Below are bullet points from our opening presentation of the All Partner Call before opening up for Q&A from the field. Q&A notes are at the bottom of this post.

Updates since the Last All Partner Call:

• State Only e-file has been turned on
  • Remember you still have to select a Federal e-file type
• Watch the blog for e-file messages from the state(s)
• Watch the blog for trending rejects
  • Taxpayer SSN is locked by SSA, you will need to paper file the return (IND-941-X)
• Watch the blog for instructions on trending support calls
  • How do I deactivate a return
    • Correct security template
    • In Progress/Review failed
  • Do Not Mail Banners on State forms
    • States are all over the place with approving forms due to late changes with Cares Act
    • Once we receive print approval, we remove the strip
      • Does not prevent you from e-filing the return
    • Setting up your Ad Hoc Sites
    • What to do if the taxpayer doesn’t know the Spouse SSN for MFS returns
    • Tips on where to find 2019 Earned Income
  • 1040X returns
    • Hold them until we resolve sending the e-file without the 1040X indicator
    • IRS is still working on the 1040X schema, so changes will be occurring over the next few weeks
      • They are currently using 2019 schema
    • Form 8915-E
      • The ability to use Form 8915-E now available for all distribution codes and not just early distributions
      • If Payer died in 2020, distribution is fully taxable on the 2020 return and cannot be spread over 3 years. This is triggered if a TP/SP is marked as deceased in 2020 in Basic Information.

Sites using a FSA Kiosk URL:

• We strongly recommend using the URL we sent you rather than using a URL shortener
  • We cannot control where a URL shortener redirects the URL
  • Tiny URL definitely redirects to something other than the VITA/TCE Kiosk landing page
  • Bit.ly seems to be hit and miss
  • Make sure if you are embedding the URL on an Intranet site, it does not add anything before or after the URL
• Make sure you are communicating how to reach a certified volunteer when sending out the URLs
  • Consumer (TaxSlayer.com) support does not have direct access to their information and they will get messaging to reach back out to where they received the URL from

1040NR:

• On for Pro Online
• Received ATS approval for the FSA Kiosk URL
  • Will create a timeline on when the e-file block will be removed

Form 8915-E – How are withholdings handled? Are they spread over 3 years?

• From our current understandings, Form 8915-E does not account for withholdings so any withholdings are included only in the current year.

Form 8915-E and if it will be added to print sets?

• Yes, we are actively working to make it available as an option to add to a print set.

How to remove EIC from a return?

• In the Federal Section go to Credits > Claiming Refundable Credits After Disallowance > Not Eligible for EIC.

Can TaxSlayer Pro Online be accessed on an iPad?

• Yes.

Can we e-file state amended returns for 2020?

• E-filing state amended returns is not supported in TaxSlayer Pro Online or FSA Software at this time.

Can the FSA product support 1040-NR filings?

• Yes.

Is there a reason why a 1099-R cannot be marked as a Corrected 1099-R like you can for a W-2?

• Adding this checkbox is on our Enhancement backlog for future implementation.

Is State Only filing supported in the FSA software?

• No.

Question: In the current iteration of the Form 7202 page inside TaxSlayer, how do I elect to use the 2019 net earnings from self-employment?

Answer: To use 2019 net earnings from self-employment when calculating any applicable credit using Form 7202, the 2019 Net SE earnings MUST BE greater than the 2020 Net SE Earnings. If this is the case for your client, enter as a positive number, the difference between 2019 and 2020 Net SE Earnings into the “Adjust your net earnings from self-employment” field (shown below). The manually entered value will add to the already calculated 2020 Net SE Earnings and carry to Line 7 of Form 7202.

• To locate 2019 net self-employment earnings, in most instances, refer to Line 6 of the 2019 Schedule SE. You can also refer to Form 7202 instructions for additional guidance by clicking HERE.

For example: If the 2020 Net SE Earnings is $10,000, but in 2019 it was $17,000, the difference is $7,000. Inside the TaxSlayer application, $7,000 would be entered in the adjustment field. This would add to the $10,000 already calculated in the return and carry a total of $17,000 to Line 7 of Form 7202.

