We are excited to announce that the addition of the Affordability Worksheet (Phase II of Health Insurance redesign) will be released soon (tomorrow that is – 1/12/18)! Click here  to then download a PDF providing additional information regarding the implementation of the Affordability Worksheet. The PDF will be found on the left-hand navigation bar after clicking the link.

Remember, the intent on the redesign after adding the Affordability Worksheet is specific to the order in which claiming exemptions is presented to the user. Previously, the determination to claim the affordability exemption was presented too early in the Health Insurance menu way before users had the opportunity to claim other coverage exemptions that applied (causing increased legwork on the preparer). The general order for claiming exemptions for not having Health Insurance is as follows:

1. Program first determines if “Household or Gross Income below Filing Threshold” exemption applies
   • If the return qualifies, exemption is applied to the return and the Health Insurance menu is complete
   • If the return does not qualify, move to Step 2.
2. Preparer is now asked if any household members received a Marketplace Issued Exemption Certificate or qualifies to claim another coverage exemptions besides affordability
   • If the household members came to your site with a Marketplace Issued Exemption Certificate or qualified for another coverage exemption, this information can be entered into the program and applied accordingly to each applicable household member
3. If a Marketplace Issued Exemption Certificate was not received (or will not be applied for) and another coverage exemption does not qualify, the preparer can then make the determination to see if the “Coverage is Considered Unaffordable” applies and are then taken through those steps.

We have received a few issues reported in various states where an entry field acknowleding users can enter a +/- value is not allowing a negative entry (most commonly used when subtraction retirement income, military pay, etc.). This particular issue is across all states and not specific to just a few states. With that said, we are actively investigating to provide a quick resolve but in the meantime, there is a current work around that will allow negative entries to be captured.

For example, if you are looking to subtract $10,000 in a state return, your thinking will have you enter the negative sign “-“ then the amount (-10000). This is currently validating and not being allowed. The workaround would be to enter at least the first two digits (10 in this example) then using your mouse, click to move the cursor in front of the first digit (1 in this example) then you can then enter the “-“ sign. You can also use the “HOME” key on your keyboard for the same result.

Internet Explorer Specific: The negative sign “-“ that must be entered using the above steps must be the one located on the main keyboard to the left of the Backspace button and NOT the “-“ located on the number keypad.

1/9/18 – 8:40am ET

Return preparation is now out of maintenance as new UI/UX updates were released (User Interface, User Experience).

• The pill shaped buttons are now rectangle in shape and a little larger
• The navigational buttons (Edit, Begin, Enter Myself, etc.) are darker in color with white wording
• When on Summary/Print the left navigation bar is collapsed (previous behavior) but instead of clicking the “Expand” arrows, simply hovering your mouse over the left navigation bar will automatically expand the menu

1/9/18 – 8:18am ET

The site (only return preparation) will be placed into maintenance mode for about 30 minutes beginning at 8:20am ET. This maintenance window will be complete prior to 9:00am ET. This will only impact return preparation.

Phase I of the new Health Insurance redesign has been released. Phase I incorporates the new flow users will see when preparing 2017 returns starting next week (this is also live in the Practice Lab). Phase II will incorporate the addition of the Affordability Worksheet which is expected to be in production prior to turning on “Start New 2017 Tax Return”. The intent behind the redesign of the flow is to first allow users to claim qualifying exemptions before presenting the option to determine affordability. Assuming the household does not qualify to claim the “Household or Gross Income below…..” exemption, did not receive a Marketplace issued exemption certificate, or does not qualify to claim a coverage exemption, then and only then will the user be presented the option to determine affordability.

The first visible change you will see will be on the “Household Income” screen. This used to be the “Dependents’ MAGI (if filing requirement)” screen. An entry field for “Premium amount paid through salary reduction agreement” has been added. This will be the first step in determining affordability as this entry will be in included in the Affordability Threshold (Line A of Affordability Worksheet).

