The IRS plans to recall tens of thousands of furloughed workers if the partial government shutdown stretches into this year’s tax-filing season.

In a revised shutdown plan released Tuesday, the agency said it expects to have 46,052 employees, about 57 percent of its total workforce, on the job. Currently, only 12.5 percent are working.


The IRS will continue to process taxpayer refunds despite the agency’s funding lapse because that money is drawn from a “permanent, indefinite refund appropriation” it can tap despite the shutdown, according to the new plan. Delaying refunds, as ordered during previous shutdowns, would almost certainly cause a political firestorm that the Trump administration is eager to avoid.

Many other functions though will be shuttered or curtailed, the agency warned.

It will not be conducting audits, and collection activities will be generally limited to ones that are automated. The agency says it will have some people who can answer phone calls with questions, though the public should be prepared for longer wait times.

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People who send snail mail to the agency should expect lengthy delays, the IRS warned. The agency’s walk-in “taxpayer assistance centers” will be closed.


“While the government is closed, people with appointments related to examinations (audits), collection, appeals or taxpayer advocate cases should assume their meetings are cancelled,” the agency says. "IRS personnel will reschedule those meetings at a later date, when the IRS reopens."

It also will not be processing applications by organizations for tax-exempt status.

IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig is expected to brief lawmakers Wednesday on the agency’s shutdown plans.

The White House budget office announced last week – reversing previous policy -- that refunds would continue to flow despite lawmakers’ ongoing budget fight, which has forced a large swath of the government to close. Tax filing season begins Jan. 28.


A union representing IRS employees warned forcing them to work during the shutdown without pay could prompt some to leave the agency.

“They’ve already missed a paycheck and soon they’ll be asked to work for free for as long as the shutdown lasts,” said Tony Reardon, head of the National Treasury Employees Union. “I’m worried that highly trained IRS employees will consider quitting so they can get a job that actually comes with a paycheck.”

“Who will replace these employees after seeing how poorly they are treated by the federal government as their employer?”

-Bernie Becker contributed to this report.