Tax filers to get extension after IRS website outage

The Internal Revenue Service on Tuesday experienced multiple outages on its website just hours ahead of the midnight deadline to file taxes.  A page on the IRS website that allows taxpayers to make a payment directly is not working for many as of Tuesday afternoon. Clicking on “Make a payment” on the payments page redirects users to a page titled “unplannedOutagePage.” 

People affected bu the outage who have not yet filed their taxes will get an extension, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Tuesday afternoon, according to the Associated Press.   

“We’ll make sure taxpayers have extensions once the system comes up to make sure they can use it and it in no way impacts people paying their taxes,” Mnuchin told reporters at a tax event in Derry, New Hampshire. “It was just a technical issue we’re working through. A high-volume technical issue that impacted the system.”

The IRS attributed the issues to a hardware problem. A page that allowed taxpayers to make a payment directly was not working as of Tuesday afternoon. 

“Note that your tax payment is due although IRS Direct Pay may not be available,” the page notes.  

irs.gov

A separate page noted that the so-called Modernized e-File system, which accepts returns electronically was also down. “We are working this as a priority,” the IRS said. That system allows the agency to accept returns from popular software problems like TurboTax and H&R Block.

Acting Commissioner David Kautter acknowledged the issue Tuesday morning during a House Oversight Committee hearing.

“I was told a number of systems are down at the moment. We are working to resolve the issue and taxpayers should continue to file as they normally would,” he said. 

Last year, about 5 million Americans filed their tax returns on the last day before the deadline, according to the IRS.  

The IRS site problems caused plenty of grousing over Twitter. “Oh, government, you fool,” one user tweeted.

April 17 is the deadline for Americans to pay any taxes owed to the U.S. Treasury this year. It’s also the deadline for business owners and freelancers to pay their estimated taxes for the first quarter of 2018.

While Direct Pay isn’t the only way to make a payment, it’s one of the few that doesn’t cost extra. Paying with a credit card through the IRS’ site will cost around 2 percent of the payment amount, starting at $2.50.

Taxpayers who are expecting a refund can request a six-month extension to file. More than 9 in 10 taxpayers file their returns electronically, according to IRS figures.

— Jonathan Berr and Jillian Harding contributed reporting