If the Government Shuts Down, Do I Still Have to Pay Taxes?
First Thing: How Does a Government Shut-Down Affect the IRS
Without an approved budget to, in part, fund the governmental operations, the U.S. government operations may become suspended effective October 1, 2023. This would be the 4th of these events in the last 10 years. That would cause the suspension of a wide range of government services. The result is the “furlough” of hundreds of thousands of federal employees.
During past “shutdowns”, IRS has been one of those services that became partly suspended. Most of the operational staff functions are suspended. Some phone center employees, return processors, and computer technicians at IRS usually continue to work.
Do I Still Have to Pay Tax?
Your tax liability continues. Yes, you still have to pay your “known” tax obligations.
Regular, expected payments like estimated taxes, payroll deposits, and installment agreements are still logged by your payment date. As always, late payments incur penalties – and interest! Also, liens could be filed by IRS’s automated collections.
See this really good “how-to” video on Removing IRS Federal Tax Liens.
Even if your tax collection was assigned to a Revenue Officer, a government closure does not change any deadlines that you may have received. Once the IRS operation fully resumes, any missed deadlines could be immediately acted upon by that returning collection officer.
- If you receive a collection letter, lien, or levy against your bank account, call an affordable tax attorney
- If an IRS notice relates to payroll taxes, this is a serious legal problem that could have further consequences without legal help.
- Also, if a state notice relates to sales taxes, this also represents a civil and potentially criminal matter and needs assistance from a tax lawyer.
Any More “Good News”?
These points should help.
- Anyone filing a return with a payment can continue to do so during the shut-down.
- Also, the IRS call centers will remain open. Phone lines to be busy, and wait times will be longer.
- Past government closings have delayed tax refund processing at IRS. This includes the already affected processing for ERC refunds this year.