Item 7.01 Regulation FD Disclosure.Blucora, Inc. (the "Company") is filing this current report on Form 8-K to provide further information regarding its efforts to expedite the receipt of Economic Impact Payments ("stimulus payments" or "stimulus funds") to customers of the Company'sTaxAct business, an online tax filing system. As acknowledged by theU.S. Internal Revenue Service (the "IRS"), many stimulus payments distributed in the first week of January were directed to incorrect bank accounts. Since this issue first came to light, the Company has been strongly advocating for theIRS to resolve the issue as quickly as possible to ensure that all taxpayers are treated fairly. To date, the following events have occurred: •Upon realization of its error, theIRS instructed financial institutions to return the funds to theIRS , and theIRS stated that it would reprocess those funds to the rightful recipients. •The Company's bank partner returned the funds to theIRS immediately, which was both required by law and intended to result in the payment of stimulus funds to customers as quickly as possible. •Days after the return of funds by many financial institutions, theIRS then stated that it would not reprocess the funds, and individuals impacted by this error would be required to claim the stimulus payments on their tax returns to receive their stimulus payments. TheIRS also stated that the financial institutions who had not yet returned the money to theIRS could re-distribute the funds to taxpayers if they were in possession of the accurate banking information. Because their financial partners had not complied with theIRS direction to return funds, certainTaxAct competitors have been able to begin distributing stimulus payments to their customers. The Company believes that theIRS action has facilitated a disparate treatment of tax software providers and ultimatelyU.S. taxpayers and consumers. •The Company has strongly advocated that theIRS immediately send its customers' stimulus payments back to the Company's banking partner so that it can distribute stimulus funds toTaxAct's customers as fast as possible. •The Company understands that theIRS has thus far denied these requests and that theIRS plans to begin processing payments when theIRS master accounting system reopens onJanuary 25, 2021 . This delay is estimated to result in the receipt of stimulus funds in early February for impacted taxpayers. •The Company continues to implore theIRS to adopt potential solutions that will allow the Company to ensure thatTaxAct's customers receive their stimulus payments more quickly. Facilitating customers' receipt of stimulus funds as soon as possible is of paramount importance to the Company, and the Company regrets any inconvenience or hardship that theIRS's actions have caused its customers. The negative consumer sentiment arising from the above-describedIRS actions may lead someTaxAct customers to move to other tax software providers. Because a significant portion ofTaxAct's revenue is not generated until later in the tax season, the Company is unable to estimate the potential impact on its business at this time. The information in Item 7.01 of this Current Report on Form 8-K is being furnished pursuant to Item 7.01 and shall not be deemed to be filed for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), or otherwise be subject to the liabilities of that section, nor shall it be deemed to be incorporated by reference in any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), or the Exchange Act, whether made before or after the date hereof and regardless of any general incorporation language in such filing.
Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities and Litigation Reform Act
This report contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section
27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. Forward-looking
statements provide current expectations of future events based on certain
assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to any
historical or current fact. Actual results may differ significantly from
management's expectations due to various risks and uncertainties including, but
not limited to, the timing and nature of the ultimate resolution of, and the
ultimate effects of, the matters discussed in this current report on Form 8-K,
in addition to those risks and uncertainties described in the Company's Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended
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