IR-2013-64, July 3, 2013

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today reminded taxpayers that due to the current budget situation, including the sequester, the agency will be shut down on Friday, July 5.

As was the case on May 24 and June 14, the first two furlough days, all IRS operations will again be closed on July 5. This means that all IRS offices, including all toll-free hotlines, the Taxpayer Advocate Service and the agency’s nearly 400 taxpayer assistance centers nationwide, will be closed.

IRS employees will be furloughed without pay. No tax returns will be processed and no compliance-related activities will take place. The IRS noted that taxpayers should continue to file their returns and pay any taxes due as usual. This includes the special July 15 filing and payment deadline for those affected by the Boston Marathon explosions. Taxpayers needing to contact the IRS about this or other upcoming returns or payments should be sure to take this Friday’s closure into account.

Because none of the furlough days are considered federal holidays, the shutdown will have no impact on any tax-filing or tax-payment deadlines. The IRS will be unable to accept or acknowledge receipt of electronically-filed returns on any day the agency is shut down.

The only tax-payment deadlines coinciding with any of the furlough days relate to employment and excise tax deposits made by business taxpayers. These deposits must be made through the Treasury Department’s Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS), which will operate as usual.

On the other hand, the agency will give taxpayers extra time to comply with a request to provide documents to the IRS. This includes administrative summonses, requests for records in connection with a return examination, review or compliance check, or document requests related to a collection matter. No additional time is given to respond to other agencies or the courts.

Where the last day for responding to an IRS request falls on July 5, the taxpayer will have until Monday, July 8, the next business day.

Some web-based online tool and phone-based automated services will continue to function this Friday, while others will be shut down. Available services include Withholding Calculator, Order A Transcript, EITC Assistant, Interactive Tax Assistant, Tele-Tax and the Online Look-up Tool for those needing to repay the first-time homebuyer credit. Services not available this Friday include Where’s My Refund?, the Online Payment Agreement and the online preparer tax identification number PTIN system for tax professionals. Visit online tools on IRS.gov to learn more about these tools.

The remaining scheduled furlough days are July 22 and Aug. 30, 2013. If necessary, the IRS may announce one or two additional furlough days.

The IRS will also be closed as scheduled on Thursday for the Fourth of July federal holiday

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today released its final report summarizing audit results from the IRS’ colleges and universities study, which began in 2008. This final report describes the agency’s multi-year project on a major segment of tax-exempt organizations.

“The audits identified some significant compliance issues at the colleges and universities examined,” said Lois Lerner, Director, Exempt Organizations division. “Because these issues may well be present elsewhere across the tax-exempt sector, all exempt organizations need to be aware of the importance of accurately reporting unrelated business income and providing appropriate executive compensation.”

The attached final report focuses on two primary areas within the examinations: reporting of unrelated business taxable income, and compensation, including, employment tax and retirement plan issues.

The interim report issued in 2010 focused on results from the questionnaires submitted by tax-exempt colleges and universities.