Residents who filed for extensions on their federal taxes still need to pay them by Wednesday, despite the government shutdown. 

But customer service may be affected, the National Treasury Employees Union warned. As the shutdown stretches into its 15th day, more than 34,000, or 46% of Internal Revenue Service employees, have been furloughed, Reuters reported. 

The remaining staff are responsible for running the agency through the rush around the deadline without pay or assurances they will receive back pay, said Patricia Allen, president of NTEU Chapter 32, which represents IRS employees in Colorado and Wyoming. 

“I think the stress level is probably through the roof,” said Allen, who is among the employees who has been furloughed. 

She estimates the IRS workforce across both states is down from about 600 in January to around 300. Those employees work in roles such as customer service and taxpayer advocacy, among others. The agency has offices in Denver, Colorado Springs, Grand Junction and Cheyenne. 

Many folks left during the deferred resignation and retirement programs earlier this year that allowed employees to leave and get paid through Sept. 30. Probationary employees had the option of coming back, after the union won a lawsuit, but some had already found other jobs, she said.

Allen couldn’t say how many of the about 300 employees have been furloughed or laid off across both states. It’s possible that workers were informed they were laid off through their work emails that they are not allowed to access because of the furlough, she said. 

“The feeling is we don’t know what’s going to happen next, and that is a scary feeling for people,” she said.

While paying taxes is stressful, Allen said, that IRS employees work hard help people navigate a complicated tax system, in person if necessary. 

She believes about 95% of people walk away from an experience with the IRS “saying this is better than I thought it was going to be.”

The agency has been cleared to hire about 3,000 people ahead of tax season in the spring, but none of those positions are in Denver, Allen said. 

She expects the agency to have to fund a significant amount of overtime during the busy season ahead of the April deadline. 

“It’s nonstop phone calls usually during filing season,” she said. 

Despite the chaos, IRS employees have been showing up to work, supporting each other and doing their best to ensure the country has the money to run, and Allen said she would like to see lawmakers do their part to bring the shutdown to an end.