We are getting several calls and emails regarding challenges with the certification tests for Link and Learn.

TaxSlayer DOES NOT host and/or maintain Link and Learn.  Please reach out to your SPEC Relationship Manager if you are having challenges.  We are sure they are aware of the challenges and making this a priority.

TaxSlayer cannot change the EFIN associated with a site without authorization from SPEC Headquarters in Atlanta.

If the EFIN associated with your site was ordered incorrectly or the site has been issued a new EFIN,  you will need to do the following:

• Reach out to your SPEC Relationship Manager with the information
• Your SPEC RM will follow their protocols to get the information to SPEC Headquarters in Atlanta
  • We cannot change the EFIN even if the SPEC RM makes the request with TaxSlayer
• The TaxSlayer Relationship Manager in Atlanta will send a formal request to have the information changed if applicable

TaxSlayer will update their internal CRM system and also the ERO information for the site.  A site cannot transmit returns with an EFIN that is not on file with TaxSlayer.

1/15/2024: All Puerto Rico Practice Exercises have been updated and uploaded to the Practice Lab. At this time, all Practice Exercises have been updated 2023.

1/8/2024: The below practice exercises are now updated to reflect current 2023 calculations. Puerto Rico Practice Exercises are expected to be updated by mid-week next week.

• Practice Exercise 1
• Practice Exercise 2
• Practice Exercise 3
• Practice Exercise 4
• Practice Exercise 5
• Practice Exercise 6
• Practice Exercise 7
• Practice Exercise International
• Practice Exercise Military

1/3/2024: The Practice Lab Practice Exercises will be updated to 2023 by Wednesday, January 10th.

To help set expectations in the field, the practice exercises under Section 6 of the Practice Lab will be updated to 2023 in early January 2024. This article will be updated when 2023 Practice Exercises are live in the Practice Lab. We want to provide extra time for additional updates to be applied to the 2023 software before updating the exercises. This time of year both the IRS and State Departments are continually releasing and finalizing forms, schedules, and instructions to software vendors. As mentioned in a previous blog post, regular updates will be implemented into the software as information is released/provided to software vendors over the next several weeks leading into the upcoming filing season.

At this time, the practice exercises are still based on the 2022 application.

TaxSlayer 2023 is officially open for sites to utilize the “Start New Return” menu item.

Things you should know:

• Start New Return at the site level should only be used to prepare live returns
• All Practice Returns should continue to be completed in the Practice Lab
• All States will be released today
  • States not approved for electronic filing will have an e-file block
    • The e-file blocks will be removed as we receive e-file approvals
  • State forms not approved for printing will contain a “Do not Mail” strip down the middle.
    • The strips will be removed as we receive print approvals
• Electronic filing
  • Opens January 29, 2024
  • Each site must transmit their returns after we turn on e-file on January 29th (will post processes and times close to January 29th)

IR-2024-04, Jan. 8, 2024

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today announced Monday, Jan. 29, 2024, as the official start date of the nation’s 2024 tax season when the agency will begin accepting and processing 2023 tax returns.

The IRS expects more than 128.7 million individual tax returns to be filed by the April 15, 2024, tax deadline.

Although the IRS will not officially begin accepting and processing tax returns until Jan. 29, people do not need to wait until then to work on their taxes if they’re using software companies or tax professionals. For example, most software companies accept electronic submissions and then hold them until the IRS is ready to begin processing later this month. IRS Free File will also be available on IRS.gov starting Jan. 12 in advance of the filing season opening. The IRS Direct File pilot will be rolled out in phases as final testing is completed and is expected to be widely available in mid-March to eligible taxpayers in the participating states.

Taxpayers will continue to see helpful changes at the IRS following ongoing transformation work. Building off the success of the 2023 tax season that saw significant improvements following passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, the 2024 filing season will continue reflecting the focus on improving services to taxpayers.

“As our transformation efforts take hold, taxpayers will continue to see marked improvement in IRS operations in the upcoming filing season,” said IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel. “IRS employees are working hard to make sure that new funding is used to help taxpayers by making the process of preparing and filing taxes easier.”

