Windows XP got its latest, and last, software updates from Microsoft earlier this week, but the 12 year old operating system is still installed and being used on millions of PCs. This week, the The U.S. Internal Revenue Service admitted it will have to pay "millions" to Microsoft in order to keep getting support for the many Windows XP computers it continues to use.
Computerworld reports that, during a budget hearing Monday before the U.S. House Financial Services and General Government subcommittee, IRS commissioner John Koskinen said that the agency will take $30 million out of its enforcement budget to finish the migration of its PCs from Windows XP to Windows 7. Part of that money will go to Microsoft so it can offer its "custom support" for XP PCs for another year.
There are about 110,000 PCs that are used by the IRS and about 53 percent of them still run on Windows XP, with the rest running on Windows 7. Koskinen told the committee that the agency had $300 million worth of IT improvements that still need to be done, including the Windows XP upgrades. The work is expected to be completed by the end of 2014.
Of course, the IRS is getting ready for the annual ritual of April 15th, the deadline for U.S. citizens to turn in their federal taxes, In a statement, the agency said none of their PCs that handle tax filing are using Windows XP, so taxpayers can't use that as an excuse to not file their return before the end of the day on Tuesday.
Source: Computerworld | Tax return image via Shutterstock
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