Taxpayer advocate service to be suspended if shutdown occurs

The office in the IRS that helps regular taxpayers with tax-related financial issues will close in the event of a government shutdown, the agency warned Friday.

The National Taxpayer Advocate (NTA) petitions the IRS on behalf of people who undergo financial hardships due to a tax bill, such as an eviction.

But the service isn’t considered an essential part of the agency’s functions and will be shuttered if lawmakers can’t agree on a plan to keep the government funded into the new fiscal year, which begins Sunday.

“This is a terrible result for taxpayers who are experiencing economic hardships and will not be able to obtain relief from [the Taxpayer Advocate Service],” the NTA said in a Friday blog post.

The IRS released a 144-page “lapse plan” on Thursday to specify which core functions of the agency will be kept operable in the event of a shutdown.

Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins said the plan wasn’t fair.

“The asymmetry of allowing the IRS to collect from taxpayers while not allowing [the taxpayer advocate service] to work with the IRS to halt or limit collection actions that could literally put the taxpayers in the poor house is unacceptable,” she wrote.

Collins urged Congress to pass legislation to authorize advocacy services for taxpayers during lapses in appropriations, which are threatened in Congress with some regularity.

Opposition from hard-line Republicans in the House has stymied efforts to get a funding package through the lower chamber.

It’s still unclear whether House Republicans will be able to muster support for their funding measure or if House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) would put an alternative package from the Senate up for a vote in the House.