IRS Swamped by Tax Filings

WASHINGTON, D.C. (MARCH 5, 2013) BY MICHAEL COHN
The Internal Revenue Service said Tuesday that its Modernized e-File Production system is taking longer to generate federal acknowledgments for tax return filings.
The IRS said the situation “may continue throughout the remainder of the day as receipts increase” of tax returns. On Monday, the IRS announced that it was ready to accept a large group of individual and business tax forms that had previously been delayed (see IRS Allows Remaining Tax Forms to Be Filed). Last week, it had warned transmitters to only send their stockpiled inventory of tax returns they have held back this tax season, evenly spread throughout the day while it was testing the system on Sunday (see IRS Plans to Enable Remaining Tax Forms to be Filed).
The late passage by Congress of the fiscal cliff legislation on New Year’s Day delayed the start of tax season until late January this year.
The IRS said Tuesday that it is working on the MeF system as a top priority and would issue a Technical QuickAlert once it is resolved. “Please monitor the MeF Status page for any updates throughout the day,” the IRS added. “Thank you for your patience and support.”