Are tax refunds delayed due to a government shutdown?

Are tax refunds delayed due to government shutdown?

Some are and some are not. Whether tax refunds are delayed due to a government shutdown depends on whether your return needs a human. Refunds are paid from a permanent, indefinite appropriation under 31 U.S.C. 1324, so the IRS has taken the position that it can keep paying them even when its annual budget lapses.

What stops is the staff work around refunds. During the lapse that began October 1, 2025, the IRS said refunds would keep going out on electronically filed, error-free Form 1040 returns that could be processed automatically and paid by direct deposit. Returns that needed manual handling, mailed returns and replies to IRS letters waited.

This was not always the rule. In 2011 the Office of Management and Budget told the IRS not to pay refunds during a lapse. After Treasury asked OMB to review the law, the IRS announced in January 2019 that OMB had concluded the IRS may pay refunds during a lapse, and the IRS has followed that view since.

What usually continues and what usually stops

The IRS statement on limited operations during the 2025 lapse gives the clearest recent picture. The split below reflects that statement. A future lapse could look different, so check the current plan before relying on it.

Deadlines do not pause. The IRS told taxpayers in 2025 that all filing and payment deadlines stayed in effect and that it would keep processing payments received by check or electronically.

IRS refunds delayed by a shutdown: which ones take the hit

The refunds most exposed are the ones already outside the automated lane. That includes returns under an income or withholding review, returns waiting on a reply to a Letter 12C or similar request, amended returns, and refunds frozen because bank details were missing.

Paper filers face the longest tail. A mailed return normally takes 6 weeks or more after the IRS receives it, as explained on our paper return refund time page. In a lapse, those envelopes pile up unopened and are worked in order once staff return.

A shutdown also removes the usual escape hatch. The Taxpayer Advocate Service has said it is not permitted to assist taxpayers during a lapse, which means no Form 911 cases and no hardship releases until funding returns. The IRS hardship refund request process restarts only after reopening.

The backlog after reopening

The effect lasts beyond the shutdown itself. When the IRS announced on November 19, 2025 that it had resumed normal operations, it said some response times, including at the Taxpayer Advocate Service, would be longer than usual while it worked through the delays. If your refund was caught in that queue and is still missing months later, our page on a refund delayed 6 months covers the next steps.

Is the IRS shut down right now? How to check the contingency plan

No. As of October 20, 2026 there is no lapse in appropriations. Federal fiscal year 2027 began on October 1, 2026 under a stopgap law, H.R. 6500, the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027, signed on September 2, 2026, which funds agencies through December 11, 2026. A lapse would begin on December 12, 2026 only if Congress passes neither the full-year funding bills nor another stopgap by then.

The IRS has also relied on multiyear money. Its fiscal year 2026 contingency plan says Inflation Reduction Act funds, available through September 30, 2031, meant it would not face a lapse at the end of January 2026, and it listed all 74,942 employees as exempt for the period the plan covered, January 31 to February 7, 2026. In October 2025 the IRS likewise kept normal hours through October 7 before moving to limited operations.

1. Open the Treasury lapse in appropriations contingency plans page and find the current IRS plan.
2. Check the IRS newsroom for a statement on operations; in 2025 the IRS posted one on October 1, the first day of the lapse.
3. Read which activities are listed as continuing, especially refunds, e-file and automated phone lines.
4. Look for a statement on when the plan's funding runs out, since operations can narrow after the first few days.

What to do while you wait

• E-file with direct deposit. It is the only route that kept producing refunds in 2025. Our IRS refund direct deposit page explains how to set it up correctly.
• Still answer IRS letters on time. Mail your reply by the deadline and keep proof of mailing, even if nobody will read it for weeks.
• Use the automated tools. IRS.gov, Where's My Refund, the IRS2Go app and online payment agreements stayed up in 2025. The Where's My Refund guide explains each status.
• Do not refile or amend. Sending a second copy of the same return adds a duplicate to the backlog.
• Line up hardship proof now. If a shut-off or eviction notice arrives, keep it so you can ask for help as soon as TAS reopens.

For every other reason a refund can stall, start with our overview of a tax refund delayed beyond the normal window.