Government Shutdown —
Will the IRS Cease Operation?

Many tax­pay­ers are mis­led with the belief that because the gov­ern­ment has shut­down, the IRS has cease oper­at­ing. This is absolutely wrong.

Yes, the Inter­nal Rev­enue Ser­vice has been affected to a cer­tain extent, but all under­ly­ing tax laws remain in effect. Tax­pay­ers must con­tinue to meet their tax oblig­a­tions as normal.

Sev­eral func­tions of the IRS dur­ing the gov­ern­ment shut­down will be automated.

Indi­vid­u­als and busi­nesses must con­tinue to file their tax returns and keep their tax oblig­a­tions. Tax­pay­ers who are plan­ning to request for exten­sions on Octo­ber 15 must file their returns on or before the date whether it be by elec­tronic fil­ing or by mail. The pre­ferred fil­ing cur­rently for tax­pay­ers will be elec­tron­i­cally because the returns will be processed auto­mat­i­cally. How­ever, no refunds will be mailed to tax­pay­ers dur­ing this period. Auto­mated tele­phone assis­tance will also be avail­able. Unfor­tu­nately all walk-in assis­tance will be closed. Resources like the IRS web­site and TheTaxAttorney.com will be fully func­tional. If you have IRS tax prob­lems and need live assis­tance call our offices at 855.829.4771.

Audits, exam­i­na­tions and other per­sonal appoint­ments with IRS agents will be resched­uled once oper­a­tion resumes. While the gov­ern­ment remains closed, no IRS levies, gar­nish­ments and liens will be issued against any tax­payer. In gen­eral, there is not going to be any col­lec­tion enforce­ment action except in lim­ited cir­cum­stances or where a crim­i­nal inves­ti­ga­tion is con­cerned. Like any other law enforce­ment agency which are exempt from being closed, IRS crim­i­nal inves­ti­ga­tors are work­ing albeit, the shut­down. We rec­om­mend you con­tact our offices if you have IRS and tax prob­lems. We can begin the process and take advan­tage of the down time.

No one is sure when the gov­ern­ment will reopen. Tax­pay­ers, who have dead­lines to file, must meet those dead­lines. If dead­lines are not met, the IRS will be ready to impose penal­ties and the fact that the gov­ern­ment was closed would not be accepted as an excuse. Once the gov­ern­ment reopens, the IRS will get you with a vengeance if you fail to meet your oblig­a­tion as a taxpayer.

Our offices are open and it is busi­ness as usual at TheTaxAttorney.com. Sev­eral tax­pay­ers who received let­ters from the IRS and are expe­ri­enc­ing tax prob­lems such as bank levies, finan­cial hard­ship, high penal­ties, and so forth are asked to call our offices so that we may begin the process to relieve the stress and agony of high tax lia­bil­i­ties. Call 855.829.4771 or visit TheTaxAttorney.com