Effect of Government Shutdown on deadlines

Since the IRS is not at work, one might think he could postpone filing until after October 15. Unfortunately that is not the case. All tax filing deadlines remain fixed as if there was no shutdown. The IRS has a contingency plan that includes maintaining all deadlines, such as the October 15 deadline for paying income tax on extension. However, this plan was only if the shutdown lasted 5 or fewer days. Since it has lasted longer, they will have to improvise a new plan. They are still designing and testing the 2014 tax forms, for example. However, only about 9% of IRS employees (8,700 out of 94,500) are at work. Collections, audit activities and most other areas are suspended. All payments due must still be sent in. However, any refund due to a taxpayer will not be paid during the shutdown.