Preparing Your Dental Practice for the Ongoing Government Shutdown

Key Takeaways

  • Stay current on taxes: IRS operations may be slowed, but filing and payment deadlines remain in effect. Avoid penalties by filing electronically and keeping your records organized.
  • Plan for premium hikes: Health and benefit plan costs are likely to rise as federal oversight remains uncertain. Review renewal terms and adjust your budget early.
  • Expect financing delays: SBA-backed loans and other federal funding channels are on hold, which could affect equipment purchases or expansion plans.
  • Protect your cash flow: Build a short-term reserve and monitor receivables closely, especially if your patients or vendors are tied to government contracts.
  • Lean on your advisors: Your accounting and financial partners can help model cash-flow scenarios, evaluate timing for investments, and prepare your practice for prolonged disruption.

The federal government shutdown is already impacting agencies and operations and showing no signs of ending any time soon. For dental practice owners, this means potential delays and disruptions, not just in Washington, D.C., but in your everyday finances, tax compliance, insurance costs, loan financing, and cash-flow stability.

Tax & IRS Realities for Dental Practices

Even though the shutdown has caused many parts of the federal government to scale back, the tax code hasn’t taken a pause. Your practice still must file returns, make estimated or quarterly tax payments (including payroll deposits), and comply with deadlines. Meanwhile, the IRS is operating with reduced staffing, meaning refunds, credits, and correspondence may take significantly longer to arrive.

If your practice anticipated a refund or tax-credit cash inflow to fund equipment purchases or operational expenses, plan now for extended wait times. At the same time, interest and penalties for late payments continue to accumulate, so it’s essential not to delay regular compliance. Keep payment schedules on track, file electronically when possible, and maintain documentation in case you receive IRS notices during the shutdown.

Insurance Premiums & Benefit Plan Impacts

As a dental practice owner, you’re also exposed to shifts in insurance markets and benefit-plan costs when federal funding is uncertain. Insurers and benefit administrators are already forecasting large premium increases next year, driven in part by uncertainty around subsidies and federal oversight. For example, federal employee health-plan premiums alone are expected to rise by more than 12% in 2026.  

For your practice and staff-benefit programs, that means two things: you may face higher benefit premiums, and you may need to update your budget assumptions accordingly. If you sponsor an employee-health plan, consider adjusting contribution models or benefit designs now, so you’re not caught off guard by rate shocks later. Communicate proactively with your benefit carrier and review renewal terms with your accounting team.

Business Loans, Equipment Financing & Cash-Flow Considerations

Another key risk for dental practices during a prolonged shutdown is financing and loan access. The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) reports that each business day during the shutdown, roughly $170 million in federally-guaranteed loans have been blocked, affecting hundreds of small and mid-sized businesses.  

For a dental practice planning to purchase new equipment, open a second location, refinance, or undertake a practice acquisition, this means possible delays or increased cost of capital. If you were relying on loan disbursement, tax refunds, or growth funding that’s now delayed, you’ll want to stress-test your cash-flow assumption for slower inflows and higher borrowing costs. We are happy to help you model scenarios that include 30-60-day delays in reimbursement or loan proceeds and help identify contingency plans.

What You Can Do Right Now

  • File and pay taxes electronically to reduce processing risk during delays.
  • Build a cash buffer equal to at least 2-3 months of operating costs based on worst-case assumptions.
  • Review your upcoming equipment purchases, lease obligations, and expansion plans with an eye toward delay risk.
  • Talk to your benefits broker now about the upcoming premium renewal, and ask about rate-shock mitigation strategies.
  • Monitor receivables carefully, especially if you serve a lot of patients or groups tied to federal employment or contractors.
  • Communicate with us as well as your internal accounting, financing, and advisory teams early, so we can prepare for all scenarios accordingly.

