The Internal Revenue Service reopened for business on Monday, January 28, 2019, after having been closed for over one month as a result of the federal government shutdown.  On the same day, the IRS opened the 2019 tax filing season.  Anticipating an avalanche of questions and inquiries from taxpayers about how the shutdown affected pending audits, collection activities, Tax Court cases, and the nascent filing season, the IRS has published helpful information, including Frequently Asked Questions for each of these areas, for taxpayers and practitioners.  The text of the IRS notice is as follows:

The IRS has reopened following the end of the government shutdown, and IRS employees are working hard to resume normal operations and help taxpayers as much as possible.

As the IRS resumes operations, there are some important pieces of information for taxpayers and tax professionals to keep in mind in several areas:

Audits. For taxpayers and tax professionals with questions about examinations affected by the shutdown, we have Frequently Asked Questions.

Collections. For taxpayers and tax professionals with a collection issue affected by the shutdown, visit the Frequently Asked Questions.  This section includes information related to liens, levies, notices of deficiency, penalties, passports and private debt collection.

Tax Filing for individuals. The IRS successfully opened the 2019 filing season for taxpayers on Jan. 28. The IRS will be doing everything it can to have a smooth tax season and minimize the impact on taxpayers.

Tax Court. Important updated information  for taxpayers and tax professionals with Tax Court cases, including mail being returned and issues with court petitions not being processed.

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