The Internal Revenue Service announced late Tuesday that it would let taxpayers submit tax returns without penalty through Wednesday, after a long day of technical problems that fueled confusion about what is already one of Americans’ most frustrating interactions with their government.
A computer glitch at the IRS knocked offline the agency’s ability to process many tax returns filed electronically, a stunning breakdown that left agency officials flummoxed and millions of Americans bewildered. Senior government officials were at a loss to explain what happened, even as close to 5 million Americans were expected to try to file their taxes before the midnight deadline.
IRS officials did not specify
what went wrong, saying only that they would undertake a “hard reboot”
of their systems. By late Tuesday, the IRS said that its systems were
back online and that taxpayers could proceed to file returns through the
end of Wednesday. Taxes had been due on Tuesday. (That was two days
later than the usual due date, April 15, which fell on a Sunday. Monday
was Emancipation Day, a holiday in the District.)
IRS to delay tax deadline by one day after technology collapse
The IRS announced April 17
that it would let taxpayers submit tax returns through April 18, after
the system for accepting online tax returns malfunctioned.
The
Internal Revenue Service announced late Tuesday that it would let
taxpayers submit tax returns without penalty through Wednesday, after a
long day of technical problems that fueled confusion about what is
already one of Americans’ most frustrating interactions with their
government.
A computer glitch at the IRS knocked
offline the agency’s ability to process many tax returns filed
electronically, a stunning breakdown that left agency officials
flummoxed and millions of Americans bewildered. Senior government
officials were at a loss to explain what happened, even as close to 5
million Americans were expected to try to file their taxes before the
midnight deadline.
IRS officials did not specify
what went wrong, saying only that they would undertake a “hard reboot”
of their systems. By late Tuesday, the IRS said that its systems were
back online and that taxpayers could proceed to file returns through the
end of Wednesday. Taxes had been due on Tuesday. (That was two days
later than the usual due date, April 15, which fell on a Sunday. Monday
was Emancipation Day, a holiday in the District.)
“This is the busiest tax day of the year, and the IRS apologizes for the inconvenience this system issue caused for taxpayers,” said the agency’s acting commissioner, David Kautter.
An IRS spokeswoman said that “all indications point to this being hardware-related. We’re aware of no other external issues.”
The
episode recalled other high-profile government technology breakdowns,
such as the challenging launch of the Affordable Care Act marketplaces
in 2013, and raised fresh questions about whether the IRS, which has
long complained about antiquated computer systems, is prepared for the
massive overhaul mandated by last year’s sweeping tax law.
Each
year, millions of Americans are required to file tax returns by
mid-April for money they earned the prior year. The process can be a
financially and administratively painful one, but the IRS is supposed to
have sophisticated computer systems that can handle millions of
last-minute filers. Between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. Tuesday, officials
discovered that those systemIRS to delay tax deadline by one day after technology collapse
The IRS announced April 17
that it would let taxpayers submit tax returns through April 18, after
the system for accepting online tax returns malfunctioned.
The
Internal Revenue Service announced late Tuesday that it would let
taxpayers submit tax returns without penalty through Wednesday, after a
long day of technical problems that fueled confusion about what is
already one of Americans’ most frustrating interactions with their
government.
A computer glitch at the IRS knocked
offline the agency’s ability to process many tax returns filed
electronically, a stunning breakdown that left agency officials
flummoxed and millions of Americans bewildered. Senior government
officials were at a loss to explain what happened, even as close to 5
million Americans were expected to try to file their taxes before the
midnight deadline.
IRS officials did not specify
what went wrong, saying only that they would undertake a “hard reboot”
of their systems. By late Tuesday, the IRS said that its systems were
back online and that taxpayers could proceed to file returns through the
end of Wednesday. Taxes had been due on Tuesday. (That was two days
later than the usual due date, April 15, which fell on a Sunday. Monday
was Emancipation Day, a holiday in the District.)
“This
is the busiest tax day of the year, and the IRS apologizes for the
inconvenience this system issue caused for taxpayers,” said the agency’s
acting commissioner, David Kautter.
