Amid Shutdown, Many Taxpayer Deadlines Still Apply
Tax attorney Lee Meyercord was interviewed by Thomson Reuters about how clients and counsel are managing filing deadlines amid the government shutdown and resulting IRS employee furloughs. The agency reiterated in a release on Oct. 14, 2025, that despite the shutdown, it still expects taxpayers to meet their filing deadlines and other payment responsibilities. Ms. Meyercord expressed concern about navigating the system without help from the government, noting a recent example in which she felt anxious when submitting a partnership push-out election via the IRS' online portal because it is notoriously finnicky and she might not have been able to access assistance if she encountered issues.
"The thing about the shutdown that's hard is that we still have our deadlines," she said. "Even though you're not necessarily hearing from the IRS and you're not getting notices, you are still subject to many of the same deadlines."
Ms. Meyercord also commented on the larger question of workforce reductions at the IRS and U.S. Department of the Treasury, highlighting problems with "notices that don't make sense" and clients not accessing refunds, along with other adverse implications for taxpayer service.
"I'm concerned that a bigger part of my workload will be helping people navigate a system when they shouldn't even have to hire a lawyer," she said.