Miami, Florida – Thousands of last-minute tax filers were met with technology outages on Monday, as H&R Block experienced difficulties preventing users from electronically filing their returns. The outage primarily affected individuals who had purchased and downloaded H&R Block software on their computers, while those using the software through a web browser or working with tax professionals remained unaffected.
The company’s outage began around 9 p.m. on Sunday and persisted throughout most of Monday, prompting frustration among users racing to meet the tax filing deadline. By 4 p.m. Monday, H&R Block reported that the issue had been resolved, allowing clients to resume e-filing their tax returns.
With the tax filing deadline looming at 11:59 p.m. for all but two states, many Americans rely on online tax preparation services like H&R Block to assist them in completing and submitting the necessary forms to the Internal Revenue Service. The company, one of the largest tax preparation firms, encouraged affected customers to print out their forms and mail them to the IRS as an alternative to electronic filing.
Amidst the technology outage, H&R Block received approximately 2,000 inquiries related to the issue, causing disruptions for more than 20 million taxpayers who utilized the service last year. Social media platforms were flooded with complaints from users encountering error messages and repeated credit card charges during multiple filing attempts.
Late-filing penalties and interest charges for overdue taxes typically take effect one day after the tax deadline, threatening procrastinating taxpayers with additional financial burdens. The U.S. Treasury Department announced on Monday that it had achieved its goal of 100,000 taxpayers filing returns through the Direct File pilot program by midday Sunday, indicating ongoing efforts to streamline the tax filing process for eligible individuals in pilot states.
Eligible taxpayers in the 12 pilot states can utilize Direct File to submit simple tax returns until midnight on Monday, with an extended deadline until Wednesday for residents of Massachusetts. Those with more complex tax scenarios are encouraged to explore free online filing options available through IRS Free File partners or by using IRS fillable forms.