Update 1:45 pm EST: “Send State Only” and Prior Year e-file (2018 and 2017) are now turned on.

Update 11:15 am EST:  We are currently seeing acknowledgments within approximately 20 minutes.

We have turned on electronic filing for TaxSlayer 2019.  We will be monitoring  how long it is taking to get acknowledgements throughout the day.

We will be turning on prior years (2018 and 2017) and “Send State Only” over the next 48 hours.

Update 1/24/2020:  The IRS has released 300+ orders to TaxSlayer.  We are processing them.  This takes up to 48 hours.  TaxSlayer support will not know if a specific order was included until at least noon today (Friday, January 24th).  At that point they will be able to verify whether we have the order or not.  The contact person in the order will receive email notification within the next 48 hours.

Background:  TaxSlayer software ordering season began on October 2, 2019. All orders under the existing procurement order were fulfilled.  Due to an issue impacting the procurement of additional software licenses, TaxSlayer has to delay the processing of the remaining 2019 software orders, pending IRS approval.  The IRS is working diligently to resolve this issue.  Please continue to submit your orders.  You can reach out to your SPEC Relationship Manager to check the status of software ordering submissions.  Volunteers for the sites can continue to use the Practice Lab for training purposes.

1/23/20 9:15am Update: As we progress towards a long-term solution, currently, any security template at your site(s) cannot be edited or deleted. New security templates can still be created, if needed.

1/22/20 7:30pm Update:You will need to use the security template titled  ADMINISTRATOR (TS) rather than using the ADMINISTRATOR at the top of your security template list in the Preparer’s menu.

1/22/20  6:08pm Update:  We are working on a solution that will prevent this from happening in the future, but it is still missing…hum…”Where’s Waldo?”

1/22/20 3:43pm Update:  We are still working to resolve this issue.

1/22/20 – Update: The Administrator (TS) template has been mistakenly removed again.

Update: Update:  You will need to use the security template titled  ADMINISTRATOR (TS) rather than using the ADMINISTRATOR at the top of your security template list in the Preparer’s menu.

Important Information

1. Due to having to recreate and assign to users that inadvertently lost their ADMINISTRATOR account, if you had a blank security template it is now filled with ADMINISTRATOR (TS).  DO NOT try to remove it to blank, ADMINISTRATOR (TS) has the same privileges as the blank security template when you setup your admin accounts from the TaxSlayer link you received
2. You will see ADMINISTRATOR (TS) in your security template list and it will be assigned to the users that used to have a blank security template and ADMINISTRATOR.  DO NOT delete it.
3. You may also see ADMINISTRATOR (TS) twice in your list when  you select a security template when setting up a preparer.  You can use either, the first one in the  list is the one located in your Security Template page and 2nd one is the one we assigned down.  Both have the same privileges.

Below is an example of what ADMINISTRATOR (TS) looks like under your site’s Security Template page:

Update:  If you temporarily saw ADMINISTRATOR 21 in your list, it has now been renamed to Administrator.  Remember you can run your User Name report to ensure that all users have the appropriate user name assigned to them.

Sounds like something from a made for TV movie, but yes…the ADMINISTRATOR security template we assigned to every site is missing.  It was inadvertently removed from the system and we are working to recover it.

Update 1/23 3?30 pm EST:  E-file has been turned off.  We will resume electronic filing for all years (2019, 2018 and 2017) on Monday around 11:00 am EST.

Update 1/23 1:45 PM EST:  We will be turning e-file off at 3:30 to ensure we receive acknowledgements.  The IRS will be shutting down MeF at 4:45 today in preparation for Monday.  Sending is a manual process through controlled launch.  We have submitted approximately 200 e-files so far.

Update 1/23 12:00 PM EST:  We have turned e-file on for 2019.  Please remember to review the returns prior to sending the electronic file.

Update 5:51 PM EST:  We have received our federal ack from this morning.  Here is what we know:

• The Rejected Returns Report is returning an error page rather than information
• The Federal Non-Accepted Returns report is returning an error page rather than information
• The rejected link on the client status is not displaying information (however, the detailed reject information is located under “Rejected Clients” and “Client Status”

REMINDER:  We strongly recommend that you open each return and exit through the Submission screen of E-file by clicking the Save and Exit return button. This allows the most recent forms/calculations to be saved with the return.

You can then navigate to Client Status for the return by selecting Client Status from the Tools menu on the Client List.

Compare the AGI and Refund calculated today with the last time you were in the return before sending the file electronically (January 27th).

Update 3:46 pm EST:  We are continuing to work to receive our first acknowledgement.   Our goal is to allow early participation on Thursday, January 23rd from 12PM – 4 pm EST.

Update 12:15 PM EST:  We have delayed turning this on until we receive an ack back on the first e-file we sent. 

The IRS is moving into week two of controlled launch.  We are Tentatively planning to open e-file for TY2019 returns for a short period of time on Wednesday, January 22nd from 12 PM – 4 pm EST.

During this period, we will send VITA/TCE returns to the IRS and receive acknowledgements.

This date and time is subject to change or the process is subject to stop based on feedback from the IRS.

Update 3:46 pm EST:  We are continuing to work to receive our first acknowledgement.   Our goal is to allow early participation on Thursday, January 23rd from 12PM – 4 pm EST.

Update 12:15 PM EST:  We have delayed turning this on until we receive an ack back on the first e-file we sent. 

The IRS is moving into week two of controlled launch.  We are Tentatively planning to open e-file for TY2019 returns for a short period of time on Wednesday, January 22nd from 12 PM – 4 pm EST.

During this period, we will send VITA/TCE returns to the IRS and receive acknowledgements.

This date and time is subject to change or the process is subject to stop based on feedback from the IRS.

This is a great time for the site administrators to review the Office Configuration located in Configuration>>Office Setup

Our recommendation is to select the following

• • Disable Third Party Designee Prefill — Does not show up on the e-file section.  In the rare event you need it, you can change the selection
  • Offer 8888 — Allows the taxpayer to have their refund split into multiple accounts and/or saving bonds.  Entering the full refund on the first line bypasses Form 8888
  • Display Summary using 1040 View — Displays the interactive 1040 and Schedules on Summary/Print
  • Hide Preparer Name on 1040 Print — Keeps the volunteers name, email, etc from being printing on the returns
  • Always print Schedule A — Will print even if the standard deduction was more advantageous so you can present why they did not qualify for Schedule A

Ad Hoc Site Scenario:

Site has a “main” site and also has one or more “ad hoc” site .

• The main site has an EFIN and SIDN (Snnnnnnn01)
• Ad Hoc site #1 has its own SIDN (Snnnnnnn02) because the IRS wants the returns prepared at the ad hoc site to report under the correct SIDN.
• Ad Hoc Site #2 has its own SIDN (Snnnnnn03)

Instructions for Setting up in TaxSlayer Pro Online:

• Create separate Preparers for the volunteers who work at the ad hoc site.
• Enter the SIDN of the Ad hoc site in the Preparer Setup. (The SIDN on the Preparer record is the one that carries to the PTIN field on Form 1040 and is captured in the e-file for reporting purposes)
• Best Practice: Use something in the user name to indicate the site where they will be preparing returns.  For example:  KrisMain for preparing returns at the main site and then KrisAdhoc1 for preparing returns at the ad hoc site.

Note:  If a volunteer prepares returns at the main site and each ad hoc site, they will need a username for each to ensure the correct SIDN is in the e-file.  The preparer can use the same email address in this circumstance.

Click here to download a PDF of complete instructions