- Is IRS down right now? At our last independent check, at 6:30 a.m. on October 26, 2026 (US Eastern time), the IRS online services we check (IRS.gov, the IRS account sign-in, Direct Pay, EFTPS, ID.me, Login.gov, MeF and IRIS) were working. The live check below shows each service separately.
- Jump to: Direct Pay · EFTPS · sign-in · e-file · IRIS · Where’s My Refund · EIN · maintenance · deadline day
- Many “outages” are scheduled: Direct Pay is closed every Sunday 12 a.m. to 7 a.m. ET and nightly 11:45 p.m. to midnight ET; Where’s My Refund every Monday 12 a.m. to 3 a.m. ET.
- EFTPS payments must be scheduled by 8 p.m. ET the day before the due date. On the due date itself, a same-day wire through your bank is the fallback for business deposits.
- An IRS outage does not move a deadline. A check with a USPS postmark on or before the due date counts as on time (26 U.S.C. §7502), but federal tax deposits must be electronic.
- FIRE, the old 1099 e-filing system, takes its last filings on November 19, 2026 at 3 p.m. ET. After that, information returns go through IRIS only.
The live result below shows whether IRS.gov, the IRS account sign-in, Direct Pay, EFTPS, ID.me, Login.gov, the e-file system (MeF) and IRIS are answering right now, measured by our own server. Next to it are the published hours of the tools that can’t be checked from outside, such as Where’s My Refund and the EIN application, so you can tell a scheduled closure from a real outage. If a payment system is down on a due date, this page lists the other ways to pay on time and what to keep as evidence.
Independent check. MainStreetRadar checks these services from outside every few minutes; we are not the IRS and not affiliated with it. Nothing here asks for your Social Security number or any tax data, and every link to file or pay goes to irs.gov or eftps.gov.
Independent checks by MainStreetRadar, not an IRS service. We are not affiliated with or endorsed by the IRS.
IRS systems are up
Every IRS page, payment site and sign-in service we check answered normally.
Last check: ET (1 min ago) · independent check by MainStreetRadar, every 2 minutes
No current measurement
Last measurement: today, 6:30 a.m. ET. We do not show a state we have not measured. Refresh the page in a minute.
IRS.gov and IRS sign-in working
Payments working
Sign-in partners working
E-filing working
IRS tools we can't check independently
These IRS tools refuse automated checks (they answer our probe with "Access Denied"), and we don't work around that. Below are the hours the IRS publishes and whether each tool is open right now by those hours. That is a schedule, not a measurement.
What the IRS and its sign-in partners say right now
- MeF operational status (irs.gov)
- Production System Operational · Assurance Testing System (ATS) Operational
- Standing note: Limited services: Sundays 12 a.m. – 9 a.m. ET: MeF accepts submissions but doesn’t generate acknowledgements or process state services during routine maintenance.
- IRIS operational status (irs.gov)
- IRIS Taxpayer Portal Operational · IRIS A2A Operational · IRIS ATS Operational
- AIR operational status (irs.gov, ACA information returns)
- Production system operational · Assurance Testing System (AATS) Operational
- Standing note: AIR is unavailable Sundays 12 a.m. – 12 p.m. ET due to routine maintenance.
- ID.me status page No unresolved incidents in the last 48 hours.
- Latest entry: Elevated Application Errors for Identity Verifications (resolved, Sep 21, 2026)
- Login.gov status page No unresolved incidents in the last 48 hours.
- Latest entry: [Planned Maintenance] Login.gov downtime for all services (completed, Sep 10, 2026)
Sources: the IRS's MeF, IRIS and AIR operational status pages on irs.gov, and the public status feeds of ID.me and Login.gov. We read them every 30 minutes, last at today, 6:22 a.m. ET. Times are US Eastern time as published. The IRS also e-mails outage alerts to subscribers of its QuickAlerts service. IRS outages don't automatically extend deadlines: if one stops you filing or paying, keep a screenshot and the time, and check IRS.gov for any relief announcement.
