Ed Bove-Tax Express Blog

IRS Will Accept Returns During Government Shutdown, Will Not Extend Filing Deadline

The IRS has announced that it will continue to accept tax returns despite the possible federal government shutdown. Taxpayers are still required to file their 1040 forms by the April 18th deadline. If the government shuts down after midnight tonight, the IRS will suspend the processing of paper returns, but will continue to accept electronically filed returns.

E-File will remain open for both individual and business returns. The IRS has urged individuals to file electronically, because most of these returns are processed automatically and should not be delayed.  Because of limited IRS staffing in the event of a shutdown, paper returns will be accepted, but will not be processed. Taxpayers who file paper returns will experience a delay in receiving their refunds. Limited telephone customer service functions will remain available during any shutdown.

 Tax Payments

Tax deposits and payments will continue to be processed, both for electronic and paper tax returns. Taxpayers should continue to make these payments as normal if the government shuts down.

 Audits

The IRS will suspend audits during the shutdown, so examination appointments will have to be rescheduled.

 Reason for the Shutdown

The shutdown may occur because Congress has not reached an agreement on a continuing appropriations bill to fund the government. Government funding officially runs out at midnight on April 8th. It is difficult to predict how long any shutdown may last. In the past, shutdowns commonly extended from a few days to a week. However, the 1995 shutdown lasted 21 days, the longest government shutdown on record—so far.

The Calm AFTER The Storm

Well the record-setting Blizzard of 2010 is behind us, but it certainly has left its mark.  Here it is, a full 2 days after the fact and things are still a mess.

I only live 10 minutes from my office, but it took me forever to get here today and even longer to find a parking spot.  The township, which usually does a superb job of plowing and cleaning up, must have really been overwhelmed with this fierce storm, because the streets of Union Center are a total mess.

The public parking lot behind the building has yet to be plowed.  Cars on the side street adjacent to my office are plowed in.  Even Stuyvesant Avenue, the main drag, is in a bad way.

So, even though it is theoretically back to business as usual, things are far from normal.  In fact it is eerily quiet around here.

Why am I telling you all this?  Simple.  If you don't already have an appointment this week, you may be better off waiting until after New Year's Day when things are more thoroughly cleaned up.  And if you do have an appointment this week, you'd better give yourself some extra time to get here and find a much sought-after parking spots.

Be careful out there.

PS -- Here's a picture I took from my office window this afternoon.  See for yourself.

Tax Season Never Really Ends

It's true that April 15th has come and gone.  And so it seems that another tax season has ended.  But has it really?

Consider this:

• As I stated in a previous blog entry, residents of 12 New Jersey counties have until May 11th to file their tax returns;
• Taxpayers who filed for extensions have until Oct. 15th to complete their returns;
• People often realize after they've already filed their returns, that they left out something important.  And so they need to file an amended tax return to include the missing information.

If you fall into any of these categories, please remember that Tax Express is open and available to help year-round.  Unlike most of our competitors, we don't close up shop and disappear after April 15th.

Now we don't keep the same crazy hours in the off-season that we do during tax season, but we are available if you require help.

So if you need any additional tax services, please call our office at (908) 686-8600 and we'll be glad to schedule an appointment for you.