Happy (Glitch-Free) Tax Day
Posted by Jeff Papows on Thu, Apr 15, 2010 @ 10:38 AM
There's nothing like a tax filing deadline to make us all aware of our dependence on technology. After all, the IRS reports that online tax filing is on the rise with 95 million people having used their e-file system in 2009. According to an article in USA Today, the total number of electronically filed, self-prepared returns was up 6.7 percent from the same period a year ago.
So what does the rush to the tax filing finish line have to do with a blog about technology?
Well, along with reminding us about the onslaught of network traffic, there are several software glitches to be aware of. The folks at Intuit's TurboTax were hit with a software glitch that recently double counted a tax payer's medical insurance premiums as deductions resulting in a claim for a refund that was $600 too large. I have to think this glitch is part of the software code that resulted from a lack of IT governance and that this individual tax payer -- who, by the way, returned the money -- is not the only one who will be affected.
TurboTax is not the only one dealing with a glitch. H&R Block's system has not been modified to address the filing extension deadline of May 10 for those New Englanders affected by the torrential rain storms and subsequent flooding last month. Seems like a harmless glitch at first but as BostInnovation reported, for taxpayers that owe money and are seeking payment plans, the difference between an April 15 filing and one on May 10 can be significant in terms of interest and fees required to take advantage of those payment plans.
Of course these glitches add up in terms of financial losses from taxpayers as well as the time and money that's required to fix them. Just look at the major glitch occurred in March 2007 at the Canada Revenue Agency when a software patch that was supposed to prevent computer failures had the opposite effect and prevented thousands of taxpayers from filing electronic returns. After some heavy pressure from the Canadian press to get at the truth of the matter, it was discovered just this past February that the more than 16,515 tax returns that were filed during a 43 hour 'corruption window' weren't filed properly. The cost to repair the glitch was $2.4 million.
As we become more and more dependent on technology, let's not lose sight of the fundamentals that make it easy and convenient to file taxes electronically. One of the most effective ways to avoid many of these glitches is through a sound IT strategy that prioritizes IT governance so that IT departments aren't spending the rest of the year cleaning up the errors that could have been caught long before taxpayers alert vendors and government agencies to glitches in their systems.