An IRS spokeswoman said that “all indications point to this being hardware-related. We’re aware of no other external issues.”
The
episode recalled other high-profile government technology breakdowns,
such as the challenging launch of the Affordable Care Act marketplaces
in 2013, and raised fresh questions about whether the IRS, which has
long complained about antiquated computer systems, is prepared for the
massive overhaul mandated by last year’s sweeping tax law.
Each
year, millions of Americans are required to file tax returns by
mid-April for money they earned the prior year. The process can be a
financially and administratively painful one, but the IRS is supposed to
have sophisticated computer systems that can handle millions of
last-minute filers. Between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. Tuesday, officials
discovered that those systems had faltered.
It
wasn’t immediately clear how many people were affected or could take
advantage of the one-day delay in the filing deadline, but IRS officials
said taxpayers wouldn’t have to do anything special to take advantage
of the postponement. Many filers who use online tax preparation
software, such as TurboTax or H&R Block, or pay their taxes directly
to the IRS online were affected. The vast majority of tax preparers,
such as accountants, are required to file taxes electronically.
Former
IRS commissioner John Koskinen said he was not aware of the agency
having to extend the tax filing deadline nationally at any point in the
past three decades because of software glitches on Tax Day. Mark W.
Everson, another former IRS commissioner, also said he was unaware of
any comparable failures at the agency on Tax Day.
The
IRS is often at the center of political fights in Washington, with
Democrats calling for more funding so the agency can do its job while
Republicans have worked for years to pare it back, before agreeing this
year to fund the agency at higher levels.
IRS to delay tax deadline by one day after technology collapse
The IRS announced April 17
that it would let taxpayers submit tax returns through April 18, after
the system for accepting online tax returns malfunctioned.
The
Internal Revenue Service announced late Tuesday that it would let
taxpayers submit tax returns without penalty through Wednesday, after a
long day of technical problems that fueled confusion about what is
already one of Americans’ most frustrating interactions with their
government.
A computer glitch at the IRS knocked
offline the agency’s ability to process many tax returns filed
electronically, a stunning breakdown that left agency officials
flummoxed and millions of Americans bewildered. Senior government
officials were at a loss to explain what happened, even as close to 5
million Americans were expected to try to file their taxes before the
midnight deadline.
IRS officials did not specify
what went wrong, saying only that they would undertake a “hard reboot”
of their systems. By late Tuesday, the IRS said that its systems were
back online and that taxpayers could proceed to file returns through the
end of Wednesday. Taxes had been due on Tuesday. (That was two days
later than the usual due date, April 15, which fell on a Sunday. Monday
was Emancipation Day, a holiday in the District.)
“This
is the busiest tax day of the year, and the IRS apologizes for the
inconvenience this system issue caused for taxpayers,” said the agency’s
acting commissioner, David Kautter.
An IRS spokeswoman said that “all indications point to this being hardware-related. We’re aware of no other external issues.”
The
episode recalled other high-profile government technology breakdowns,
such as the challenging launch of the Affordable Care Act marketplaces
in 2013, and raised fresh questions about whether the IRS, which has
long complained about antiquated computer systems, is prepared for the
massive overhaul mandated by last year’s sweeping tax law.
Each
year, millions of Americans are required to file tax returns by
mid-April for money they earned the prior year. The process can be a
financially and administratively painful one, but the IRS is supposed to
have sophisticated computer systems that can handle millions of
last-minute filers. Between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. Tuesday, officials
discovered that those systems had faltered.
It
wasn’t immediately clear how many people were affected or could take
advantage of the one-day delay in the filing deadline, but IRS officials
said taxpayers wouldn’t have to do anything special to take advantage
of the postponement. Many filers who use online tax preparation
software, such as TurboTax or H&R Block, or pay their taxes directly
to the IRS online were affected. The vast majority of tax preparers,
such as accountants, are required to file taxes electronically.
Former
IRS commissioner John Koskinen said he was not aware of the agency
having to extend the tax filing deadline nationally at any point in the
past three decades because of software glitches on Tax Day. Mark W.
Everson, another former IRS commissioner, also said he was unaware of
any comparable failures at the agency on Tax Day.
