Experts said the IRS won't be fully operational for weeks and its employees face a backlog of questions and preparations for the 2026 tax season.

Federal workers are dealing with over six weeks of backlogs due to the shutdown, and warn that taxpayers expecting returns should anticipate delays

The US government has resumed operations after the longest shutdown in history, but federal workers have to deal with over six weeks of backlogs

Featured on WGN Radio’s “Home Sweet Home Chicago” on Nov. 15, 2025: IRS tax attorney Steven A. Leahy of the Law Office of Steven A. Leahy, PC, with Opem Tax Advocates, joins the program to discuss

The IRS is retaining 40,000 staff members to sustain essential tax-related functions amid the ongoing government shutdown, while simultaneously furloughing thousands of workers to manage reduced funding.

As the Senate advances a possible end to the 40-day government shutdown, the IRS is adjusting its plans amid a wave of layoffs and program closings.

The government is starting to reopen after President Trump signed a bill to fund the government through Jan. 30.

Ever since he was a little kid, Isaac Stein wanted to run a hot dog cart. In June, he decided to follow through with it. Having the operational cart worked out perfectly when the government shutdown hit in early October.

It is the actualization of a childhood dream,” says Isaac Stein, owner-operator of Shysters Dogs in Washington, D.C.

Democrats, who refused to authorize government funding for 43 days, used the shutdown to bring attention to the expiring enhanced Obamacare Premium Tax Credit.

A n updated Internal Revenue Service contingency plan will keep nearly 40,000 employees working during a federal shutdown, maintaining core taxpayer support as filing season approaches. The plan retains more than half of the workforce, including more than 24,000 employees in Taxpayer Services, to limit disruptions for filers and tax professionals.

Democrats entered the shutdown seeking to renew tax credits to stave off insurance premium price hikes and to show voters they have the stomach for hardball negotiations in President Donald Trump’s Washington.