Five Facts: The IRS and the Government Shutdown
This past weekend the current government shutdown became the longest in U.S. history, eclipsing the past record of 21 days set during the Clinton administration. More than 800,000 federal workers remain furloughed as Washington lawmakers continue negotiations to end the standoff.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is one federal agency that has been impacted by the shutdown. As the shutdown continues many Americans are left wondering if they will receive their tax return on time.
Here are five facts about the IRS and how the current government shutdown affects the agency:
1. Statistics from the IRS show that in Fiscal Year 2017 the government agency processed more than 240 million tax returns and returned close to $440 billion in tax refunds. The $440 billion in tax returns was distributed among over 120 million households. In the first three months of 2018 alone the IRS paid more than $212 billion to U.S. taxpayers.
2. According to the IRS website the government agency issued "more than 9 out of 10 refunds to taxpayers in less than 21 days last year." This means that typically, most people receive their refund within three weeks of submitting their paperwork. However, the agency clarifies that there is no guarantee one will receive this check in this timeframe.
3. The IRS will begin accepting returns for the 2018 tax year on January 28, 2019 despite the current government shutdown. In a press release issued on January 7 the government agency said it would mandate that a large portion of its currently furloughed workforce will return to work to keep operations running smoothly.
4. Right now, 70,000 IRS employees, or 88 percent of the government agency's workforce are furloughed due to the government shutdown. In addition to complications arising from the government shutdown the IRS is also working to implement the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, the changes from which have sparked questions from many Americans about to file.
5. In the past, tax returns from the IRS have been delayed due to government shutdowns. According to CNBC the government shutdown that took place between October 1, 2013 to October 17, 2013 caused a delay in distributing almost $4 billionin tax refunds ($2.2 billion to individuals and $1.5 billion to businesses). Moreover, during the last shutdown taxpayers could not reach the IRS for assistance to file their taxes.
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