History: the last 24 hours and 90 days
The last 24 hours
The last 90 days
Availability by service
| Service | 24 h | 7 days | 30 days | 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IRS.gov | 100%721 checks | 100%801 checks · 2/7 days | 100%801 checks · 2/30 days | 100%801 checks · 2/90 days |
| IRS online account sign-in | 100%721 checks | 100%801 checks · 2/7 days | 100%801 checks · 2/30 days | 100%801 checks · 2/90 days |
| IRS Direct Pay | 100%237 checks | 100%264 checks · 2/7 days | 100%264 checks · 2/30 days | 100%264 checks · 2/90 days |
| EFTPS | 100%240 checks | 100%267 checks · 2/7 days | 100%267 checks · 2/30 days | 100%267 checks · 2/90 days |
| ID.me | 100%240 checks | 100%267 checks · 2/7 days | 100%267 checks · 2/30 days | 100%267 checks · 2/90 days |
| Login.gov | 100%144 checks | 100%160 checks · 2/7 days | 100%160 checks · 2/30 days | 100%160 checks · 2/90 days |
| Modernized e-File (MeF) | 100%144 checks | 100%160 checks · 2/7 days | 100%160 checks · 2/30 days | 100%160 checks · 2/90 days |
| IRIS (1099 e-filing) | 100%48 checks | 100%54 checks · 2/7 days | 100%54 checks · 2/30 days | 100%54 checks · 2/90 days |
Outages our probe recorded
Since we started measuring (Oct 25, 2026), the probe has not recorded an outage or rate limiting. We record an outage only when a service fails twice in a row, 20 seconds apart, outside its documented maintenance hours.
This block refreshes every minute while the page is open. Could not fetch new data; we will try again.
MainStreetRadar is an independent website. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, ID.me or Login.gov. Status is measured by our own automated checks of public pages and may differ from what you see. For official information visit IRS.gov.
This page is for sole proprietors, LLC owners, small employers and bookkeepers looking at an IRS error, often near a deadline. Hours and rules were checked on irs.gov, eftps.gov and in the Internal Revenue Code on October 25, 2026. It covers federal systems only, not state tax websites, and it is general information, not tax advice: for a penalty that matters, ask a CPA, an enrolled agent or a tax attorney.
Is the IRS website down, or is it just me?
- Look at the live result. Red means the service failed twice in a row, 20 seconds apart, from our server. Green means it answers normally from outside, so the problem is more likely on your side or inside your account. Grey means a documented maintenance window is on.
- Check the clock in Eastern time. The IRS publishes every window in ET, and most fall on Sunday mornings.
- Know which sign-in you need. IRS online accounts use ID.me. EFTPS uses Login.gov or ID.me, then your EFTPS PIN and password. Direct Pay needs no sign-in.
- Try a private window or another browser. Old cookies and extensions break sign-in pages more often than outages do.
- Take a screenshot either way, with the date and time visible. You will need it if you later ask for penalty relief.
- our check is red outside the service’s maintenance hours
- the IRS’s MeF or IRIS status page shows anything other than “Operational”
- the error appears on two devices and two networks
- our check is green and the IRS posts no notice
- the error is about your password, identity or verification code
- only one browser or device fails
Is IRS Direct Pay down?
Live now: At our last independent check, at 6:30 a.m. on October 26, 2026 (US Eastern time), IRS Direct Pay was answering normally.
IRS Direct Pay takes a payment from a US checking or savings account without signing in, free, with a confirmation number for each payment. Its hours are Monday to Saturday 12 a.m. to 11:45 p.m. ET, Sunday 7 a.m. to 11:45 p.m. ET. In the Sunday window you may see a “regularly scheduled maintenance” page; that is not an outage, and our check shows it grey.
