The IRS Will NOT Issue Tax Refunds During Government Shutdown

The government shutdown battle continues in our nation's capital with no end in sight. Unfortunately, that continues to mean more than 800,000 federal workers are trying to find ways to pay their bills. If you're like me and file your federal tax return early in anticipation of a refund, that could spell trouble for us, as well. During the shutdown, the government continues to take money out of our paychecks but the likelihood of a delay involving your tax return is high. Here's why.

The Wall Street Journal says approximately 80,000 IRS workers are typically dealing with tax issues in January. Currently, the IRS has only about 10,000 people on the job. That's enough people to continue to take in payments, but ISN'T enough workers to answer tax questions, process tax refunds, and do audits. So, if you're counting on some quick dollars to pay for a vacation or a down payment on a big purchase like a house or car, you might need to reconsider.

Saturday, January 5 will be the 14th day of the government shutdown, just seven days short of the longest ever, which occurred at the end of 1995 and beginning of 1996. Yes, it too started just before the holidays. Hopefully, this one ends soon but I'm not too confident that's going to happen.