Search Results for: extension

Update 04/09/2024  8:47am:  This has been resolved.  You can now continue through the extension process.

Scenario:  You select to File an extension and the page just spins

Workaround:  Click “Your Office” on the left navigation panel to exit the page

Solution:  We have entered a high priority ticket to resolve this.

Update 4/5/2024:  You can now correct and electronically re-submit any rejected extensions

Scenario: My extension was rejected and there is no option to re-submit it after correcting the reject errors.

Impact: [Minimal] A small percentage of extensions are rejected by the IRS.  They typically do a cursory check for name control and if an extension is already on file.

Solution: We have a work item in for a programmatic fix.

Alternative solution until this can be resolved:

1.  Paper file the extension
   • You can send the taxpayer a customer portal invite and make the return available for them to print, sign and mail once they have registered their account.

The below message was shared with software vendors by the Vermont Department of Revenue.

“As some of you may know, the State of Vermont was greatly impacted by substantial flooding on July 10^th.  Please see the information below regarding extensions granted by the Governor.

Taxpayers impacted by flooding and unable to meet Vermont tax deadlines between July 7, 2023, and November 15, 2023, will now have until November 15, 2023, to file and pay taxes.

The list of automatic extensions to November 15, 2023 for due dates between July 7, 2023 and November 15, 2023 includes:

• Corporate and business income tax, including estimated payments
• Sales and use tax
• Meals and rooms tax
• Payroll withholding tax
• Estimated personal income tax payments, originally due September 15, 2023
• Filing of 2022 Vermont personal income taxes with a valid federal or Vermont extension

I would note, this extension does NOT include the tax year 2022 personal income tax original payment due date, as that due date was April 18^th, and before the July 7^th qualifying period.“

With the upcoming filing deadline of April 18th, we wanted to provide a quick guide to adding then e-filing an Application for Extension in case any of your clients will need one. Please note that regardless of filing an extension, all balance dues must be paid no later than April 18th to avoid penalties and interest.

If starting a new return, complete the return through Basic Information. Then, go directly to the Miscellaneous Forms section > Form 4868.

Complete the Application for Extension then “Continue” to save. Next. navigate to E-file and click “File Extension”.

Follow the prompts to successfully e-file the Application for Extension.

There will be a couple additional screens to complete. Client List will display the accepted or rejected status of the extension e-filed.

The site will be placed in maintenance on Friday, April 5th to release the below software updates. This will be an unplanned deployment during our code freeze to correct the issue where rejected Federal Extensions are unable to be resubmitted. The below items are also included in this deployment.

ALABAMA

• Form 40 Part I is including 1099-R with box 7 code 3 to carry to line 1h of Fed 1040 to form 40 line 4 as Retirement Income and line 7 as Other Income (Issue 2320)

FEDERAL EXTENSIONS

• Unable to resubmit Non-Accepted Extensions

FORM 8915-F

• Form 8915-F, Part II, Line 12 entry not carrying to print (Issue 2302)

FSA KIOSK

• FSA Kiosk Users who qualify for the service being asked to pay for Federal return sporadically (Issue 2161)

ILLINOIS

• IL Resident with other state part year – Credit for taxes paid to another state not calculating (Issue 2319)

MISSOURI

• MO-A Part 3 – Section C line 8 not carrying to MO-A Part 3 – Section A line 8Y for Income > 85K or > 100K for MFJ (Issue 2317)

WISCONSIN (PART-YEAR)

• WI Part-Year Form 1NPR, Line 31 not calculating (Issue 2310)

IR-2024-04, Jan. 8, 2024

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today announced Monday, Jan. 29, 2024, as the official start date of the nation’s 2024 tax season when the agency will begin accepting and processing 2023 tax returns.

The IRS expects more than 128.7 million individual tax returns to be filed by the April 15, 2024, tax deadline.

Although the IRS will not officially begin accepting and processing tax returns until Jan. 29, people do not need to wait until then to work on their taxes if they’re using software companies or tax professionals. For example, most software companies accept electronic submissions and then hold them until the IRS is ready to begin processing later this month. IRS Free File will also be available on IRS.gov starting Jan. 12 in advance of the filing season opening. The IRS Direct File pilot will be rolled out in phases as final testing is completed and is expected to be widely available in mid-March to eligible taxpayers in the participating states.