- Limits: 5 payments in 24 hours, and under $10 million per payment. Larger amounts go through EFTPS or a same-day wire.
- Timing: a payment dated on the due date counts as on time even if the withdrawal happens later. The help page says payments after 8 p.m. ET may appear in your online account as the next business day, so pay earlier and keep the confirmation number.
- If it fails: individuals can pay in the Individual Online Account; businesses in the Business Tax Account or EFTPS. See EFTPS vs Direct Pay.
Is EFTPS down?
Live now: At our last independent check, at 6:30 a.m. on October 26, 2026 (US Eastern time), EFTPS was answering normally.
EFTPS, the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System, is the Treasury’s system for business tax deposits such as payroll tax. It is run by the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, not the IRS, so it can fail while irs.gov works. No standing maintenance window is published.
Payments on the EFTPS website or by phone must be scheduled by 8 p.m. ET the day before the due date. If you are enrolled, EFTPS also takes payments through its voice response system at 1-800-555-3453, which it says you can always use. Sign-in has two steps, Login.gov or ID.me first, then your PIN and password; if the first fails, check those two in our live block. Individuals could not enroll after October 17, 2025, and EFTPS says all individuals must move to Direct Pay or the Individual Online Account later in 2026.
Missed it for a federal tax deposit? IRS Publication 15 says you can still deposit on time with a same-day wire through your bank. Your bank sets its own cut-off and fee, so arrange it before the due date.
Can’t sign in to your IRS online account? ID.me and Login.gov
Live now: At our last independent check, at 6:30 a.m. on October 26, 2026 (US Eastern time), IRS online account sign-in was answering normally. At our last independent check, at 6:30 a.m. on October 26, 2026 (US Eastern time), ID.me was answering normally.
The Individual Online Account, Business Tax Account and Tax Pro Account sit behind one IRS sign-in gateway. We check that it answers a signed-out visitor normally; we never sign in, so green means the front door works, not that your transcript will load. IRS accounts verify you through ID.me. Login.gov is used by EFTPS and other federal sites, not by the IRS account page.
- Gateway green, ID.me red: the sign-in partner is failing. Wait, or pay through Direct Pay.
- Everything green, still locked out: usually your ID.me credentials or verification; the IRS points to the ID.me help center.
- Tax Pro Account is open Monday 6 a.m. to Saturday 9 p.m. ET, and Sunday 10 a.m. to midnight ET.
Is IRS e-file down? What your tax software sees
Live now: At our last independent check, at 6:30 a.m. on October 26, 2026 (US Eastern time), Modernized e-File (MeF) was answering normally.
Tax software sends returns to Modernized e-File (MeF), which replies with an acknowledgement: accepted or rejected. MeF has no public page to test, so our result comes from the IRS’s own MeF operational status page, read every 10 minutes.
Every Sunday from 12 a.m. to 9 a.m. ET, MeF accepts returns but sends no acknowledgements and processes no state returns, so your software may show “pending” for hours. What counts is transmission: IRS Publication 1345 says a return with an electronic postmark on or before the due date is filed on time even if the IRS receives it later. If a timely return is rejected, you can file a corrected paper return by the later of the due date or 10 calendar days after the rejection notice.
Is IRIS down? E-filing 1099s after FIRE
Live now: At our last independent check, at 6:30 a.m. on October 26, 2026 (US Eastern time), IRIS (1099 e-filing) was answering normally.
IRIS, the Information Returns Intake System, takes 1099s and other information returns. Its free Taxpayer Portal accepts up to 100 returns at a time, typed or uploaded as CSV, and needs an IRIS Transmitter Control Code (see IRIS TCC application). We read the IRS’s IRIS operational status page every 30 minutes. FIRE, the older system, is being retired (IR-2026-99, checked today):
- November 9, 2026: last day to change an existing FIRE TCC application.
- November 19, 2026, 3 p.m. ET: last FIRE filing. Until then FIRE closes Sundays 2 to 8 a.m. and Wednesdays 2 to 5 a.m. ET.
