The partial government shutdown that began Saturday threatens to disrupt tax season operations at a critical time, prompting renewed calls from the American Institute of CPAs for the IRS to retain all employees during the funding lapse.
The House is expected to take up a massive funding package this week that includes five full-year appropriations bills and a two-week stopgap measure for the Department of Homeland Security. The Senate passed the package last week after the White House and Senate Democrats struck a deal to temporarily separate DHS funding following fatal shootings by immigration agents in Minnesota. However, House passage faces significant obstacles.
Speaker Mike Johnson initially hoped to use a fast-track procedure requiring a two-thirds majority, but House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries refused to provide Democratic support under that process. With the House returning from recess on Monday and the Rules Committee taking up the measure that day, the shutdown will extend at least through Tuesday. Johnson told Fox News Sunday that he expects the House to "get this done by Tuesday."
The timing couldn't be worse for tax practitioners and the IRS. In a January 29 letter to acting IRS Commissioner Scott Bessent and IRS CEO Frank Bisignano, the AICPA's Cheri Freeh warned that even a partial employee furlough would disrupt service during the agency's busiest period. "The processing of tax returns and collection of tax revenue is a critical government function that should continue regardless of a government shutdown, especially in the midst of an April filing season," Freeh wrote.
The AICPA's concerns are backed by troubling data from IRS watchdogs. A recent Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration memorandum revealed that the IRS is managing a backlog of over 2 million individual tax returns and related correspondence. National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins noted in her January 28 annual report that the IRS may struggle to meet taxpayer demand after losing approximately 27 percent of its overall workforce, particularly as taxpayers prepare to claim new deductions under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
The IRS has only shut down during filing season once before, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2019 government shutdown, which ended just before filing season, created significant problems including unresolved automated collection notices, unreliable online account access, disrupted electronic payment services, processing delays for critical tax documents, and backlogged phone lines.
During the 2025 shutdown, which lasted 43 days, the IRS initially exempted all employees for five business days before furloughing nearly half its workforce. The Treasury has not yet released an updated IRS contingency plan, though such plans are typically published near the beginning of funding lapses.
Tax practitioners should prepare clients for potential delays in return processing, correspondence responses, and phone support if the shutdown extends beyond this week.
Christine Gervais is a licensed CPA, using her skills to help businesses grow and achieve their fullest potential. Christine has a Master’s degree in accounting from Southern New Hampshire University in addition to holding her CPA license for over a decade. Notably, Christine is a nationally recognized speaker providing education to other CPAs on how to best serve clients as well as instruction on a wide variety of topics for business owners on how to maximize success. Christine prides herself on the value she can bring to clients with her extensive tax knowledge and provides strategic, forward-thinking financial strategies to help clients grow. When not behind her desk, you can find Christine spending quality time with her daughter and stepson or tending to the family’s excessively loved farm animals.
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