Topline
A partial government shutdown—which seems increasingly likely amid a partisan debate over Homeland Security funding—would slow the Internal Revenue Service amid tax filing season, but Immigration and Customs Enforcement would have enough money to continue operating.
Key Facts
In the wake of Alex Pretti’s death Saturday in Minneapolis, Senate Democrats said they will block six appropriations bills from passing before the Jan. 30 shutdown deadline if Republicans don’t agree to strip DHS funding from the package.
IRS workers would be furloughed or forced to work without pay, potentially prompting delays during tax filing season as the agency already faces a staffing shortage.
New deductions and other changes to the tax code under Trump’s signature policy bill could make filing more complicated this year, and taxpayers who have questions for the IRS would likely have significant wait times during a shutdown, National Taxpayers Union President Pete Sepp told Bloomberg.
ICE, however, has enough money to continue operating as normal after it received a massive funding windfall of $75 billion over four years—eight times the largest annual appropriation it ever received, in 2020—in Trump’s signature policy bill passed last year.
Contra
DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told The Washington Post the DHS appropriations that Democrats are threatening to block include funding to support the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Coast Guard, Border Patrol and Transportation Security Administration.
Big Number
$170 billion. That’s how much DHS funding was included in the GOP’s One Big Beautiful Bill passed last year, including $45 billion for new ICE agents, $3.5 billion for local law enforcement assistance in immigration operations, $6.2 billion for Customs and Border Protection personnel and $6.2 billion for border security technology, according to The Washington Post.
What We Don’t Know
The IRS hasn’t published a contingency plan for the shutdown, though Sepp told Bloomberg it’s unlikely refunds would be delayed past 21 days of the date taxes are filed, the agency’s standard timeline for issuing refunds. During the record 43-day shutdown last year, the IRS furloughed a little less than half of its staff, and the rest worked without pay.
Tangent
The IRS has lost one-fifth of its staff since October 2024, according to a Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration report released Monday, and it’s had seven commissioners in the past year. Amid the staffing shortage, the agency aims to answer 70% of phone calls this filing season, down from 85% last year, the report says.
Key Background
Senate Democratic leaders said the caucus will vote against all six appropriations bills that need to pass by Saturday unless DHS funding is stripped from the package and renegotiated. Six of the bills have already been passed and signed into law, and the remaining six were passed by the House before Pretti’s shooting. Democrats are seeking changes to immigration enforcement in exchange for their votes to continue funding the government, including requiring federal agents to wear body cameras, ending the crackdown in Minneapolis and other cities and prohibiting agents from wearing masks.
Further Reading
The government is barreling toward a partial shutdown over DHS funding. Here’s what to expect (CNBC)
Senators Seek Last-Minute Deal on Immigration Enforcement (The Wall Street Journal)
Explainer: Why would the US government shut down? (Reuters)