- From January 1, 2027: IRIS is the only e-filing system for information returns, including prior years and corrections.
Form 1099-NEC is due February 1, 2027 (see Form 1099-NEC due date), and 10 or more information returns must be e-filed. There is no automatic extension for 1099-NEC: Form 8809 must go on paper with a reason. The IRIS help desk answers weekdays 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET.
Is Where’s My Refund down?
Where’s My Refund refuses automated visitors, and we don’t try to get around that, so we show its published hours instead. It is closed every Monday 12 a.m. to 3 a.m. ET and sometimes on Sundays 1 a.m. to 7 a.m. ET; Refund Trace has longer closures, including Sunday until 7 p.m. Its data updates once a day, usually overnight. If it fails outside those hours, try the refund status in your Individual Online Account. Never type your SSN or refund amount into a look-alike site; the real tool starts at irs.gov/refunds.
Is the EIN online application down? Two schedules that disagree
The online application issues an EIN in minutes, free, one per responsible party per day. It can’t be checked from outside, and the IRS publishes two different schedules for it:
| Published on | Mon–Fri | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|
| The application’s “System Unavailable” page | 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. | closed | closed |
| The irs.gov EIN page | 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. (next day) | 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. | 6 p.m. to midnight |
On Sunday morning the application showed the shorter hours. Apply on a weekday between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. ET, when both schedules agree. If it still fails, Form SS-4 can go by fax or mail.
When does the IRS do scheduled maintenance?
These are the standing windows the IRS publishes. Ad hoc windows appear on the IRS status pages and in its QuickAlerts emails, and our live block shows them when posted.
| Service | Closed or limited |
|---|---|
| IRS Direct Pay | Sunday 12 a.m. to 7 a.m.; daily 11:45 p.m. to midnight (Online Account payments too) |
| EFTPS | None published; schedule by 8 p.m. the day before |
| Modernized e-File (MeF) | Sunday 12 a.m. to 9 a.m., limited (no acknowledgements) |
| FIRE | Sunday 2 a.m. to 8 a.m.; Wednesday 2 a.m. to 5 a.m.; retires November 19, 2026 |
| IRIS | None published; announced on its status page |
| Where’s My Refund | Monday 12 a.m. to 3 a.m.; sometimes Sunday 1 a.m. to 7 a.m. |
| EIN online application | Two schedules (above); safe: weekdays 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. |
| e-Services (TIN Matching, TDS) | Sunday 12 a.m. to 4 p.m. |
| Tax Pro Account | Saturday 9 p.m. to Sunday 10 a.m.; Monday 12 a.m. to 6 a.m. |
| Online Account, Business Tax Account | None published |
Daylight saving time: the IRS keeps these hours in local Eastern time all year. Clocks go back on November 1, 2026 and forward on March 14, 2027, so each window stays at the same ET time but moves by an hour in UTC. In Pacific time, Sunday 12 a.m. to 7 a.m. ET is Saturday 9 p.m. to Sunday 4 a.m.
A payment system is down on a due date: what should I do?
An outage doesn’t extend a deadline. The IRS postpones due dates for federally declared disasters and announces it on irs.gov; there is no rule that moves one because a website was down. Our tax deadline calendar shows what is due when. On the day itself:
- Record the failure. Screenshot the error with date and time, note the message, and screenshot our live result. The IRS lists “system issues that delayed a timely electronic filing or payment” among possible reasons for penalty relief.
- Try another electronic channel. Direct Pay, EFTPS (also by phone if enrolled), the Individual Online Account and the Business Tax Account are separate doors.
- For a business deposit, ask your bank for a same-day wire. Federal tax deposits must be electronic. The IRS accepts a wire the day it is sent; give your bank the IRS Same-day Taxpayer Worksheet.
