IRS extends tax-filing deadline one more day after computer glitch



WASHINGTON -- The Internal Revenue Service said it is extending the 2017 tax-filing deadline for all filers for one more day -- until midnight Wednesday, April 18 -- due to a glitch with the the agency's website.

The IRS website to make payments and access other key services was down Tuesday.

Late Tuesday, the IRS said it would extend the tax-filing deadline for all filers until Wednesday at midnight.

"Taxpayers do not need to do anything to receive this extra time," it said in a statement.

"The IRS encountered system issues Tuesday morning. Throughout the system outage, taxpayers were still able to file their tax returns electronically through their software providers and Free File. Taxpayers using paper to file and pay their taxes at the deadline were not affected by the system issue.

“This is the busiest tax day of the year, and the IRS apologizes for the inconvenience this system issue caused for taxpayers,” said Acting IRS Commissioner David Kautter. “The IRS appreciates everyone’s patience during this period. The extra time will help taxpayers affected by this situation.”

The IRS advised taxpayers to continue to file their taxes as normal Tuesday evening – whether electronically or on paper. Automatic six-month extensions are available to taxpayers who need additional time to file can visit https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/extension-of-time-to-file-your-tax-return.

The IRS did not give an immediate explanation for the failures but said in a statement that "certain IRS systems are experiencing technical difficulties."

Pages on the IRS website (www.irs.gov) used to view account information, make a direct payment or set up a payment plan were all not functioning most of the day Tuesday.

Visitors to the IRS payment site saw one of two messages: One that says the website is unavailable. And another that the outage was due to planned maintenance scheduled to end on Sept. 22, 2016.

The IRS snafu also caused problems for popular third-party tax preparers such as Turbo Tax and H&R Block. Both said that they will hold onto customer tax returns and file them as soon as the IRS system reopens.

Tax day falls on April 17 this year because April 15 was a Sunday and April 16 was Emancipation Day, a holiday in Washington, D.C. It is now extended until midnight April 18.

IRS Acting Commissioner David Kautter testified during a House Oversight Hearing Tuesday that a number of systems are down at the moment and that the agency is working to resolve the issue.

Trump's top economic adviser Larry Kudlow offered a deadpan reaction when asked about the failure.

"The IRS is crashing? Sounds horrible. Really bad," he said during a briefing with reporters in West Palm Beach, Florida. "I hope it gets fixed."

Kudlow said he wasn't aware of the nature of the issue, but said: "The IRS'll straighten it out."

The IRS typically recommends that taxpayers use electronic filing to avoid common mistakes. Online filing is quicker than dropping something in the mail — when the site works, of course.