How the 60-Year-Old IRS Computer System Failed on Tax Day
20,314On Tax Day 2018, the IRS electronic filing system went down. Turns out the government's computers were still partially relying on code 60 years old written for gigantic IBM mainframes like the Martinsburg Monster. What happened?
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● Sources for this episode's info:
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/irs-struggling-shutdown-backlog-laws-antiquated-technology/story?id=60993398
https://archive.org/details/taxpreparati
https://blogs.wsj.com/cio/2018/04/18/irs-grapples-with-decades-old-computer-systems/
https://books.google.com/books?id=kn9eDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA115#v=onepage&q&f=false
https://catalog.archives.gov/id/11899
https://catalog.archives.gov/id/11900
https://catalog.archives.gov/id/11903
https://catalog.archives.gov/id/11905
https://fcw.com/articles/2016/04/08/taxman-tech-troubles.aspx?m=1
https://fcw.com/articles/2018/09/24/irs-tax-day-outage-report.aspx
https://money.cnn.com/2015/02/03/pf/taxes/irs-budget-cuts/index.html
https://spectrum.ieee.org/riskfactor/computing/it/irs-predicted-tax-filing-failure
https://web.archive.org/web/20080320043550/https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=180038,00.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20081019155300/http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2006/10/12/big-brother-7074-is-watching-you/
https://web.archive.org/web/20090508042759/https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=180038,00.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20160526101901/http://oversight.house.gov/hearing/federal-agencies-reliance-on-outdated-and-unsupported-information-technology-a-ticking-time-bomb/
https://web.archive.org/web/20161214091805/https://www.irs.gov/uac/irs-e-file-a-history
https://web.archive.org/web/20180924110604/https://waysandmeans.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/20171004OS-Testimony-Powner.pdf
https://www.archives.gov/files/records-mgmt/rcs/schedules/departments/department-of-the-treasury/rg-0058/n1-058-09-084_sf115.pdf
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2018-04-17/the-irs-computer-system-is-the-oldest-in-the-government
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/irs-monster-computer-circa-1970/
https://www.fedscoop.com/irs-electronic-filing-system-crash/
https://www.fedscoop.com/irs-filing-system-crash-report/
https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-01-227
https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-16-696T
https://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=ssg1S1005392&aid=72
https://www.irs.gov/privacy-disclosure/information-returns-master-file-processing
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pia/imf_pia.pdf
https://www.irsvideos.gov/Professional/IRSWorkProcesses/SubmissionProcessingPipeline
https://www.networkworld.com/article/2226754/the-irs-uses-computers---the-horror-.html
https://www.nextgov.com/it-modernization/2018/03/irs-system-processing-your-taxes-almost-60-years-old/146770/
https://www.nextgov.com/it-modernization/2018/04/irs-60-year-old-it-system-failed-tax-day-due-new-hardware/147598/
https://www.npr.org/2018/04/19/604119723/irs-computer-system-crashes-a-year-after-an-official-warning-was-issued
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/09/25/ibm_tax_day_irs_crash/
https://www.treasury.gov/tigta/auditreports/2013reports/201320125fr.pdf
https://www.treasury.gov/tigta/auditreports/2018reports/201820065fr.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaRzExHoUl0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UynCGHjfug4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4kyTg9Cw8g
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