- For other payments, a card works. The IRS lists two approved processors: $2.10 or $2.15 for a debit card, 1.75% or 1.85% (minimum $2.50) for a personal credit card. Federal tax deposits can’t be paid by card.
- Or mail a check postmarked by the due date. Under 26 U.S.C. §7502, a payment or return sent by US mail counts as delivered on its USPS postmark date if that date is on or before the deadline. With registered mail, the registration date is the postmark; certified mail gives you a dated receipt. Make the check payable to “U.S. Treasury”. This does not work for federal tax deposits.
- Ask for relief when a notice arrives. Call the number on it or file Form 843. Reasonable cause is decided case by case; interest on the tax stays, and interest on a penalty goes only if the penalty does.
Small employers have the most at stake, because the failure-to-deposit penalty starts on day one. With the irs.gov percentages, for a $6,000 payroll deposit:
- 1 to 5 calendar days late: 2%
- $120
- 6 to 15 days late: 5%
- $300
- More than 15 days late: 10%
- $600
- Same-day wire on the due date
- bank fee only
Waiting three days for EFTPS$120 + interest
For individual income tax, the failure-to-pay penalty is 0.5% of the unpaid tax per month, far less. From summer 2026 the IRS is also replacing First Time Abate with an Automatic Exemption from Penalty: for 2025 returns and 2026 quarterly returns, late filing, payment and deposit penalties are not assessed if your previous three years (or 12 quarters) were on time.
The IRS says reasonable cause doesn’t apply to the estimated tax penalty, so an outage on January 15, 2027 is no reliable excuse for a late fourth-quarter payment. Pay a day or two early. Our quarterly estimated taxes guide covers dates and amounts, and how to pay estimated taxes online covers each channel.
New business account offers, fee changes and deadlines, in one short email.
IRS outage report: what our checks have recorded
Our server loads the public pages a signed-out visitor sees (IRS.gov, the IRS sign-in gateway, step 1 of the Direct Pay form with nothing entered, the EFTPS home page, ID.me and Login.gov) and reads the IRS’s MeF and IRIS status pages. We never sign in or submit anything. A service counts as down only after two failures 20 seconds apart, outside its maintenance hours; runs where the IRS refused our automated check count as “no measurement”. This is our measurement, not an IRS record.
Since October 25, 2026 our probe has run 801 rounds of checks (one every 2 minutes, about 2 days). IRS.gov and IRS sign-in: no outages, availability 100%. Payments: no outages, availability 100%. Sign-in partners: no outages, availability 100%. E-filing: no outages, availability 100%.
| Service | Availability | Outages | Time down | Longest | Last outage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IRS.gov | 100% | 0 | – | – | – |
| IRS online account sign-in | 100% | 0 | – | – | – |
| IRS Direct Pay | 100% | 0 | – | – | – |
| EFTPS | 100% | 0 | – | – | – |
| ID.me | 100% | 0 | – | – | – |
| Login.gov | 100% | 0 | – | – | – |
| Modernized e-File (MeF) | 100% | 0 | – | – | – |
| IRIS (1099 e-filing) | 100% | 0 | – | – | – |
| Month | Rounds of checks | IRS.gov and IRS sign-in | Payments | Sign-in partners | E-filing | Time down (all) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2026 | 801 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
These are MainStreetRadar's own measurements from a server in Germany, not a statement by the IRS. IRS outages don't automatically extend deadlines; for relief, rely on announcements on IRS.gov.
For the people who run these systems
Our checks read only public pages: the IRS.gov home page, the sign-in link from IRS.gov’s own menu (we stop before the sign-in screen), the first screen of Direct Pay, the EFTPS home page, ID.me’s published sign-in configuration, the Login.gov home page and the IRS’s own operational-status pages. We never sign in, never submit a form, keep no cookies between checks and send about 1,500 to 2,000 requests a day across all of these hosts. Every request identifies itself as MainStreetRadar status probe (+https://mainstreetradar.com/is-irs-down/).
