What The Government Shutdown Means For Your Refund & Tax Filing

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TAX ISSUES, TAX PLANNING

What The Government Shutdown Means For Your Refund & Tax Return

By The BIDaWIZ Team on October 4th, 2013 at 5:18 pm

This week the government failed to reach an agreement on the federal budget and lingering health care reform concerns. The effects have been widespread as it’s impacting over 800,000 government workers, areas of the economy that rely on certain government functions, and it’s bad overall publicity for the country. One other area that has been impacted is the IRS and certain taxpayers.

The Tax Court is closed
The Tax Court announced that they will close during this government shutdown period. This means that they will not accept any petitions, motions, and other papers, and electronic filings. Taxpayers will still be required to meet deadlines for filing petitions. This closing matters if you’re appealing or in the midst of a case with the Tax Court.

What about the IRS and your refund?
In a surprising turn of events, the IRS announced that they will not issue any tax refunds during the period that the federal government is shutdown. This announcement is in stark contrast to the agency’s backup plan under which 859 employees in its Information Technology Services Enterprise Operations were excepted from the general shutdown furlough to ensure refunds continue to process. This means that if you file for a tax extension for the October 15th deadline and/or are due a tax refund, it’s highly unlikely that you’ll receive those monies anytime soon. If the government resolves its issues, that may change. However, the previous government shutdown lasted three weeks. This time, there’s the Affordable Care Act in question, which may delay the process further. Lastly, it’s important to note that taxpayers are still required to pay any monies due to the IRS and file returns in a timely manner.

More Questions? Ask your tax refund questions or find a cpa online.