On October 1, 2025, the US federal government shutdown began at the midnight, when Congress of Washington failed to pass a spending budget on time. Many non-essential federal agencies received no funding. This is the tenth day of the shutdown.
Now, some people still expecting tax refunds from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and they are confused regarding their check arrivals.
Negotiations between Republicans and Democrats are stalled. President Donald Trump blamed Democrats for the impasse. Thousands of federal employees are furloughed, and some in the IRS are also worried about that possible future. Operations such as national parks and administrative services are frozen as wel..
The government shutdown: What’s the impact over the IRS
Up to 2 million workers could be affected. Military personnel could lose their October 15 pay if the shutdown drags on. IRS During the shutdown, The IRS has the Fiscal Year 2026 Expired Appropriations Contingency Plan in place.
It provides for essential operations to continue during the shutdown. The IRS will keep about 53.6% of its 74,521 workers. It will retain the 39,870 employees needed for critical functions. These include revenue protection and government’s data loss prevention.
The 2025 tax season: IRS issued over 93.5 million total refunds
During the 2025 tax season, the IRS issued over 93.5 million refunds in total. Of these, approximately 7%—or about 6.5 million—were sent by paper check, with an average amount of around $2,169 per check recorded through the year.
Under the ongoing government shutdown, the IRS continues to prioritize essential operations for refund processing, including fraud prevention, protection of statutes of limitations, and automated systems that safeguard government property, such as tax revenues.
These efforts also encompass remittance handling, income and refund reconciliation, and IT support for processing returns. The deadline for extensions on tax year 2024 returns remains October 15, 2025, and electronic filings are being processed as normal.
In October, refunds are primarily directed to taxpayers who requested extensions for their 2024 returns, such as those facing complicated circumstances, foreign income, or delays in documentation. If these electronic returns are filed by the October 15 deadline, they can typically be processed within up to 21 days, meaning most refunds could arrive in late October or early November.
No more tax refunds paper checks
Regarding paper checks specifically, the IRS began phasing them out starting with the 2025 filing season after issuing those 6.5 million checks over the course of the year. During the shutdown, their issuance persists as part of excepted operations, supported by dedicated employees in processing centers and IT systems that generate the documents.
While a complete disruption is not anticipated, longer wait times are likely if the shutdown extends beyond the first five business days—particularly impacting those who filed extensions and opted for checks instead of direct deposits.
