The Internal Revenue Service is reminding taxpayers it will be shut down on Friday, June 14 due to the sequester. Along with the closing, IRS employees will be furloughed for that day without pay.
The closing means that all IRS offices, including all toll-free hotlines, the Taxpayer Advocate Service and the agency’s nearly 400 taxpayer assistance centers nationwide, will be closed. No tax returns will be processed and no compliance-related activities will take place. In addition, the online preparer tax identification number PTIN system for tax professionals will also be shut down.
The IRS noted that taxpayers should continue to file their returns and pay any taxes due as usual. This includes the June 17 deadline for those making a second-quarter estimated tax payment. It also includes the June 17 filing deadline for taxpayers abroad and the June 30 deadline for filing foreign financial account reports FBAR Taxpayers needing to contact the IRS about these or other upcoming returns or payments should be sure to take this Friday’s closure into account.
Because none of the furlough days are considered federal holidays, the shutdown will have no impact on any tax-filing or tax-payment deadlines. The IRS will be unable to accept or acknowledge receipt of electronically-filed returns on any day the agency is shut down.
The only tax-payment deadlines coinciding with any of the furlough days relate to employment and excise tax deposits made by business taxpayers. These deposits must be made through the Treasury Department’s Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS), which will operate as usual.
On the other hand, the agency will give taxpayers extra time to comply with a request to provide documents to the IRS. This includes administrative summonses, requests for records in connection with a return examination, review or compliance check, or document requests related to a collection matter. No additional time is given to respond to other agencies or the courts.
Where the last day for responding to an IRS request falls on June 14, the taxpayer will have until Monday, June 17–the next business day.
Some web-based online tools and phone-based automated services will continue to function this Friday, while others will be shut down. Available services include Withholding Calculator, Order A Transcript, EITC Assistant, Interactive Tax Assistant, Tele-Tax and the Online Look-up Tool for those needing to repay the first-time homebuyer credit. Services not available this Friday include Where’s My Refund? and the Online Payment Agreement. Visit online tools on IRS.gov to learn more about these tools.
The remaining scheduled furlough days are July 5, July 22 and Aug. 30, 2013. If necessary, the IRS may announce one or two additional furlough days.
