutdown. On October 8, 2025, the IRS issued a second version of the 2026 Received Credit Emergency Plan (you can read more about it here.)
What’s next
As mentioned earlier, this situation remains very fluid. Even with a contingency plan (you can find the full text of the plan here), changes may still occur.
Please check back with the Forbes tax team for updates as they become available.
