Start New Return has been activated for your 2017 production sites.

What returns should I complete at my site?

We strongly recommend that you only complete production returns in your site.  The Practice Lab is a Super Site in the same production environment.  If you need to conduct training or just try out a scenario, you should continue to utilize the Practice Lab for this.

Have all forms been finalized?

No.  All software vendors are still waiting to receive final forms and instructions for several forms.  An example is Schedule A.

Can I electronically file returns?

No.  We are currently scheduled to turn on electronic filing on January 29th when the IRS MeF opens.

What happens to the returns I have created if the IRS issues form changes prior to e-file opening?

You will be required to open and review ALL returns created in your production site created prior to January 29th to review the information prior to sending the return electronically.

Blog Posted 01/16/2018  6:39 am Eastern

We will be putting the returns in maintenance mode on Monday, January 15th at 5:00 am Eastern for a series of updates in preparation of turning on Start a New Return on Tuesday. Items pushed out impacting TaxSlayer Pro Online are:

• Form 8606 Entry Screen – Updated references pertaining to the current tax season
• W-2, Box 14 – Removed the “S” from “KPERS” for Kansas Public Employee Retirement System
• Various updates related to software used by FSA sites with self-prep kiosks

Blog posted 01/14/2018  4:44 pm Eastern

We will be putting the returns in maintenance mode on Friday, January 12th at 5:00 am Eastern to perform a series of updates.  This update will include:

• Phase II of the addition of the Affordability Worksheet
• Removal of Tuition and fees that expired
• Color correction on Begin/Edit buttons in the state modules
• Correction to the Healthcare exemption screen when 0 months of healthcare is indicated
• Correction to the display of the dependent information on the Household Members section of the Healthcare section
  • Existing Dependent/Household member entries prior to the fix may have to be deleted and re-added.
  • It will not be an issue for returns started today or after or for new dependents/household members added today and after on existing returns started prior to the fix.

1/12/18

UPDATE: The Global Carry Forward Consent text may be changing over the next few days while final adjustments are being made.

Note: Two issues related to consents are actively being worked.

1. If a consent is marked as DENIED, the PDF indicates “authorized” as if consent had been GRANTED.
2. If MFJ, consents are not validating a required entry for the Spouse PIN/DATE (RESOLVED)

1/11/18 

Global Consent in Practice Lab:  Reminder that it is still under construction.  The language is currently displaying out of order, but printing in the correct order in the PDF.

Assigned Tags will not show up under Configuration>>Tags at the site they are assigned to.  This is a change from last year.  Tags now behave in the same manner as assigned Security Templates.

The assigned tags will be displayed in the following locations:

(1) Client List when you select the Tag icon

(2) The submission page in the e-file section.

These two sections will show the tags assigned to the site and the tags created at the site.

Note:  The only tags visible under Configuration>>Tags are the ones created at the site level.

01/10/2018 — The add buttons are now visible again

The Add button is currently not visible in these items through Configuration.  We will resolve this with an application update.

Blog posted 01/09/2018

The left navigation bar now reflects the entry forms that have been completed during return preparation.

This will allow the quality reviewer the ability to quickly navigate through the entry forms that were completed during tax preparation by clicking down the displayed items under each Federal Section

See example below:

Note:  We are experiencing the tagged completed entries disappearing if you add an additional form.  We will be working to resolve this over the next couple of weeks.  Our goal for Phase I delivery is to allow you to get a feel for the new feature and allow you to work it into your Quality Review Process.

This seems to be happening in Chrome and not in Internet Explorer

Below are screenshots of the new password requirements for the Practice Lab.  You will be automatically prompted to change your password if the password was not established prior to January 3, 2018.

Password prompt with new password requirements

Password screen confirming the password has been updated

Note:  This does not impact your production logins because your production site logins use Multi Factor Authentication (MFA)

What if I changed my password to a 15 character strong password prior to January 3rd?

You will still be prompted to change the password.  You can recycle the password if it meets the minimum requirements.

Blog posted 01/04/2018