In an Oct. 8 message on its website, the IRS announced that, because of the lapse in appropriations, most IRS operations are closed.

Furthermore, the tax agency also said that an IRS-wide furlough started on Oct. 8 for all of its workers except those who are already-identified excepted, and exempt employees.

The announcement stated that those who are not exempt or excepted "are furloughed and placed in a non-pay and non-duty status until further notice; however, all employees should plan to report to work for their next tour of duty."

The employees will be given up to four hours to close out work requirements and receive formal furlough notification.

According to the agency's lapsed appropriation contingency plan, released by the US Treasury on Sept. 29, the total number of employees who are designated as “exempt” and would be retained in the instance of a lapse shutdown beginning on Oct. 8 is 39,870 employees or 53.6 percent of the total employee population of 74,299 as of July 24.

The Journal of Accountancy reports that under the IRS contingency plan, the agency utilized money from the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 to stay fully staffed. Federal employees who are working during a shutdown are not paid until it has ended.

The tax agency's original Inflation Reduction Act funding worth $79.4 billion for the duration of 10 years was lowered to $37.6 billion.

This was done through congressional cuts as of March, based on an August report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), the Journal states.

As of Mar. 31, the IRS had spent roughly $13.8 billion of that funding, according to the TIGTA report.