Contesting a penalty for "late" filing for extension

[jclapp]

Context: At 9:50 pm (ET) on 4/15/24, I set out to file for an extension electronically (using an IRS "partner," since--astonishingly--TurboTax Home & Business does not include any such feature), but got an Error 404 on the IRS page where their partners for this purpose were listed and linked to. I therefore saved a screenshot of Error 404 as evidence of what happened, then printed and filled out the necessary form and placed it in a letterbox at 11:13 pm (knowing that it would not be picked up until 9:00 am and thus not postmarked until 4/16). I thought the IRS might overlook the delay, given that it was their own fault for not providing adequate and reliable web resources just when they are most needed. But two months later I received a letter denying the request for an extension on the ground that it failed to meet the deadline.
Question: How can I avoid (before paying) or dispute (after paying) any penalty for late filing, on the ground that the IRS caused the failure?

P.S.: New York State presented no such a problem.  I was able to request an extension on their tax site even closer to midnight.  

[Andrew_W]

If you receive a penalty for late filing, you can request relief via the First Time Abate process with the IRS. Failure to File (which is the likely penalty that may be applied in this case) is covered by the First Time Abate process.

Generally, qualifications for the First Time Abate include a history of good tax compliance (defined as the immediately prior three years of tax returns filed and no other penalties in that three year period). The link above has additional guidance and how to request the First Time Abate from the IRS. This TurboTax article has additional useful information as well: IRS Tax Penalty Abatement and Relief 

For future reference, TurboTax offers an Easy Tax Extension web based tool that is free to use: TurboTax Easy Tax Extension. Filing deadlines are generally midnight your local time zone.