IRS Government Shutdown Plan Includes Layoffs of Two Thirds of All Employees

The IRS Lapse Appropriations Contingency Plan indicates that about a third of the nearly 90,000 IRS employees will be retained on the job, about half of whom will be paid through funds not affected by the government shutdown.    Only Forty of those retained during the shutdown are from TE/GE.  Here is a short overview:

The IRS Lapse in Appropriations Contingency Plan describes actions and activities for the first five (5) business days following a lapse in appropriations. The plan is updated annually in accordance with guidance from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Department of Treasury. While we do not anticipate using the plan, prudent management requires that agencies prepare for this contingency.  In fiscal year 2024, the IRS does have available multi-year funding under the Inflation Reduction Act, Pub. L. 117-169 § 10301(1) and will use that funding for the activities outlined in this plan. Employees working on excepted and exempt activities during a lapse in appropriations will be paid using IRA resources. This plan identifies those activities that will continue during a lapse of annual appropriations in order to protect against the imminent loss of property or life. Thus, if the IRS is confronted by a lapse in appropriations during the Tax Year 2023 filing season, the IRS will continue return processing activities to the extent necessary to protect Government property, to include tax revenue, maintain the integrity of the federal tax collection process. The IRS will also continue activities to implement the green energy credit provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act, activities that implement the IRS Inflation Reduction Act Strategic Operating Plan and the Direct File pilot program.

darryll k. jones