The IRS has revealed additional details about what may be the first round of sequester-related the closures planned for May 24, June 14, July 5, July 22 and August 30 of this year.
All IRS operations will be closed on the abovementioned days, including all toll-free hotlines, the Taxpayer Advocate Service and the agencys nearly 400 Taxpayer Assistance Centers nationwide. No returns will be processed and no compliance-related activities will take place. The IRS noted, however, that taxpayers should continue to file their returns and pay any taxes due as usual.
Some taxpayers with returns or payments due soon after a furlough day, such as the June 17 deadline for taxpayers abroad and those making a second-quarter estimated tax payment, as well as the September 3 deadline for truckers filing a highway use tax return, should take special notice of the closure schedule. The IRS will also be unable to accept or acknowledge receipt of electronically filed returns on any day the agency is closed.
Tax-payment deadlines are also unaffected: The only tax payment deadlines coinciding with any of the furlough days relate to employment and excise tax deposits made by business taxpayers, and these deposits must be made through the Treasury Department's Electronic Federal Tax Payment System, which will operate as usual.
The service will give taxpayers extra time to comply with a request to provide documents, including administrative summonses; requests for records in connection with a return examination, review or compliance check; or document requests related to a collection matter. Where the last day for responding to an IRS request falls on a furlough day, the taxpayer will have until the next business day.
Some online tools and phone-based automated services will continue to function on furlough days, while others will be shut down. Available services will include:
- Withholding Calculator;
- Order a Transcript;
- EITC Assistant;
- Interactive Tax Assistant;
- The PTIN system;
- Tele-Tax; and ,
- The Online Look-up Tool for those needing to repay the First-Time
- Homebuyer Credit.
Services not available on those days will include Wheres My Refund? and the Online Payment Agreement.
