The White House said Monday the IRS will issue tax refunds despite the on-going government shutdown.

The acting director of the White House office of management and budget told reporters in an afternoon briefing that those refunds will go out, but we still don't know when the tax filing season will begin, and there is still the possibility that your refund could be delayed.

In years past, the IRS has typically announced the start of tax filing season by now, but with the ongoing government shutdown no date has been set.

Tax payers are still urging people not to procrastinate.

"We're reaching out to our clients and just letting them know that we're still open for business, they should still be gathering their documents, and we’re still getting everything ready on our end. We're getting their returns prepared so when a date is announced it's just hitting a button and sending them off to the IRS," Albany based tax preparer Megan Gardner.

Megan Gardner of ATAX in Albany says she typically sees a large number of early bird tax filers who want to submit as soon as their W-2's roll in.

The IRS has also not yet released a contingency plan for filing season. Currently, only 12-percent of IRS employees are expected to continue working during the shutdown. If that continues once filing begins, refunds still might not get processed quickly.

Right now the IRS is not answering help line phones or updating tax forms.

The shutdown also complicates an already stressful tax season, as taxpayers are filing for the first time under the new Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

During the government shutdown, you will also be expected to pay any money you owe, but again, it's still unclear when tax filing season will actually begin, though it typically starts by the end of January.