And you thought it was just the IRS

February 2, 2008

Remember last April when some TurboTax customers had problems e-filing? Well, tax technological glitches pop up worldwide.

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Take the United Kingdom’s HM Revenue & Customs, that country’s equivalent to our IRS.

WebCPA reports that British taxpayers who visited the Self Assessment Online section of the site last Thursday were greeted with messages such as "planned maintenance" or "not found."

What made the annoying messages worse was that the Web malfunction occurred on Jan. 31, the last day for filing taxes in the U.K. Taxpayers who fail to pay their taxes in time by the deadline are typically fined 100 pounds; that’s almost $200 U.S.

Because of the six-hour site crash, British tax officials extended the tax filing deadline for another 24 hours.

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E-filing considerations: This taxpayer experience from across the pond is a lesson for filers everywhere. Don’t wait until the last minute.

Sure, the speed and usual reliability of electronic communications tends to make us put things off. But the safer tax move is to file a tad early just in case there’s a problem.

If you’re considering using tax prep software, this story has some general things to think about in making your decision. And this article looks at all your various e-file options.

When it comes to specific programs, check out Software.com’s analysis of TurboTax and TaxCut (thanks to taxgirl for the heads-up). Money Tip Central looks at those two programs, as well as several other popular software packages here. And Top 10 Reviews also takes a good look at a wide variety of tax prep packages here.

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Tax Season 2026 Continues!

We made it. Tax Day 2025 is finally over. For most of us. When the filing season started on Jan. 26, millions who were expecting refunds filed immediately. Most of us got our returns to the Internal Revenue Service by April 15. But plenty of taxpayers also got extensions. They are looking at an Oct. 15 filing deadline.

Those procrastinating filers aren’t a problem. In fact, the IRS appreciates taxpayers who take time to fill out their 1040 forms correctly. It also is grateful that tax submissions are spread out a bit, especially now that the IRS is a leaner agency. Processing returns is easier when they arrive throughout the year instead of in massive bunches.

But enough about Uncle Sam’s tax collection issues. The focus now is on all y’all who filed for extensions, giving you another six months to complete your return. Since your new mid-October due date will be here before you know it, let’s get started now on meeting it.

The ol’ blog is here to help you finish up your extended Form 1040. You can start with January’s tax tips page, which has links to the rest of the year’s tips by-month collections. You also can peruse various tax categories for more tailored advice by clicking on the More Tax Posts drop-down menu at the top of this (and every) page.

And to make sure you don’t miss your new filing deadline, the count-down clock below will let you know just how much time you to file by Oct. 15. At the latest.e. (Note: I’m in the Central Time Zone, so adjust accordingly for where you live.)

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Politics/Laws
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Comments
  • Mike Bell
    18 years ago

    Bob Meighan: We compiled our comparison chart from information that is published by Intuit and HR Block. Can you please point out the ‘many factual errors’ – or at least the most offending ones? If we’ve erred we would certainly like to correct it. It would probably help us do a better job of selling and supporting your company’s products.
    Mike Bell
    CEO
    Software.com

  • Bob Meighan
    18 years ago

    The tax software comparison chart at software.com is highly inaccurate. It has so many factual errors that I would not rely on it.
    Bob Meighan
    VP, TurboTax

  • Lubna
    18 years ago

    Hi
    Nice post. Yes, same situation here in India. The first time they introduced efiling for the corporate sector, the software had so many glitches that the due date had to be extended. This was the second year of efiling and things were better.

Comments are closed.