Tax Refunds May Be Delayed Due to Government Shutdown

If you're expecting a prompt tax refund check in 2019, you may be waiting for quite a while.

With the government shutdown still in place, CNBC.com is reporting that tax refunds will most likely be delayed indefinitely. Some of the bad signs regarding a hold up on tax refunds include the IRS not releasing a contingency plan for the filing season and the possibility that the IRS may be short staffed which usually means trying to get through to the IRS for questions and support is nearly impossible.

Keep in mind that the delay of issuing tax refunds is only a possibility. According to CNBC only about 12% of IRS staff are expected to continue working through the shutdown. To further complicate matters, taxpayers will be filing for the first time under the Tax Cuts and Job Act which means the standard deduction has nearly doubled to $12,000 for singles and $24,000 for married couples filing jointly.

Tax experts are suggesting that you prepare your tax information and get it to your preparer as soon as possible because it's going to be a sh**t show before it's all over.