IRS outages during federal shutdown create lasting strain on processing and guidance

A shutdown that lasted weeks left the IRS months behind on processing and guidance, throwing basic compliance into a fog nobody asked for.

When the federal government shut down on October 1, the IRS was forced to scale back most of its operations. However, it didn't completely shut down immediately because it still had funding until October 8, at which point it officially ceased operations.

The visible disruption lasted only during the closure, but the real impact will unfold over the next …