Note: We realize this is not intuitive and are working to improve the experience when electing to utilize 2019 Net SE Earnings for this credit.

The site will be placed in maintenance on Thursday, February 25th, 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.

FSA (KIOSK ACCOUNTS)

• Correct a login issue when attempting to log into a prior year TaxSlayer.com account using a FSA URL (Issue 5311)

INDIANA

• Entry for IT-40 NOL limiting to $4,000 (Issue 5499)

VIRGINIA

• Unable to enter Dependent AGI for VA EIC purposes (Issue 5498)

Click here to download a PDF of our Cumulative Release Notes & Program Enhancements.

Purpose:
The purpose of Volunteer Tax Alerts (VTAs) is to update, correct or clarify tax law topics. VTA messages are valuable educational tools that are highly beneficial when delivered immediately to you as our intended audience, IRS VITA and TCE partners and certified volunteers. 

Link(s) to latest VTA:  VTA 2021-07 Claiming Recovery Rebate Credits

Key Messages for IRS VITA/TCE Partners: 
Site/local coordinators are to ensure all VTAs are reviewed and discussed with all volunteers. It is recommended that you hold daily debriefings with your volunteers to review identified trends. This is also a good time to allow your volunteers the opportunity to read the alert(s), ask questions or discuss any concerns surrounding their tax preparation experience.

Contact information: 
Partners are encouraged to direct any questions or concerns to their Relationship Manager.

The site will be placed in maintenance on Wednesday, February 24th, 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.

RECOVERY REBATE CREDIT

• Correct a minor typo where “government” was spelled as “governement” on the RRC Page (Issue 5545)

Click here to download a PDF of our Cumulative Release Notes & Program Enhancements.

March 2, 2021

Amended returns for 2019 and 2020 can now be e-filed at this time.

February 19, 2021

We have received reports of amended return e-files being rejected as a duplicate submission (Reject Code R0000-932-02). We have opened a high priority issue (Issue 5517) with development to look into this. At this time, we ask that you do not e-file any amended returns (2019 and 2020) until this blog post is updated.

The site will be placed in maintenance on Friday, February 19th, 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.

CALIFORNIA

• F3849 entries not carrying to Columns A and B on PDF when MFJ (Issue 5420)
• SRP triggering for a taxpayer with a combo of health coverage and exemptions all year (Issue 5276)

CLIENT RETENTION REPORT

• Correct an error when running the Client Retention Report (Issue 5447)

E-FILE

• Transmitting State Only sending Federal returns in error (Issue 5469)

FORM 5695

• Add the entry to report credits taken on 2019 return (Issue 5487)

INDIANA

• Add entry for Conformity Add Back Code 120 (Issue 5484)

IOWA

• General Sales Tax from Fed Schedule A not pulling to Line 4b of IA Schedule A (Issue 5465)
• Tax not calculating for a Part-Year return (Issue 5494)

MINNESOTA

• Schedule M1CD not carrying correct figure to Line 2 (Issue 5433)

MONTANA

• Form 2, Page 10 pulling incorrect taxable SS amount from Federal (Issue 5477)

Click here to download a PDF of our Cumulative Release Notes & Program Enhancements.

February 18th, 2021

For any California returns with Reject Codes 960, 767, and 766, please hold off on resubmitting these returns to California. There is no action required by you at this time.

Any CA returns previously rejected with Reject Code 960 have been corrected and resubmitted by TaxSlayer. However, if a CA return initially rejected with Reject Code 960, when resubmitting, it will be rejected again with either Reject Code 767 or 766. Reject Codes 767 and 766 are being sent in error by the California Franchise Tax Board. They are aware of the erroneous rejects, but will not have the solution in place until Tuesday, February 23rd.

Plan of Action: As we continue to see CA returns with Reject Code 960, they will continue to be fixed/resubmitted by our developers, which will then cause the return to reject again with Reject Code 767 or 766. Once CA implements the necessary updates on their end, we will resubmit all impacted CA returns.

This blog post will be updated after all impacted CA returns have been resubmitted.