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The federal government was partially shut down from December 22-January 25, the longest shutdown in U.S. history. There were 800,000 government employees who were not getting paid, with 420,000 of them still being required to work. Forty-three percent of IRS workers were among furloughed employees, and almost a quarter of the IRS agents called back into work in January did not show, citing financial hardship.
Because of the staffing shortage and uncertainty around the shutdown, the IRS came out with a contingency plan for tax season that may still come into play. The government will shut down again on February 15 if Congress doesn’t come to a funding agreement. In the case of a second shutdown, this is what tax season will look like.