TurboTax Rush Leads to IRS E-file Meltdown

The Internal Revenue Service's electronic filing system used by Intuit's popular TurboTax tax preparation software came to a grinding halt Tuesday night, as users rushed to file before midnight. The company apologized to users, and promised that their taxes will be considered on time.

A message on Intuit's site last night read: "Intuit is working with the IRS and has notified them that throughput on our electronic filing system was not what we expected, resulting in a system slowdown. We encourage customers to continue trying to e-file as we continue to work on the issue."

An update from Intuit on Wednesday Morning stated that it had resolved the problems with the IRS, and said it was currently processing all customer returns and requests for status checks. The company added that it had reached an agreement with the IRS such that TurboTax customers filing after April 17 will not be penalized.

"We encourage customers to continue trying to e-file; if you have been unable to successfully transmit, please try again," Intuit said.

The company is also instructing customers to check on the status of their filing, in case it was lost during the overload.

"If you do not see a status, please resubmit your returns through e-file. When you resubmit, if you get a message that the return has already been filed under your social security number, you will need to call us at 1-888-777-3303 to ensure that your returns were accepted by the IRS. Please have the primary social security number and the zip code for the return available when you call."

Intuit charges TurboTax customers $16.95 to e-file their tax return for them, and the company did not say if would reimburse customers due to the problems.