IRS.gov Buggy Amid Last Minute E-Filing Traffic

last minute e-filing

Don’t say we didn’t warn you (yesterday). The IRS website is reportedly crashing from last-minute e-filing traffic.

As predicted, the online version of a traffic jam at the worst possible time came true.

In fact, by April 6, traffic to the Internal Revenue Service website was already 23.9% higher than it was last year,as both taxpayers and preparers have had to research the agency’s interpretation of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

However, about a quarter of American taxpayers still hadn’t filed their returns before the start of the weekend.

Last-Minute E-Filing Is Actually Pretty Common

Although this proportion is consistent with what it was at the same time last year, it’s unclear whether the agency’s website might nonetheless see more of a last-minute traffic spike in the final hours leading up to 11:59 pm on Tuesday April 17, when taxes are due.

Most likely, the agency likely planned for a surge in traffic during this time, but still, it’s not unreasonable to expect slower performance on the IRS website during the hours closest to the deadline.

The increase in traffic to the IRS website is actually the most noticeable difference between this year’s filing season and 2017 — based on comparing cumulative statistics as of the same date a year ago and today.

Individual Income Tax Returns	2017	2018	% Change
Total Returns Received	103,612,000	103,762,000	0.1
Total Returns Processed	101,028,000	101,082,000	0.1
E-Filing Receipts
TOTAL	95,458,000	95,899,000	0.5
Tax Professionals	54,720,000	54,283.000	-0.8
Self-Prepared	40,738,000	41,616,000	2.2
Web Usage
Visits to IRS.gov	276,082,236	342,057,461	23.9
Total Refunds
Number	80,296,000	79,100,000	-1.5
Amount	$228.951 billion	$226.558 billion	-1.0
Average Refund	$2,851	$2,864	0.5
Direct Deposit Refunds
Number	69,293,000	68,220,000	-1.5
Total Amount Refunded	$208.475 billion	$205.555 billion	-1.4
Average Refund Per Taxpayer	$3,009	$3,013	0.1