It's time to breathe a sigh of relief.
The yearly check you were going to use to take that trip, or pay off that debt, will still be put in the mail.
American’s tax refunds are officially safe from the partial government shutdown.
According to Matt Leas, a spokesman for the Internal Revenue Service, the ongoing partial government shutdown will not stop tax refunds from being processed or issued.
Leas confirms the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved payment of tax refunds during a partial government shutdown, after looking into the law at the request of the U.S. Treasury Department.
The IRS announced Monday night that tax filing season begins January 28, 2019.
In a statement, the IRS said it “will be recalling a significant portion of its workforce, currently furloughed as part of the government shutdown, to work.”
"Every year it seems to get a little bit later and a little bit later," said H&R Block franchisee and senior tax specialist, Tracy Willard.
With this announcement, Willard said any delayed refunds won't be because of the shutdown.
"The shutdown, whether it continues or not, will not affect [...] everybody's tax returns," said Willard.
Still, Willard said this news shouldn't stop folks ahead of the game from filing early.
"We recommend that you come in earlier rather than later so that you know if your refund has changed from a refund, to a balance due," said Willard. "You should have plenty of time to prepare to get it paid."
For folks filing early, their returns will be filed by the IRS in the order they are received prior to January 28th.
After the 28th, refunds will be issued just like every other year, even despite the shutdown.
Leas adds for people filing an Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) or the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC,) the earliest those refunds will go out is February 15, 2019.
2018 saw the first major change to the tax law in more than 30 years, so filing will look different this year.
“IRS employees have been hard at work over the past year to implement the biggest tax law changes the nation has seen in more than 30 years,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig.
"The tax reform is going to affect virtually every taxpayer there is," added Willard.
As a result, Willard said despite the good news from the IRS this week, folks may not be as happy when they come face to face with their returns.
Due to Patriot’s Day in Maine and Massachusetts on April 15, 2019, the final day to submit 2018 tax returns, taxpayers of both states will have until April 17, 2019, to file their returns.