Some of the new and expanded tools and resources include:

• Expanded in-person service that meets taxpayers where they are by opening or reopening Taxpayer Assistance Centers (TACs). The IRS will also offer extended hours at many TACs nationwide.

• Increased help available on the toll-free line and an expanded customer call back feature designed to significantly reduce wait times.

• Improvements to the Where’s My Refund? tool, which is the IRS’ most widely used taxpayer service tool. However, the tool provides limited information, often leading taxpayers to call the IRS to inquire about their refund status. Updates to Where’s My Refund? will allow taxpayers to see more detailed refund status messages in plain language. These updates will also ensure Where’s My Refund works seamlessly on mobile devices. Taxpayers often see a generic message stating that their returns are still being processed and to check back later. With the improvements, taxpayers will see clearer and more detailed updates, including whether the IRS needs them to respond to a letter requesting additional information. The new updates will reduce the need for taxpayers to call the IRS for answers to basic questions.

• Enhanced paperless processing that will enable taxpayers to submit all correspondence, non-tax forms, and responses to notices digitally and will be able to e-File 20 additional tax forms. Achieving this milestone will enable up to 125 million paper documents to be submitted digitally per year.

• An enhanced IRS Individual Online Account that includes chat, the option to schedule and cancel future payments, revise payment plans and validate and save bank accounts.

• A new, pilot tax filing service called Direct File that gives eligible taxpayers a new choice to file their 2023 federal tax returns online, for free, directly with the IRS. It will be rolled out in phases and is expected to be widely available in mid-March. Find more about Direct File pilot eligibility, scope and the participating states on Direct File.

April 15 tax filing deadline for most taxpayers

For most taxpayers, the deadline to file their personal federal tax return, pay any tax owed or request an extension to file is Monday, April 15, 2024.

Taxpayers living in Maine or Massachusetts have until April 17, 2024, due to the Patriot’s Day and Emancipation Day holidays. If a taxpayer resides in a federally declared disaster area, they also may have additional time to file.

1/2/2024 – Roughly fifteen (15) State Returns are now live! Please note the information posted below when reviewing the initial state application release. The remaining states will be released for preparation over the next couple of weeks as the various approvals are received by state departments.

Note: Initial load times may be slower than normal, but this will subside as additional state returns are created, etc.

It is important to keep in mind when accessing 2023 state returns as they become available, some states may have been delayed in releasing final 2023 forms/instructions. As you prepare 2023 state returns in the Practice Lab, you may still see 2022 calculations and/or PDF forms. Customer Support will not be creating issues for these items until the states are closer to finalization.  As information continues to be released and finalized by the states, the Practice Lab will be updated to reflect the most recent information available.

Note: This is the same process every year and is normal behavior.

Scenario: An existing TaxSlayer Pro Online site from 2022 now has a new Site Admin for 2023.

Question: How does the new site admin gain access to the site if they do not already have a login?

Solution: Send an email to TaxSlayer VITA/TCE Support ([email protected]) with the following information and subject line:

Subject Line: New Site Admin

Body: I am the new site admin for the following site and need the link sent that allows me to create my admin credentials.

EFIN: {Enter six digit EFIN}

Site Name: {Enter Site Name}

Site Admin Name: {Enter your name as the new site administrator}

Site Admin Phone: {Enter your phone number)

Site Admin Email: {this is the email address the link will be sent to}

Practice Lab 2023 is scheduled to be released/available on Tuesday, November 7th. Please keep in mind that the Practice Lab will be updated twice a week as we receive finalized forms and instructions from the IRS. With that, we ask volunteers to not report calculation issues to support.

With the Practice Lab 2023 release, you will have access to PL 2023 and PL 2022.

When you log in to your Production Sites, you will see the following TaxSlayer 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019 and 2018. You do not have the ability to create new returns in 2023, but you can still prepare returns in all of the available prior years. You will be able to electronically file 2022, 2021 and 2020 until the IRS shuts down their MeF system on November 18th at 11:59pm ET.

States will not be available in Practice Lab 2023 until closer to the filing season in either late December or early January. You can use PL 2022 to have your volunteers train or practice with state returns.