H&R Block’s Tax Day outage frustrates last-minute filers
The company said it fixed an issue that had affected desktop software users
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H&R Block said it experienced technology outages on Monday, temporarily preventing thousands of last-minute tax filers from sending in their returns.
Some people who bought and downloaded the H&R Block software on their computers were unable to electronically file their returns. Those who use the company’s software through a web browser or who work directly with its tax professionals weren’t affected, H&R Block said.
A H&R Block office is seen on the day President Donald Trump signed the Republican tax cut bill in Washington, DC on December 22, 2017 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images / Getty Images)
The outage started around 9 p.m. Sunday and continued for most of Monday. An H&R Block spokeswoman said the company fixed the problem by around 4 p.m. Monday. It has notified clients via an in-product message and is telling people who call customer service that they can now e-file their returns.
The filing deadline for tax returns in all but two U.S. states is 11:59 p.m. on Monday. Millions of Americans rely on online tax preparation services to help them fill out the appropriate forms and send them to the Internal Revenue Service.
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H&R Block, one of the largest tax preparation companies, had told some customers experiencing issues that they could print out their forms and send them to the IRS by mail. The IRS encourages e-filing, warning that processing paper returns takes several weeks longer. Paper filers who are owed refunds can experience delays receiving them.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HRB | H&R BLOCK INC. | 57.41 | +0.87 | +1.54% |
H&R Block, Inc.
H&R Block said it received about 2,000 inquiries related to the technology outage. More than 20 million taxpayers filed with H&R Block last year.
Users posted on social media that they were getting error messages, and repeat pending credit card charges for multiple filing attempts.
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Many taxpayers who procrastinate owe taxes. Late filing penalties and interest charges on balances due kick in one day after tax day.
View of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) building in Washington, DC, on January 24, 2023. (STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
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Separately, the U.S. Treasury Department said Monday that it met the goal of 100,000 taxpayers filing returns as part of the Direct File pilot program by midday Sunday, with more than 50,000 taxpayers filing over the past week. Eligible taxpayers in all 12 pilot states can file simple tax returns using Direct File until 11:59 p.m. on Monday, or on Wednesday for those in Massachusetts. Taxpayers with more complicated returns can file for free online with an IRS Free File partner or by using IRS fillable forms.