Below are the questions and answers recorded from the All Partner Call on Thursday, March 28th. We are posting questions most applicable to all sites.

Q: How do we determine residency status when an international student with an F1 visa changes to an H1B employee status with the H1B being less then half the year?

• Referred volunteer to their SPEC RM to perform tax research on their behalf.

Q: Can you lock a return after it has been accepted so it cannot be reopened?

• No, but from Client Status, volunteers can generate the accepted PDF of the Federal and State Return(s).

Q: Can the Suggestion Box send automated responses summarizing entries made?

• Currently, this is not available using the third-party survey platform.

Q: Is there a way to delete preparers instead of just marking them inactive?

• No, preparers added must stay in the database because their logins are tied to tax returns prepared and transmitted.

The site will be placed in maintenance on Friday, March 29th to release the below software updates.

ALABAMA

• Correct an issue where the AL Injured Spouse Form was not pulling correct values for the SP (Issue 3311)

EARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT

• Correct an issue where the checkbox inside the EIC menu indicating a taxpayer is not eligible for EITC is not staying saved when marked (Issue 3202)

FOREIGN TAX CREDIT

• Update the calculation on the Worksheet for Line 18 for qualified dividends (Issue 3280)

FORM 1099-OID

• Remove the page validation requiring an entry in Box 1 in order to save an entry (Issue 2762)

IOWA

• Correct a display issue on Line 58 when a return qualifies for the Low Income Exemption and no values are present on Lines 56 and 57 (Issue 3391)

NEW JERSEY

• Correct a print issue where NJ Form NJ-DOP was not generating for a return when needed (Issue 3315)

PENNSYLVANIA

• Correct a print issue where all provided beneficiaries were not pulling to PA Schedule O (Issue 3324)

*Click here to download a PDF of our Cumulative Release Notes.

The site will be placed in maintenance on Wednesday, March 27th to release the below software updates.

ARIZONA

• Correct an issue related to Line 20 where an incorrect value was showing on a specific return (Issue 3270)

E-FILE

• Correct an issue with the State ID/DL menu where the option “Not Provided” was still requiring fields to be completed when State ID/DL is optional (Issue 3284)

ILLINOIS

• Correct an entry issue where the “Apply Refund to Next Year” field was allowing entries greater than the current calculated refund (Issue 3255)

LOUISIANA

• Correct an issue in the Part-Year program where Priority 2 Refundable Credits were not included in the total credit line (Issue 3333)

MINNESOTA

• Correct an issue where Form MN Schedule M1529 was not generating when added to a specific print set (Issue 3102)

PENNSYLVANIA

• Correct an issue inside the PA Local Return where the credits menu could not allocate entries to the SP (Issue 3313)

RETURN TAG

• Correct an issue where a specific return tag at a site was not being included in filtered results (Issue 2934)

WISCONSIN

• Correct an issue where the reported Use Tax was not carrying to the PDF (Issue 3287)

*Click here to download a PDF of our Cumulative Release Notes.

Returns will be placed in maintenance on Thursday, March 21st to release the below software updates.

KANSAS

• Correct an issue where a KS return was allowing itemized deductions on Line 4 when the Federal was using the Standard Deduction (Issue 3275)

PENNSYLVANIA

• Add the ability in a Part-Year PA return to enter moving expenses for the Schedule UE – Part E (Issue 3172)

*Click here to download a PDF of our Cumulative Release Notes.

The site will be placed in maintenance on Wednesday, March 20th to release the below software updates.

ARIZONA

• Correct print issues related to Arizona Form 203 for Injured Spouse (both Spouses were being marked as injured spouse) (Issue 3224)

CONNECTICUT

• Correct a calculation issue for MFS returns where they should be receiving a value on Line 41 for Social Security Benefit Adjustment but were not (Issue 3166)

MINNESOTA

• Add a Company Name entry field for the SP within the Long Term Care Insurance Premium Credit menu (Issue 3249)

MONTANA

• Correct an issue where the MT Standard Deduction was being applied to a return instead of Itemized Deductions (Issue 3142)

NEW YORK

• Correct an issue where moving expenses listed on the Federal return were not carrying to Form IT-225 (Issue 3161)

SIMPLIFIED METHOD WORKSHEET

• Correct a print issue on Line 10 of the Simplified Method Worksheet where it was being left blank in error (Issue 3175)

*Click here to download a PDF of our Cumulative Release Notes.