If a service answers with an access block, we record “no measurement” and do not try to get around it. If you operate one of these systems and want us to stop checking it, write to hello@mainstreetradar.com and we will switch that host off the same day, no questions asked.
Frequently asked questions
Is the IRS website down right now?
At our last independent check, at 6:30 a.m. on October 26, 2026 (US Eastern time), the IRS online services we check (IRS.gov, the IRS account sign-in, Direct Pay, EFTPS, ID.me, Login.gov, MeF and IRIS) were working. The live block at the top of this page shows each service separately, with the time of the last check in Eastern time.
Is IRS Direct Pay down today?
At our last independent check, at 6:30 a.m. on October 26, 2026 (US Eastern time), IRS Direct Pay was answering normally. Direct Pay is closed every Sunday 12 a.m. to 7 a.m. ET and nightly 11:45 p.m. to midnight ET, so a failure then is scheduled, not an outage.
Why is EFTPS not working?
At our last independent check, at 6:30 a.m. on October 26, 2026 (US Eastern time), EFTPS was answering normally. If EFTPS answers but you can’t sign in, check Login.gov and ID.me, the first sign-in step. Enrolled users can pay by phone at 1-800-555-3453.
Does the IRS extend the deadline if its website is down?
No, not automatically; the IRS postpones deadlines for federally declared disasters, not outages. Pay or file another way on time if you can, keep a dated screenshot, and ask for penalty relief for reasonable cause if a notice arrives.
What time does IRS Direct Pay stop accepting payments?
At 11:45 p.m. ET every day; it reopens at midnight, except on Sunday, when it opens at 7 a.m. ET. Payments after 8 p.m. ET may show in your online account as the next business day, so on a due date pay earlier.
Why does my tax software say my return is still pending?
Every Sunday from 12 a.m. to 9 a.m. ET the IRS e-file system accepts returns but sends no acknowledgements. A return transmitted on or before the due date still counts as filed on time.
What are the hours for the online EIN application?
The application’s own page says Monday to Friday 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET; the irs.gov EIN page gives longer hours, including weekends. Weekdays between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. ET are open under both.
Is MainStreetRadar part of the IRS?
No. MainStreetRadar is an independent website that checks public IRS pages from its own server; we are not affiliated with or endorsed by the IRS or the Treasury. To file or pay, go to irs.gov or eftps.gov directly.
Changelog
- October 25, 2026: page written. Hours checked on irs.gov and eftps.gov, FIRE dates in IR-2026-99, penalty and card fee pages on irs.gov, mailbox rule in 26 U.S.C. §7502.
Sources
- IRS: Direct Pay system availability
- IRS: Direct Pay help
- EFTPS home page
- IRS: Same-day wire federal tax payments
- IRS Publication 15 (2026)
- IRS: Creating an account for IRS.gov (ID.me)
- IRS: Modernized e-File operational status
- IRS Publication 1345 (Rev. 12-2025)
- IRS: IRIS operational status
- IRS: E-file information returns with IRIS
- IRS: IR-2026-99, FIRE transition to IRIS
- IRS: FIRE maintenance windows
- IRS Form 8809 (Rev. December 2025)
- IRS: When is Where’s My Refund available
- IRS: Get an employer identification number
- IRS: e-Services
- IRS: Tax Pro Account
- IRS: Pay by debit or credit card
- IRS: Pay by check or money order
- 26 U.S.C. §7502: timely mailing as timely filing and paying
- IRS: Penalty relief for reasonable cause
- IRS: First Time Abate and Automatic Exemption from Penalty
- IRS: Failure to deposit penalty
- IRS: Failure to pay penalty
- IRS: Tax relief in disaster situations
Checked on October 25, 2026 against irs.gov, eftps.gov and the Internal Revenue Code. The live status updates automatically. Our measurement is not an IRS statement; service hours and tax rules change, and irs.gov always prevails.