From Vox:
The federal government remains partially shut down as President Donald Trump refuses to sign a spending deal that doesn’t include $5 billion for his wall at the US-Mexico border. But as Americans start to think about filing their taxes, they may wonder: How will this affect tax returns and refunds?
The short version: If the federal government shutdown doesn’t last too much longer (that is, if it ends in the next couple of weeks, before mid-January), there shouldn’t be a noticeable effect on getting your tax refund or any other processing. That’s because the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which handles federal taxes, wasn’t planning on tax season fully starting until later in January, anyway. And once the IRS begins accepting tax returns, you’ll still be able to mail them in or submit them online even if the government is still shut down.
But if the shutdown drags on longer, there could be delays and other serious problems…