Treasury releases filing-season shutdown plan for IRS

The Treasury Department has released an updated shutdown plan for the IRS to reflect the fact that the potential upcoming funding lapse would occur during the filing season.

Under the plan, 43.5 percent of IRS workers are authorized to continue working if a shutdown occurs, compared to 13.4 percent outside of the filing season. The IRS officially opens the 2018 filing season on Jan. 29, but the plan describes the filing-season period as Jan. 1 through April 30.

{mosads}

Employees would continue tasks during a shutdown that include testing of filing-year programs, processing paper tax returns and printing forms, according to the plan. Thousands of customer-service representatives will also still be authorized to work.

Employees that issue refunds and conduct audits would generally be furloughed, according to the plan.

Government funding expires at the end of the day Friday. The House passed a stopgap spending bill late Thursday, but the measure doesn’t appear to have the votes to pass the Senate.

Federal agencies are bracing for a shutdown, with each federal agency having a shutdown plan written in consultation with the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB).