IRS to Pay Out Tax Refunds Amid Shutdown

In a Monday briefing, acting White House budget director Russell T. Vought said that tax refunds will be permitted to be processed during the shutdown. The Office of Management and Budget determined that paying tax refunds was an “indefinite appropriation” and doesn’t need congressional approval. “We have tried to make this as painless as possible consistent with the law,” Vought said at the briefing. Final deliberations are still being discussed and IRS staff returning to process the returns will still not be paid during the partial government shutdown.