Below are the questions and answers recorded from the All Partner call on Thursday, March 14th. We are posting questions most applicable to all sites.

Q: Looking for reports to access specific dollar amounts for both fed and state returns.

• We recommend taking advantage of the Site Production Detail Report (Electronic and Paper) to drill into TP data at your site. There are also various other reports available within Management Reports to assist.

Q: Question about for carryforward data, why does a state with no income tax show as an optional carryforward item.

• Recommended to the volunteer to request an enhancement via the Suggestion Box to adjust the way carryforward data works in relation to states without income tax.

Q: When suggestions are submitted via the Suggestion Box, would like to receive an automated e-mail referencing the enhancement entered.

• All requests entered into the Suggestion Box are  responded to by Kim or Craig along with regular updates based on status changes with submitted enhancements. Since all suggestions are manually reviewed, it can take a little time before we are able to send out acknowledgement e-mails.

Q: Volunteer was asking the IRS if there was an income limitation for assisting taxpayers in their community.

• IRS representative indicated there is not an income limitation but the most important item to note is the volunteer must have the appropriate certifications to complete the tax returns.

Q: Question about a 1040-NR/EZ return getting rejected by the IRS due to $0 AGI.

• The IRS does not accept any 1040 return with $0 AGI via e-file and that these returns should be paper filed. Alternatively, sites have indicated they enter $1 in Other Income in order to e-file a return.

Q: Why does a 1040-NR return for a married nonresident require spouse information?

• We have opened Issue 3239 to remove the current validations requiring spouse entry when no longer applicable for 2018 1040-NR returns. For the time being, enter all spouse information but if a SSN/ITIN is not known, volunteers can enter 111-00-1111.

Q:What SSN do you enter when needing to apply for an ITIN?

• Enter all zeros (000-00-0000) to get access to the W-7 menu for the applicable individual on the return needing an ITIN.

Q: Can you electronically file Form 8843 for 1040-NR returns?

• The IRS still requires Form 8843 be paper filed if being filed by itself. If also preparing/filing the 1040-NR/EZ, Form 8843 will be included in the transmission.

Software vendors received the below messaging from the Nebraska Department of Revenue.

“It appears Nebraska set rejects for NEHeader-0020 between March 15^th and March 17^th in error.  If you received a reject acknowledgment for NEHeader-0020 please resubmit the return.  Please let me know if you have any questions or issues.“

We have received a few sporadic reports of inconsistent behavior related to the 2015 and 2016 programs. We wanted to identify what we know below in relation to this reports from the field.

2015-2017 HTML Plain Text Issues (Issue 3290) – We have heard reports of users opening returns in 2016 and 2017 and ultimately seeing a white screen load with all menu options showing on the left-hand side of the page. This is generally due to the screen loading as HTML Plain Text and not downloading graphics properly. You can press CTRL+F5 to re-load the page but certain functionality icons may not load such as the “EDIT” and “DELETE” icons. The 1040 View may also not load properly after selecting CTRL+F5.

• (RESOLVED) The issue with the prior year programs loading in HTML Plain Text has been resolved. If you still see this, please refresh your page by selecting Ctrl+F5 to recycle the page.

2015/2016 State Menu Issues (Issue 3243) – Using Internet browsers, Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge, the state menus are missing the “Continue” button to advance or exit the state menu. Also, attempting to open sub-menu’s does not allow entry. At this time, we advise impacted sites to utilize a different Internet browser such as Mozilla Firefox or Internet Explorer.

2015/2016 Functionality Issues (Issue 3257) – We have received various reports of users, when inside the 2015 program, having sporadic issues of trying to save W-2 entries, various checkboxes not staying marked, and unable to adjust taxable amounts in 1099-R(s) among other odd behavior. This does not appear to be related to specific Internet browsers. If you are seeing this behavior, we recommend closing all browser windows (not just the window tab), clear your cache, and start a fresh session until we are able to determine what may be causing this behavior.

• (RESOLVED) This issue appeared to be related to Issue 3290 from above. If described issues still exist in the prior year software, clear your cache and start a new session by closing all browser instances.