LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The federal government may be shut down, but your tax obligations remain.
While April 15 was the official deadline for filing a 2024 tax return and paying the bulk of one's estimated bill, Americans can receive an automatic six-month extension — which pushes the filing due date to Wednesday, Oct. 15 for millions of taxpayers.
Here's what to know if you still need to file your taxes this year:
Typically, filers who request an extension may have a more complicated tax circumstance and need extra time to gather documents.
The IRS confirmed more than 38,000 workers were furloughed starting Oct. 8 — that's more than 50% of their workforce. But the government shutdown is not impacting the filing deadline at 11:59 p.m.
However, there will be some delays, according to the IRS union.
The National Treasury Employees Union warned in a statement that taxpayers could face "increased wait times, backlogs and delays." The union wrote in part:
"Every day these employees are locked out of work is another day of frustration for taxpayers and a growing backlog of work that sits and waits for the shutdown to end."
While the union warns of delays, about half of the agency's workers are furloughed right now with no end in sight.
John Wightman with Rich, Wightman & Company Certified Public Accountants, says you'll likely see backlogs once you're filed.
"We saw the same thing when COVID happened, where we had furloughed staff," Wightman said.
If you haven't filed and are asking yourself whether you can get an extension past Oct. 15, the IRS says generally no. The only exception is areas impacted by natural disasters in their regions.
"We saw tremendous delays, backlogs, things of that nature in various areas of the IRS. I fully expect with this shutdown, there's going to be a significant amount of backlogs of things getting processed," Wightman added.
If you miss the filing deadline, the IRS will charge 0.5% of the amount due for each month or part of the month that it is late, up to a maximum of 25%.
The IRS did say that it might waive the penalty "if you have a reasonable explanation for filing late," and asks taxpayers to attach an explanation for the late filing with their tax return.
When I spoke to accountants, they told me one of the main reasons why the shutdown isn't impacting these tax filings is because most of them are done electronically, which helps with the backlog and is normally quicker to get through.
Wightman saying if you're filing late, be patient with your CPA.
"A lot of taxpayers will try to call the IRS just to get some answers, but since the shutdown, there is likely to be delays," he said.