Users: 8,000 – 10,000 concurrent users to most closely simulate our peak hour during tax season
Return preparation: 24,000 returns prepared during the period
Identify Items: Identify any items that need adjusting prior to busiest day of the tax season. We cannot do this without your participation.
The new 1040 Post Card and new Schedules 1 through 6 will require a print set to be created that can be used to print returns that will be mailed via paper to the IRS.
The existing print sets that TaxSlayer delivers will contain the “stacked” version of the schedules that will contain a “do not mail” watermark.
We can print two of the schedules on the same page as long as they are watermarked in a way that indicates they are not to be mailed to the IRS.
We are not sure yet, but it have a clear indication that it should be used to print “paper” returns that will be mailed to the IRS. The IRS requires that each of the new Schedules be printed on an individual page for all mailed returns.
The IRS MeF system inadvertently stopped accepting 1040 e-files earlier today. If you received reject R0000-120 : The IRS Submission type that was filed is not being accepted by MeF at this time. You can resend those returns up until 10:00 pm EST
For Tax Year 2017, e-file closes on Nov. 17; After that, disaster victims, others need to file on paper
WASHINGTON —The Internal Revenue Service today reminded people, including those in disaster areas, who want to file a 2017 tax return electronically to do so by Saturday, Nov. 17, 2018. Filing of paper tax returns will remain available after that date.
IRS Modernized e-file, the system that processes electronically-filed individual returns, will shut down after Nov. 17, enabling the IRS to perform annual maintenance and to reprogram the system for the upcoming 2019 tax-filing season.
As a result, any taxpayer needing to file after Nov. 17 will need to do so on paper.
While the vast majority of individuals have already filed their tax year 2017 federal tax returns, victims of Hurricane Michael, Hurricane Florence and other recent disasters qualify for an additional extension. This includes taxpayers who live, work or have a business in a federally declared disaster area, have a U.S. tax filing obligation and had previously obtained a valid 6-month extension of time to file their federal tax return. Extended deadlines vary by locality and range from Dec. 17, 2018, to Feb. 28, 2019. Currently, parts of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Wisconsin and the Northern Mariana Islands qualify.
Note: TY 2016 and TY2015 returns will also have to be paper filed during the cut-over period
We would like to thank the volunteers that participated in Thursday’s stress test. We want to share the results:
Your testing resulted in generating errors that resulted in errors generating a PDF. This allowed our infrastructure engineers and developers to analyze the error messages, understand the cause of the error, and make modifications to the code.
Purpose: To simulate peak hours during tax season and analyze any errors or anomalies seen. This allows us to make any necessary changes during December.
For Tax Year 2017, e-file closes on Nov. 17; After that, disaster victims, others need to file on paper
WASHINGTON —The Internal Revenue Service today reminded people, including those in disaster areas, who want to file a 2017 tax return electronically to do so by Saturday, Nov. 17, 2018. Filing of paper tax returns will remain available after that date.
IRS Modernized e-file, the system that processes electronically-filed individual returns, will shut down after Nov. 17, enabling the IRS to perform annual maintenance and to reprogram the system for the upcoming 2019 tax-filing season.
As a result, any taxpayer needing to file after Nov. 17 will need to do so on paper.
While the vast majority of individuals have already filed their tax year 2017 federal tax returns, victims of Hurricane Michael, Hurricane Florence and other recent disasters qualify for an additional extension. This includes taxpayers who live, work or have a business in a federally declared disaster area, have a U.S. tax filing obligation and had previously obtained a valid 6-month extension of time to file their federal tax return. Extended deadlines vary by locality and range from Dec. 17, 2018, to Feb. 28, 2019. Currently, parts of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Wisconsin and the Northern Mariana Islands qualify.
Note: TY 2016 and TY2015 returns will also have to be paper filed during the cut-over period
Update (11/14/18)
Currently, volunteers may note the following discrepancies when preparing the test return preparation scenarios in the Practice Lab:
o The amount on line 22 of Schedule 1 is incorrect. Amounts from reserved lines 1 -9b are included in the total and shouldn’t be. Therefore, an incorrect amount is being carried over to the left of line 6 on Form 1040. Test answers are not impacted.
o The software is not calculating the Additional Child Tax Credit. The test answers are not impacted.
o The deduction for Qualified Business Income (QBI) is not calculating. Therefore, Form 1040 line 11 (tax), line 15 (total tax), and line 22 (Amount you owe) are overstated. There is a question on the test regarding QBI, but volunteers are not asked to provide the calculation. They should be able to answer the question by reviewing the content on QBI in the training resources.
Keep in mind, the calculation for the Child Tax Credit and Credit for Other Dependents appear on the same line. Volunteers will need to know the tax law to distinguish which credit(s) the taxpayer qualifies to receive, if applicable.
These discrepancies will cease once the software is updated with final forms and instructions.
Fact Sheet Edition: November, 2018
The initial release of the tax year 2018 Practice Lab will not have all the new tax reform changes programmed because the final IRS forms are not yet finalized. We have evaluated the impact to individuals taking the VITA/TCE Certification test. Volunteers should still be able to certify but you should proceed with caution when selecting answers as the Practice Lab may provide tax year 2018 calculations on 2017 forms. TaxSlayer will update the Practice Lab as final forms are approved.
The Practice Lab is tax software that is integrated within Link & Learn Taxes. A link connects students to the 2018 tax preparation software which allows hands-on practice in preparing tax returns.
All years are now generating PDFs outside and inside of the tax return.