Taxpayers will continue to see helpful changes at the IRS following ongoing transformation work. Building off the success of the 2023 tax season that saw significant improvements following passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, the 2024 filing season will continue reflecting the focus on improving services to taxpayers.

“As our transformation efforts take hold, taxpayers will continue to see marked improvement in IRS operations in the upcoming filing season,” said IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel. “IRS employees are working hard to make sure that new funding is used to help taxpayers by making the process of preparing and filing taxes easier.”

Some of the new and expanded tools and resources include:

• Expanded in-person service that meets taxpayers where they are by opening or reopening Taxpayer Assistance Centers (TACs). The IRS will also offer extended hours at many TACs nationwide.

• Increased help available on the toll-free line and an expanded customer call back feature designed to significantly reduce wait times.

• Improvements to the Where’s My Refund? tool, which is the IRS’ most widely used taxpayer service tool. However, the tool provides limited information, often leading taxpayers to call the IRS to inquire about their refund status. Updates to Where’s My Refund? will allow taxpayers to see more detailed refund status messages in plain language. These updates will also ensure Where’s My Refund works seamlessly on mobile devices. Taxpayers often see a generic message stating that their returns are still being processed and to check back later. With the improvements, taxpayers will see clearer and more detailed updates, including whether the IRS needs them to respond to a letter requesting additional information. The new updates will reduce the need for taxpayers to call the IRS for answers to basic questions.

• Enhanced paperless processing that will enable taxpayers to submit all correspondence, non-tax forms, and responses to notices digitally and will be able to e-File 20 additional tax forms. Achieving this milestone will enable up to 125 million paper documents to be submitted digitally per year.

• An enhanced IRS Individual Online Account that includes chat, the option to schedule and cancel future payments, revise payment plans and validate and save bank accounts.

• A new, pilot tax filing service called Direct File that gives eligible taxpayers a new choice to file their 2023 federal tax returns online, for free, directly with the IRS. It will be rolled out in phases and is expected to be widely available in mid-March. Find more about Direct File pilot eligibility, scope and the participating states on Direct File.

April 15 tax filing deadline for most taxpayers

For most taxpayers, the deadline to file their personal federal tax return, pay any tax owed or request an extension to file is Monday, April 15, 2024.

Taxpayers living in Maine or Massachusetts have until April 17, 2024, due to the Patriot’s Day and Emancipation Day holidays. If a taxpayer resides in a federally declared disaster area, they also may have additional time to file.

The site will be placed in maintenance on Tuesday, September 13th, beginning at 5:00am ET to release the below update(s). Note that deployments may take up to 3 hours to complete. During this time, access to the program may be limited.

CLIENT LIST

• Rejected status opens blank when it is a rejected amended Federal return (Issue 6170)

REPORTS

• Extension report not displaying last name of TP (Issue 7065)

WASHINGTON − The Internal Revenue Service announced that the nation’s tax season will start on Monday, Jan. 24, 2022, when the tax agency will begin accepting and processing 2021 tax year returns.

The January 24 start date for individual tax return filers allows the IRS time to perform programming and testing that is critical to ensuring IRS systems run smoothly. Updated programming helps ensure that eligible people can claim the proper amount of the Child Tax Credit after comparing their 2021 advance credits and claim any remaining stimulus money as a Recovery Rebate Credit when they file their 2021 tax return.

“Planning for the nation’s filing season process is a massive undertaking, and IRS teams have been working non-stop these past several months to prepare,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig. “The pandemic continues to create challenges, but the IRS reminds people there are important steps they can take to help ensure their tax return and refund don’t face processing delays. Filing electronically with direct deposit and avoiding a paper tax return is more important than ever this year. And we urge extra attention to those who received an Economic Impact Payment or an advance Child Tax Credit last year. People should make sure they report the correct amount on their tax return to avoid delays.”

The IRS encourages everyone to have all the information they need in hand to make sure they file a complete and accurate return. Having an accurate tax return can avoid processing delays, refund delays and later IRS notices. This is especially important for people who received advance Child Tax Credit payments or Economic Impact Payments (American Rescue Plan stimulus payments) in 2021; they will need the amounts of these payments when preparing their tax return. The IRS is mailing special letters to recipients, and they can also check amounts received on IRS.gov.

Like last year, there will be individuals filing tax returns who, even though they are not required to file, need to file a 2021 return to claim a Recovery Rebate Credit to receive the tax credit from the 2021 stimulus payments or reconcile advance payments of the Child Tax Credit. People who don’t normally file also could receive other credits.

