The Gop’s Shutdown Hits The Irs—and Taxpayers Will Feel It Soon

Another federal agency is getting dragged into the GOP’s shutdown mess.

The Internal Revenue Service announced Wednesday that it’s furloughing nearly half its workforce as the government shutdown drags on. Work to prepare for next year’s tax season will continue, but taxpayer services like call centers will grind to a halt. So will non-automated tax collections and, as the agency put it, “most headquarters and administrative functions not related to the safety of life and protection of property,” according to its latest contingency plan.

The scale is massive: about 34,400 employees will be furloughed, while roughly 39,870—just over half the workforce—will stay on the job. 

Initially, the IRS avoided furloughs thanks to funding from the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. But that stopgap was only meant to last the first five business days of the shutdown, which began Oct. 1. With no end in sight, the agency has pulled the plug.

The ripple effects will hit fast. 

“Tax returns will be arriving,” Maria Ramos, the National Treasury Employees Union chapter president in Austin, Texas, told CNN. “But there will be no one there to process them.” 

A prolonged shutdown could snarl operations further as the Oct. 15 tax-filing extension deadline looms, creating headaches for accountants, small businesses, and ordinary taxpayers alike.

The IRS is already juggling dozens of tax code changes contained in the GOP’s “One Big, Beautiful Bill Act,” including some taking effect this year. Now, with tens of thousands of employees sidelined, delays are inevitable.

The union that represents IRS workers didn’t mince words. 

“Due to the government shutdown, the American people lost access to many vital services provided by the IRS when the agency furloughed thousands of employees,” it said in a statement. “Expect increased wait times, backlogs, and delays implementing tax law changes as the shutdown continues. Taxpayers around the country will now have a much harder time getting the assistance they need, just as they get ready to file their extension returns due next week.”

And inside the agency, frustration is growing. Workers told CNN that even some roles considered essential in past shutdowns—like those responsible for opening and scanning mailed returns and payments—were furloughed this time. That decision could leave stacks of paper returns sitting untouched for weeks, compounding already significant backlogs from earlier this year.

By Wednesday, the agency made it official. 

“An IRS-wide furlough began on October 8, 2025, for everyone except already-identified excepted and exempt employees,” according to a statement on its website. “Employee[s] who are not exempt or excepted are furloughed and placed in a non-pay and non-duty status until further notice.”

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There was at least one point of clarity for furloughed workers. In its furlough notice, the IRS reminded employees they are legally guaranteed back pay once the shutdown ends—a direct nod to a law passed in 2019 after a White House memo earlier this week raised concerns about whether back pay would be honored.

The decision comes as the agency is still digging out from layoffs that have already gutted its workforce by roughly 25% since President Donald Trump returned to office in January. Taxpayers are likely to feel the pain immediately—longer hold times, dropped calls, and slower refunds as deadlines near.

The shutdown’s reach is only growing. Now, it’s the taxman’s turn.