WASHINGTON ― Despite the government shutdown, the Internal Revenue
Service today confirmed that it will process tax returns beginning
January 28, 2019 and provide refunds to taxpayers as scheduled.
“We are committed to ensuring that taxpayers receive their refunds
notwithstanding the government shutdown. I appreciate the hard work of
the employees and their commitment to the taxpayers during this period,”
said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig.
Congress directed the payment of all tax refunds through a permanent,
indefinite appropriation (31 U.S.C. 1324), and the IRS has consistently
been of the view that it has authority to pay refunds despite a lapse in
annual appropriations. Although in 2011 the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) directed the IRS not to pay refunds during a lapse, OMB has
reviewed the relevant law at Treasury’s request and concluded that IRS
may pay tax refunds during a lapse.
The IRS will be recalling a significant portion of its workforce,
currently furloughed as part of the government shutdown, to work.
Additional details for the IRS filing season will be included in an
updated FY2019 Lapsed Appropriations Contingency Plan to be released
publicly in the coming days.
“IRS employees have been hard at work over the past year to implement
the biggest tax law changes the nation has seen in more than 30 years,”
said Rettig.
As in past years, the IRS will begin accepting and processing individual
tax returns once the filing season begins. For taxpayers who usually
file early in the year and have all of the needed documentation, there
is no need to wait to file. They should file when they are ready to
submit a complete and accurate tax return.
The filing deadline to submit 2018 tax returns is Monday, April 15, 2019
for most taxpayers. Because of the Patriots’ Day holiday on April 15 in
Maine and Massachusetts and the Emancipation Day holiday on April 16 in
the District of Columbia, taxpayers who live in Maine or Massachusetts
have until April 17, 2019 to file their returns.
Software companies and tax professionals will be accepting and preparing
tax returns before Jan. 28 and then will submit the returns when the
IRS systems open later this month. The IRS strongly encourages people to
file their tax returns electronically to minimize errors and for faster
refunds.
