The Internal Revenue Service had said in its contingency plan that it would not issue refunds to taxpayers if the partial government shutdown were to continue into tax filing season. However, the Trump administration announced today that it is reversing this policy.
The decision was announced by the White House’s Office of Management and Budget in a press conference on Monday.
“Tax refunds will go out,” said OMB’s acting director Russell Vought, who also noted that this was a change from past government shutdowns.
Prior to today’s announcement, the IRS had said that tax refunds were among the agency’s “non-excepted activities” that are impacted by a shutdown and therefore not carried out.
Tax Filing Season
The IRS also announced today that the tax filing season will begin on January 28.
The agency will be recalling a significant portion of its workforce, currently furloughed as part of the partial government shutdown, to work as it gears up for the tax season.
“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.
