The Internal Revenue Service on Tuesday gave Americans an extra day to file tax returns for 2017, after troubles surfaced for a number of hours with an online payment system, causing troubles for those trying to finish filing and paying their taxes just before the deadline.
"This is the busiest tax day of the year, and the IRS apologizes for the inconvenience this system issue caused for taxpayers,” said David Kautter, who is the Acting IRS Commissioner.
“The extra time will help taxpayers affected by this situation," Kautter said in a statement.
The trouble started on the final day of tax filing when the IRS payment portal, known as "Direct Pay," suddenly wasn't working mid-morning on Tuesday.
At first, the IRS wasn't going to give taxpayers any extra time.
"Note that your tax payment is due although IRS Direct Pay may not be available," the tax agency said on a web page which had the interesting link of "unplannedOutagePage."
Credit: Jamie Dupree
Credit: Jamie Dupree
The computer glitch lasted through the afternoon, but was then resolved, as taxpayers were advised to "to file their taxes as normal Tuesday evening – whether electronically or on paper."
The new deadline is midnight on Wednesday night.
Of course, if you really aren't ready to send in your taxes by the deadline - even with the additional 24 hours - you can still request a six month extension.
That was the choice made by President Donald Trump, as he will get extra time to file his tax returns for 2017.
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