Sorry. Might as well uncross those fingers now… No matter what happens with the budget, Tax Day is still April 18, 2011. In case you missed the earlier announcement, Tax Day traditionally falls on April 15 unless that day happens to be on a Saturday, Sunday or federal holiday. This year, April 15 falls on a Friday – not a Saturday, Sunday or federal holiday – but also falls on Emancipation Day, an official public holiday, in D.C. Because of that, this year, Tax Day jumps ahead one business day to Monday, April 18, 2011.
Also happening in D.C. this time of year? Budget talks. April 18 just happens to fall a few days after a potential shuttering of the government on this Friday, April 8, if no deal can be reached on the budget. The April 18 deadline holds firm nonetheless. IRS Commish Doug Shulman has announced that any government shutdown will not affect the due date of federal income tax returns.
But those IRS folks aren’t working for free, right? Of course not. If the government does shut down, there will be a delay in processing paper returns (those hand delivered or submitted via USPS or private delivery service). That could mean a lag in your refund if you submit a paper return this year. However, the processing of e-filed returns will not be affected.
A government shut down could cause consumer spending to drop by just over $30 billion. It's a lot of money. And certainly meaningful to the people who count on those checks.
The spending hit has to do with tax refunds, which many Americans still expect to get in the next month or so. The Internal Revenue Service has said that if the government shuts down, Americans would still need to send in their taxes by the deadline, which this year is April 18. If you owe money, checks would still be cashed. But for the many people who are expecting to get a refund, a government shutdown could mean a much longer wait than usual. Worse, at a time when American consumers seem to be wavering between spending again and keeping their wallets shut, the lack of refunds could put a large dent in the economy.
An interesting blog, Nick. I agree that taxpayers will suffer no matter what the Congress does now. I am getting very disgusted with the performance of this Congress. Republicans and Tea Party are trying to hamstring the process and hold the country hostage with the threat of a shutdown unless their demands for deep budget cuts are met; getting rid of programs that the average Americans still want, i.e. public media; medicare.
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