Form 8915-E for Qualified 2020 Disaster Retirement Plan Distributions and Repayments, is now available within the 2020 Pro Online application. For Phase I implementation, to trigger this form, the Code in Box 7 must be 1, J, or S. When a 1099-R is present with the before mentioned codes, preparers will be presented to option to utilize Form 8915-E if their clients would like. Phase II implementation will prompt the election to use Form 8915-E regardless of the code in Box 7.

The site will be placed in maintenance on Friday, February 5th, 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.

FORM 8915-E

• Phase 1 of Form 8915-E implementation to be available for early distributions. Prompted after Codes 1, J, or S entered in Box 7 (2020 Update)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MICHIGAN

• CF-1040 missing an adjustment field for business income (Issue 5245)

MINNESOTA

• Nonresident return for Nonresident Alien filers not showing tax liability (Issue 5320)

PENNSYLVANIA

• PA Local Form not pulling phone number from Federal return (Issue 5326)

WISCONSIN

• Correct an allocation issue related to the Retirement Income Exclusion Worksheet (Issue 5324)

 

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

The site will be placed in maintenance on Wednesday, February 3rd, 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

• Correct an issue where SRP is being assessed for all household members when two household members had full coverage (Issue 5276)

CONFIGURATION

• Update Preparer Setup to allow e-mail addresses with two (2) periods after the “@” (Issue 5274)

DEPENDENT/QUALIFYING PERSON MENU

• Update income text to $4,300 (Issue 5237)

MISSISSIPPI

• Correct an issue with calculating income tax due when Married Filing Combined (Issue 5310)

NEW JERSEY

• Update Form NJ-COJ and Form NJ-HCC to 2020 (Issue 5313)

NEW YORK

• NY PDF for Nonresident return will not generate (Issue 5303)

PENNSYLVANIA

• Add Philadelphia Low Income Wage Tax Refund Petition to the PA locality menu (2020 update)

 

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

Issue Number:  VTA-2021-03 Inside This Issue:  Product Updates and New Legislation 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 2021-03 Product Updates and New Legislation 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. Back to Top You are receiving this information as a result of your partnership with IRS and the VITA and TCE programs. This content is intended for official use by IRS partners participating in the IRS free tax preparation program. Thank you for your support of the IRS free tax preparation program. This message was distributed automatically from the mailing list IRS Volunteer Tax Alert (VTA).

The site will be placed in maintenance on Friday, January 29th, 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.

ARKANSAS

• Capital losses on a MFJ return are limited to $1,500 instead of $3,000, when applicable (Issue 5296)

CALIFORNIA

• Form 3532 will not accept 366 days to account for leap year (Issue 5280)

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

• Schedule HSR not rounding down entry on Line 3 of Worksheet A-2 (Issue 5296)
• Various Schedule ELC updates (Issue 5281)

FORM 7202

• “YES” selection is not staying saved when exiting the 7202 page (Issue 5283)

NEW JERSEY

• EITC calculating for a return that is exceeding income limits (Issue 5297)

 

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

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

• Important Dates
  • IRS E-file opens on February 12^th
    • We will turn on e-file around mid-day on the 12th
    • State Only E-files
      • ETA = Monday, February 15^th
    • Prior year (2019 and 2018)
      • ETA = Monday, February 15th
    • Preparers will be required to open all returns created prior to 2/12 before electronically filing them.
• Reporting Issues
  • VITA/TCE Support (email, chat or phone)
    • Support will need to return information for return exhibiting behavior (EFIN and last 4 SSN)
    • Support will reproduce and write up an any applicable issue
    • Volunteer will be provided with issue #
    • Volunteer will receive notification when issue has been resolved
  • Do not put support issues in the Suggestion Box
  • State issues should also come directly to VITA/TCE Support and not to state departments
• Blog
  • Release Notes
    • Title contains state abbreviations and other quick glance titles
  • FSA Kiosk URL posts do not apply to Pro Online users
    • Lookback using 2019 is still in the works
    • For 1040NR returns, there are instructions on how to report prior year state and local refunds. You basically navigate to Other Income, select Other Income not reported elsewhere and enter the value along with a description of Prior Year state and local income
      • If you think these items may impact the taxpayer using the FSA URL, you can send them a tip in the email when you send them the URL or if you have the URL behind a secured login, you could use that portal to post an announcement.
• Left Navigation Panel – lots of resources
  • Release Notes – goes directly to the release notes on the blog
  • VITA/TCE publications and User Guides – 13 different guides available for download
  • Quick access to the VITA/TCE Blog
  • VITA/TCE Suggestion Box
    • Open year round
    • Not for issues
  • COVID19 Information – Quick access to the IRS Coronavirus page (New)
• COVID19 Relief Section
  • Currently another way to enter RRC and 7202
  • It will contain other forms that specifically relate to COVID19 relief
  • Form 8915-E (coming soon)
• Support Hours
  • Monday – Friday 8 am – Midnight ET
  • Sat/Sunday 10 am – 4 ET (prior to efile starting)
  • Sat/Sunday 8-8 ET after efile starts
• On the Horizon
  • Entering email address in Personal Information
  • Adding Notes in the e-file section

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Where is the COVID-19 Relief menu found in Pro Online?

• It can be accessed from the left-hand navigation menu inside the Federal Section.

Are we able to prepare EIP tax returns for 2020?

• The IRS has not released information yet regarding EIP returns and if they will be applicable for 2020.

What are the customer support hours?

• Customer support hours are listed in the bullet points above.

Is the 2019 prior year lookback automatic (will it choose the better of the two)?

• If the 2019 earned income has been provided, yes, the software will choose the better of the two so the taxpayer receives the greater benefit.

Is Recovery Rebate Credit available in the FSA software?

• Yes.

Will incorrect Recovery Rebate Credit values cause a rejected return?

• The IRS has not released any information about this to date.

Will the 2019 earned income lookup auto-fill from prior year, if applicable?

• No, must be manually entered by the preparer.

(FSA SOFTWARE) How does a taxpayer enter 2019 Earned Income for EITC and CTC calculation purposes?

• Navigate to Basic Information > Personal Information > Additional Personal Information. Check the box for “[Taxpayer Name] was affected by a natural disaster during the current tax year“. Enter “COVID-19” as the disaster event, then provide the prior year earned income amount.

The site will be placed in maintenance on Wednesday, January 27th, 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.

BASIC INFORMATION

• Virtual Currency question not marked YES on 1040 when marked in Personal Information (Issue 5247)

CALIFORNIA

• Some menus opening blank within Form 3853 menu (Issue 5273)
• SRP penalty calculating in error when household income is below threshold meaning a coverage exemption should apply (Issue 5284)

CONNECTICUT

• Update backend calcs for Teacher Retirement and Pension Retirement subtractions (Issue 5200)

IOWA

• Amended return not generating in PDF (Issue 5266)

MINNESOTA (M1PR)

• M1PR menu not accessible in some instances (Issue 5264)

MONTANA

• Itemized Deduction including Line 10b from Fed 1040 in error (Issue 5285)

PENNSYLVANIA

• PA Local Returns not included in PDF (Issue 5263)

WISCONSIN

• Using 2019 EITC lookback when only current year should be used (Issue 5275)

 

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

The site will be placed in maintenance on Friday, January 22nd, 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.

MICHIGAN

• Section B of Form 4884 is being used instead of Section C in some instances (Issue 5256)

MISSISSIPPI

• Update Federal Relation for retirement income to also include taxable IRA distributions (Issue 5259)

REVIEW RETURNS

• Add a “Time Stamp” column to the Review Returns menu to show when a return was marked for review (2020 Update)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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