April 18 tax filing deadline for most
The filing deadline to submit 2021 tax returns or an extension to file and pay tax owed is Monday, April 18, 2022, for most taxpayers. By law, Washington, D.C., holidays impact tax deadlines for everyone in the same way federal holidays do. The due date is April 18, instead of April 15, because of the Emancipation Day holiday in the District of Columbia for everyone except taxpayers who live in Maine or Massachusetts. Taxpayers in Maine or Massachusetts have until April 19, 2022, to file their returns due to the Patriots’ Day holiday in those states. Taxpayers requesting an extension will have until Monday, Oct. 17, 2022, to file.

Awaiting processing of previous tax returns? People can still file 2021 returns
Rettig noted that IRS employees continue to work hard on critical areas affected by the pandemic, including processing of tax returns from last year and record levels of phone calls coming in.

“In many areas, we are unable to deliver the amount of service and enforcement that our taxpayers and tax system deserves and needs. This is frustrating for taxpayers, for IRS employees and for me,” Rettig said. “IRS employees want to do more, and we will continue in 2022 to do everything possible with the resources available to us. And we will continue to look for ways to improve. We want to deliver as much as possible while also protecting the health and safety of our employees and taxpayers. Additional resources are essential to helping our employees do more in 2022 – and beyond.”

The IRS continues to reduce the inventory of prior-year individual tax returns that have not been fully processed. As of Dec. 3, 2021, the IRS has processed nearly 169 million tax returns.  All paper and electronic individual 2020 refund returns received prior to April 2021 have been processed if the return had no errors or did not require further review.

Taxpayers generally will not need to wait for their 2020 return to be fully processed to file their 2021 tax returns and can file when they are ready.

Key information to help taxpayers
The IRS encourages people to use online resources before calling. Last filing season, as a result of COVID-era tax changes and broader pandemic challenges, the IRS phone systems received more than 145 million calls from January 1 – May 17, more than four times more calls than in an average year. In addition to IRS.gov, the IRS has a variety of other free options available to help taxpayers, ranging from free assistance at Volunteer Income Tax Assistance and Tax Counseling for the Elderly locations across the country to the availability of the IRS Free File program.

“Our phone volumes continue to remain at record-setting levels,” Rettig said. “We urge people to check IRS.gov and establish an online account to help them access information more quickly. We have invested in developing new online capacities to make this a quick and easy way for taxpayers to get the information they need.”

Last year’s average tax refund was more than $2,800. More than 160 million individual tax returns for the 2021 tax year are expected to be filed, with the vast majority of those coming before the traditional April tax deadline.

Overall, the IRS anticipates most taxpayers will receive their refund within 21 days of when they file electronically if they choose direct deposit and there are no issues with their tax return. The IRS urges taxpayers and tax professionals to file electronically. To avoid delays in processing, people should avoid filing paper returns wherever possible.

By law, the IRS cannot issue a refund involving the Earned Income Tax Credit or Additional Child Tax Credit before mid-February, though eligible people may file their returns beginning on January 24. The law provides this additional time to help the IRS stop fraudulent refunds from being issued.

Some returns, filed electronically or on paper, may need manual review, which delays the processing, if our systems detect a possible error or missing information, or there is suspected identity theft or fraud. Some of these situations require us to correspond with taxpayers, but some do not. This work does require special handling by an IRS employee so, in these instances, it may take the IRS more than the normal 21 days to issue any related refund. In those cases where IRS is able to correct the return without corresponding, the IRS will send an explanation to the taxpayer.

File electronically and choose direct deposit
To speed refunds, the IRS urges taxpayers to file electronically with direct deposit information as soon as they have everything they need to file an accurate return. If the return includes errors or is incomplete, it may require further review that may slow the tax refund. Having all information available when preparing the 2021 tax return can reduce errors and avoid delays in processing.

Most individual taxpayers file IRS Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR once they receive Forms W-2 and other earnings information from their employers, issuers like state agencies and payers. The IRS has incorporated recent changes to the tax laws into the forms and instructions and shared the updates with its partners who develop the software used by individuals and tax professionals to prepare and file their returns. Forms 1040 and 1040-SR and the associated instructions are available now on IRS.gov. For the latest IRS forms and instructions, visit the IRS website at IRS.gov/forms.