Last night, President Trump officially ended the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. Federal employees are now returning to work — including national park staff and rangers, air traffic controllers, CBP officers, military personnel, and many others across agencies such as HHS, HUD, DOE, and EPA. Travelers can also breathe a sigh of relief: with the Federal Aviation Administration back at full strength, there should be no disruptions on the Sunday after Thanksgiving — typically the busiest travel day of the year. However, not all news is good. The current resolution is only a short-term extension through January 30, 2026, meaning the risk of another shutdown later in the winter still exists.

🕒 IRS Timeline: What to Expect as Operations Resume

  • Short-Term (Next Few Weeks): The IRS will begin recalling furloughed staff within days. Expect initial efforts to focus on urgent and time-sensitive matters.
  • Medium-Term (1–2 Months): Service levels — including phone support, in-person assistance, and processing of older returns — should ramp up within 4–8 weeks as backlogs start clearing.
  • Longer-Term (3–4 Months): It may take several months for the IRS to fully return to normal operations. Paper return processing, help center availability, and audit issue resolution should stabilize just in time for the 2025 tax season (January–April 2026).

 

🎯 What “Full Speed” Means for Our Firm and Clients

  • Greater IRS phone and in-person support availability.
  • Faster processing of paper and amended returns, and general correspondence.
  • More consistent refund issuance — especially for manually processed cases.
  • Resumption of collection and audit activities to typical levels (clients with open matters should prepare accordingly).
  • Improved response times across the board, reducing delays caused by backlogs.

 

Starting today, our firm has resumed communications with federal authorities, including the IRS (for examinations) and the Department of Agriculture (for SNAP benefit matters). We’ll continue to monitor developments and keep our clients informed as federal operations normalize.

Link NBC News – Trump signs funding bill into law, ending record-long government shutdown 

Link Federal News Network – Post-shutdown, here’s how soon federal employees can expect back pay