Taxable Talk

Apparently the Republicans and Democrats couldn’t get their heads together yesterday, and the government has partially shut down. What does that mean for taxes?

Your tax returns on extension are still due on October 15th. That deadline is statutory, so nothing changes.

If you received an IRS notice, the deadline still applies. Just don’t expect to get a response in an expedient fashion.

The IRS help lines are closed. This includes most walk-in centers and the 800 numbers. Given that IRS help over the phone is often wrong, this may be a blessing for some. However, where it will hurt is the ability to order transcripts. Let’s say John comes into my office and wants to get current with his taxes. I can’t order transcripts until the IRS processes the Power of Attorney…and that’s not going to happen.

Your audit isn’t happening. IRS examinations will be on hold. Again, this does not change the deadline for responding to correspondence exams, but that face-to-face audit will need to be rescheduled.

Based on what I’ve read, Tax Court remains open. This likely means that appeals related to Tax Court will continue.

The government has shut down 17 times since the mid-1970s. We’re still here, and I expect we’ll be here whenever this shutdown ends.

Tags: IRS.Shutdown

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 1st, 2013 at 7:31 am and is filed under IRS. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.