The second change will be when a user clicks “Continue” on the “Household Income” menu. Clicking continue here is where the automatic determination of “Household or Gross Income below Filing Threshold” exemption will occur. If the return qualifies for this exemption, the exemption will be applied to the return and the Health Insurance menu will be complete. If the return does not qualify for the above mentioned exemption, the user now has the option to claim either a Marketplace issued certificate exemption or another coverage exemption for each household member. They will answer “YES” when asked “Did you qualify for an exemption due to circumstances or receive an exemption certificate from the marketplace?”.

If a user answers “NO” to the above question, “Did you qualify for an exemption…..”, the user will be then asked if they wish to complete the process to determine if the affordability exemption may apply (Phase II coming soon). More details will be released once Phase II has been rolled into production.

A production deployment is scheduled for Friday, January 5th at 5:00am ET in preparation for tax season. This deployment should be completed prior to 8:00am ET.

1/4/18 – 12:53pm ET

This has been resolved and the update is currently being pushed live. Impacted returns will begin to load the Summary/Print page and PDF’s will begin to render as well. Also, we were able to implement Phase II of the General Sales Tax worksheet. Schedule A, Line 5 now shows the calculated general sales tax deduction based on the completion of the General Sales Tax Worksheet.

1/4/18 – 11:10am ET

We have received reports of the Summary/Print menu (and PDF rendering) not loading. Further research determined the underlying action is caused by completing the General Sales Tax worksheet within the Itemized Deduction>Taxes You Paid menu. For immediately resolution, delete the General Sales Tax worksheet. After removing, the Refund Generator will display and PDF’s will render.

Note: You can use the override feature within the General Sales Tax menu to manually report the general sales tax amount to carry to the Schedule A, Line 5.

The below items are now live in the Practice Lab and Production Sites.

• 1040 View – Updated to reflect 2017
  • If you open an existing return and 2016 still shows on 1040 View, on your keyboard hold Ctrl and press F5. This will recycle the page and update to 2017
• Form W-7 – Under “Identification Submitted”, updated to ask for the middle name instead of just the middle initial. This is shown when the box is checked for “Applicant previously received a TIN or EIN”
• 1040-X – The “Where is this located” link within “Original Federal Return Information” menu for “Other Credits” removed the reference for 1040-EZ since credits do not apply on Form 1040-EZ
• W-2 – Box 14: The selection “MD MSRS C-MD Pickup Contribution” has been removed as it was a duplicate entry. Now, only “MD Pickup Contribution” shows
• Form 1099-K – Text has been added to the “Payment Card and Third Party Network Transactions” information menu to provide guidance on where to report 1099-K income received for rental income

1/4/18

Phase II has been released ahead of schedule. Calculated General Sales Tax amounts based on the roll out of Phase I are carrying to the Schedule A, line 5.

1/3/18

Phase II scheduled release for Friday, January 5th, 2018. This will complete the new process of claiming the General Sales Tax Deduction.

12/27/17

Phase I Released: Now, when accessing the General Sales Tax Worksheet screen, your state will automatically be determined by the zip code provided. You are no longer required to manually select the applicable state from a drop-down menu.

Note: With the new implementation of not requiring the state selection from a drop-down menu, Phase II should be released next week to carry applicable figures to Line 5 of Schedule A.

12/22/17

The issue has been fixed and will be corrected live with the next production deployment. The next deployment is tentatively scheduled for the morning of Wednesday, December 27th.

12/12/17

The state selection drop down within the General Sales Tax Worksheet menu was incorrectly removed as a result of this mornings production deployment. Currently, if you complete the General Sales Tax Worksheet, when attempting to save your entry, the screen will validate because the zip code entered does not match the state selected (this is because you are unable to choose a state).

A current workaround to claim the General Sales Tax Deduction would be to visit IRS.gov using the link provided within the General Sales Tax Deduction menu. Once you have obtained the applicable general sales tax amount, click the “Override” button to manually enter your deduction.