The
IRS is often at the center of political fights in Washington, with
Democrats calling for more funding so the agency can do its job while
Republicans have worked for years to pare it back, before agreeing this
year to fund the agency at higher levels.
The IRS has faced steady budget cuts
for nearly a decade, with its staff size falling by about 18,000
employees from 2010 to 2017 and a recent report showing that it can
answer only about 60 percent of calls from tax filers.
The agency is taking steps to implement changes
required by a sprawling overhaul of the tax code that Republicans passed
in December. It has been working with businesses to make sure they are
withholding the correct amounts from employees’ paychecks, as well as
rolling out online tools that workers can use to ensure their employers’
calculations are correct.
“The IRS is highly
vulnerable to IT breakdowns and cyberattacks,” said Pete Sepp of the
National Taxpayers Union, a nonpartisan group that has pushed for
changes at the IRS.
Members of Congress expressed frustration with the agency’s performance.
"Unfortunately,
it's another example where they're not capable of dealing with the
volume," said Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), who has called for reforms at
the IRS partly because of the agency's technological shortcomings.
“This is game day for the IRS, and it seems the IRS can’t get out of the locker room,” said Rep. Greg Gianforte (R-Mont.).
Sen.
Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) noted that the agency’s budget has been repeatedly
cut in recent years and said this could have contributed to the
problems.
“While we don’t yet know what has
caused this systems failure, the lack of Republican funding for the IRS
to serve taxpayers will only compound the issue. Americans should not be
punished for being unable to file their tax returns or pay their tax
bills today,” said Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance
Committee, which oversees the IRS.
IRS officials were surprised by the breakdown.
“On
my way over here this morning, I was told a number of systems are down
at the moment,” Kautter told lawmakers at an oversight hearing Tuesday
morning. “We are working to resolve the issue, and taxpayers should
continue to file as they normally would.”
“If
we can’t solve it today, we’ll figure out a solution,” Kautter said.
“Taxpayers would not be penalized because of a technical problem the IRS
is having.”
Tuesday’s outage caught at least
one White House official off guard, too. Larry Kudlow, President Trump’s
top economic adviser, appeared not to know about the problems when
asked about them shortly after noon Tuesday.
“The IRS is crashing?” he said, repeating a reporter’s question. “It sounds horrible. It sounds really bad. Hope it gets fixed.”
A
spokeswoman for Intuit, the company that owns the TurboTax software,
said Tuesday before the delay was announced that taxpayers should
continue as usual.
“For those that prepared and
filed their taxes with TurboTax earlier today during the IRS system
issues, TurboTax is now submitting those returns to the IRS and is
currently processing newly filed returns as normal,” an Intuit spokesman
said Tuesday night.
The IRS has more than 60
different IT systems for managing the cases of individual taxpayers,
according to a report submitted to Congress by an internal IRS watchdog.
Many of them have not been updated in decades, and two of them are
nearly six decades old — the oldest anywhere in the federal government,
the report said.
In testimony in October, two senior IRS officials warned that the agency’s systems were at high risk.
“We
are concerned that the potential for a catastrophic system failure is
increasing as our infrastructure continues to age. Thus, replacing this
aging IT infrastructure is a high priority for the IRS,” wrote Jeffrey
Tribiano, deputy commissioner for operations support, and Silvana Gina
Garza, chief information officer, in prepared testimony.
In
his testimony before Congress on Tuesday, Kautter said the IRS had
prioritized the core filing system in its technology spending.
For
several hours Tuesday, an erroneous page linked to in the IRS’s online
payment section described a “Planned Outage: April 17, 2018 — December
31, 9999.”
While Republicans previously favored
scaling back the IRS, the party more recently supported efforts to
better support the agency. Congress approved $320 million in short-term funding
to help the IRS implement the new tax law as part of the massive budget
deal passed in March, but many lawmakers say more money is needed.
The
House is scheduled to vote this week on a bipartisan bill making major
changes to the agency, including beefing up free tax advisory programs
for the poor and giving taxpayers several new rights and protections.
Erica Werner, Ellen Nakashima and Anne Gearan contributed to this report.
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