Steven Mnuchin says some taxpayers will get a filing extension after the IRS website broke down on Tax Day

The Internal Revenue Service's online tax-filing platform is experiencing technical issues on Tuesday, the same day that 2017 federal tax returns are due.

David Kautter, the acting IRS commissioner, told members of Congress that some parts of the agency's online system were experiencing technical difficulties.

"On my way over here this morning, I was told a number of systems are unavailable at the moment," Kautter said. "We are working to resolve the issue, and taxpayers should continue to file as they normally would."

A representative for the IRS echoed Kautter's comments in a statement to Business Insider.

"Currently, certain IRS systems are experiencing technical difficulties," the representative said. "Taxpayers should continue filing their tax returns as they normally would."

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told reporters at a tax reform event in New Hampshire that the IRS outage was a "

The IRS's website says its direct-pay option, which allows filers to pay taxes directly from a checking account, is currently unavailable.

Parts of the IRS's "Modernized e-File System" are also down on Tuesday.

Kautter said tax returns filed through services like H&R Block and TurboTax were not getting through to the IRS.

Tuesday is the deadline for Americans to file their 2017 federal tax return and for businesses and people who are self-employed to file for the first quarter of this year.

Kautter said the IRS would ensure there are no penalties for taxpayers who face technical issues with the IRS.

Larry Kudlow, President Donald Trump's top economic adviser, expressed concern about the outage.

"The IRS is crashing? It sounds horrible," Kudlow told reporters in Florida, where Trump is meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. "It sounds really bad. I hope it gets fixed."

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