Government shutdown

Even if a program is predominantly funded with federal dollars, there may be other sources of funds from which local governments can draw.

The deal includes speeding up $10 billion in cuts to the Internal Revenue Service.

The National Treasury Employees Union expressed a sense of relief after lawmakers in Congress unexpectedly managed to pass a stopgap spending bill.

About two-thirds of service employees would be furloughed in the event of a shutdown, which appears likely this weekend.

The service is developing a contingency plan that may involve cutbacks if Congress can't reach a deal.

The Internal Revenue Service did a good job last tax season dealing with the many changes in the tax law, despite the 35-day government shutdown, but it still needs to improve its dealings with taxpayers who have limited proficiency with the English language, according to a new report.

The new tax law and the 35-day shutdown had an impact on the agency, but it still managed to process over 59 million returns by mid-season.

Between the shutdown and the TCJA, advocates want more time for filing.

A pair of House Democrats has introduced a bill to extend the tax-filing deadline until May 20 to give taxpayers more time to file their taxes.

Some EA registrations were due to expire at the end of March, but the partial government shutdown delayed processing.