We Are in this Together

A government shutdown doesn’t mean your dental practice can pause its responsibilities, but it does raise the odds of financial disruption. By being proactive about tax timing, insurance costs, loan access, and cash flow, you put your practice in a better position to navigate the uncertainty. If you’d like help reviewing your cash-flow model, reviewing purchase or expansion plans, or evaluating your tax timeline in light of the shutdown, our team is ready to work with you so your practice can stay focused on serving patients.

What the Government Shutdown and IRS Furlough Mean for You

Key Takeaways

  • The IRS is operating at half capacity as roughly 34,000 employees have been furloughed during the government shutdown that began on October 1, 2025.
  • Electronic filing and payments continue as normal, but audits, taxpayer phone support, and correspondence are on hold until the government reopens.
  • Taxpayers who filed extensions until October 15 should still file and pay on time. The IRS continues to process returns, but delays in confirmations or refunds are likely.
  • Dental practice owners can expect slower IRS communication and potential backlogs, but filings submitted electronically remain secure.
  • For current Edwards & Associates clients, no action is required. Our team continues managing all submissions and monitoring IRS updates on your behalf.
  • If you aren’t yet a client, reach out to us to talk about working with a firm experienced in managing filings during government shutdowns and IRS delays.

The federal government shutdown, which began on October 1, 2025, is not significantly impacting the IRS.

On October 8, the agency furloughed nearly half of its 74,000 employees after using leftover Inflation Reduction Act funds to stay open for the first few days of the shutdown. What does that mean for taxpayers, especially dental practice owners who filed extensions and are approaching the October 15 deadline? In short, the IRS is still accepting returns and payments, but response times and certain processes are already slowing down. Here’s what we know and what we don’t.

What’s Still Running

While roughly 34,000 employees are furloughed, the IRS is keeping some “excepted” operations active, including:

  • Electronic filing and payment processing, which continue automatically
  • Limited computer systems maintenance to prevent data loss or system failure
  • Criminal investigations and disaster relief processing which fall under essential services.

Everything else, from taxpayer assistance lines to audit reviews and correspondence, is on hold. That means if your return needs manual review, or if you’re waiting on a reply or refund check, you can expect delays. 

What This Means for Dental Practices

For our clients, the good news is that we’ve already submitted or are finalizing your extension returns, and those filings are being processed electronically. The IRS’s digital systems are still functioning, and electronic payments continue to post normally.

However, some ripple effects are possible in the weeks ahead:

  • Delayed confirmations or correspondence from the IRS, especially for returns that trigger additional review
  • Longer response times to questions, adjustments, or refund requests
  • Potential backlog growth that could affect future filings if the shutdown lasts several weeks.

In other words, your filings are safe, but don’t expect the usual pace of communication or updates from the IRS until the government reopens.

What We Don’t Yet Know

Like much of the tax community, we’re still waiting for clarity on:

  • How quickly furloughed employees will return once funding is restored
  • Whether the backlog will affect next year’s filing season
  • Whether certain enforcement or compliance activities will be delayed or compressed later in the year.

The Taxpayer Advocate Service is also shut down during the furlough, removing one of the few safety valves for those caught in IRS delays.

What Our Clients Should Do

If you’re already a client of our firm, rest assured: we’re monitoring developments daily and will reach out if anything changes that could affect your filings, payments, or correspondence with the IRS. You don’t need to take any action right now. Our team will continue managing everything on your behalf and keeping you informed.

If you aren’t currently working with us but are concerned about your upcoming filing or payments, now is the time to line up a tax advisor who understands the system and how to navigate unexpected disruptions like this one. While we can’t help new clients with their 10/15 filings, we’re here to assist with future extension filings, electronic submissions, payment verification and tracking, and IRS correspondence once operations resume.

Hang Tight

The IRS shutdown is another reminder of how unpredictable the tax landscape can be. For most dental practices, this won’t create immediate problems, but it does underscore the value of having a team that stays ahead of every detail, especially when communication with the IRS is limited.

At Edwards & Associates, we keep a close eye on developments like these, so you don’t have to. If you have questions about your filing, or if you’d like to make sure your tax plan is protected no matter what happens in Washington, our team is just a call or email away.