1/19/2023 – At this point, all major 2022 tax law updates should be incorporated into the software. If you see anything missing, please contact VITA/TCE support.

This is a post that will be routinely reviewed/updated to help keep everyone on the same page as to items we’re aware of that will be changing with coming releases ahead the 2022 Filing Season.

Your ideas and suggestions are important to us. The VITA/TCE Suggestion Box is designed for you to give us your feedback and ideas that will assist you in servicing your taxpayers. Each submission is designed to be one suggestion so we can more easily track the information and provide feedback. You can submit multiple suggestions.

A link to the VITA/TCE Suggestion Box is available on the left navigation bar within the TaxSlayer Pro Online application so you have access to it when you are logged in to either your site or The Practice Lab. The Suggestion Box is how you submit all software revision/enhancement requests. If you try to submit suggestions by contacting VITA/TCE Support, they will ask that your suggestion be submitted via the Suggestion Box.

The VITA/TCE Suggestion Box allows us to easily make all suggestion/enhancements available to the entire VITA/TCE community, along with implementation feedback directly to you.

Information you will need to submit a suggestion (all required)

What is your SIDN?

• Enter the 8 numerical digits.  This allows us track all of the suggestions submitted by your site.

What is your email address?

• This is very important in case we need to reach out to you to ask clarifying questions.

Program Type?

• You will choose from the drop down list.

What is your primary role at your VITA/TCE site?

• We know that many of you perform multiple roles at the site.  However, select the role that is your primary responsibility.  You also have the option of selecting “Other” and then specifying your role.

Software Type used at your site

• Select either Pro Online or Pro Desktop

Select the Program Area for your suggestion/enhancement

• This helps us categorize the requests.  If you select State, you will need to enter your State Abbreviation

Provide a detailed description of your suggestion/enhancement

• The more detail you can give us the better.  We want to understand exactly what you are looking for.

How would the above suggestion/enhancement benefit your site

• Tell us how this suggestion/enhancement would benefit your site. For example:  45% of the taxpayers that come to my site need to file Form XXXX.  If it were implemented in the software, it would save us a considerable amount of time manually preparing that form and we could e-file more returns.

Suggestion/Enhancement Classification

• Calculation = The change impacts the calculation of the tax return
• Usability Improvement = The change makes it easier and more efficient to complete a tax return
• Quality Improvement = The change enhances the quality review process and/or the overall quality of the return

What is your priority ranking?

1 = Critical to prepare an accurate return.

2 = Important

3 = Nice to have

Click here to access the VITA/TCE Suggestion box

You will need to open a new instance of the link for each new suggestion.

Note: The VITA/TCE Suggestion box is powered by Survey Monkey

We are processing our first set of orders from the IRS. Below is what you can expect:

Returning Sites

• The email address submitted with the order will receive 1 email confirming that we have processed the order.

New Sites

• The email address submitted with the order will receive 2 emails
• The links are one time use only links
• You must know your SIDN in order to create your Admin account
  • TaxSlayer support WILL NOT give you this information
  • If you do not know the SIDN associated with the order, you MUST reach out to your SPEC Relationship Manager
• The default PIN = 98765
• Print Sets, Security Templates, etc will be assigned to your site within 3 business days (Monday-Friday)

Relational and Multi-Site Groups

• The goal is to have these setup and/or updated within a week of processing the order

We will receive orders weekly through the end of December.  Note that any site that we do not have a 2022 order for on 12/31 will be marked as inactive until we receive an order.  We will receive orders two times a week beginning in January.

All electronic files need to be submitted to TaxSlayer by 9:00 PM EST on Saturday, November 26, 2022

Shutdown begins on Saturday, November 26, 2022, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern time, in order to prepare the system for the upcoming Tax Year 2022 Filing Season.

Shutdown Deadlines on Saturday, November 26, 2022

Transmitters:

Transmitting Submissions (State & Federal) 10:00 p.m. Eastern  time.

Note: Our applications will still be available, but if you prepare returns, you will need to file them via paper until the IRS brings their 1040 MeF system back online in late January. When the 1040 MeF system comes back online, you will be able to electronically file the following years: 2022, 2021, and 2020.

New for 2022 Configuration:  You can now designate a tax year for your custom questions.  All existing questions default to all years.  If you do not need them for 2022, you can simply edit them and change them to Tax Year 2021.  If you only want new questions to be displayed in 2022, you can designated them as Tax Year 2022 when you are setting them up.

Note:  The tax year designation works like it does for consents.  It will default to “All” tax years unless you change it to designate a specific tax year.

Practice Lab 2022 is now available for use. Please keep in mind that the Practice Lab will be updated twice a week as we receive finalized forms and instructions from the IRS.

You now have access to PL 2022 and PL 2021.

When you log in to your Production Sites, you will see the following TaxSlayer 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018 and 2017. You do not have the ability to create new returns in 2022, but you can still prepare returns in all of the available prior years. You will be able to electronically file 2021, 2020 and 2019 until the IRS shuts down their MeF system in preparation for the upcoming season in late November.

New for 2022 Configuration: You can now designate a tax year for your custom questions. All existing questions default to all years. If you do not need them for 2022, you can simply edit them and change them to Tax Year 2021. If you only want new questions to be displayed in 2022, you can designated them as Tax Year 2022 when you are setting them up.

States will not be available in the Practice Lab until closer to the filing season in either late December or early January. You can use PL 2021 to have your volunteers train or practice with state returns.

The site will be placed in maintenance on Tuesday, November 8th , 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.

PRACTICE LAB

• The 2022 Practice Lab is tentatively scheduled to be launched during the November 8th deploy

Once the 2022 application has been released, you will have access to the following:

Practice Lab — 2022 and 2021

Production Sites — 2022 (cannot start new returns), 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018 and 2017

The 2021 Kiosk URL’s expired after October 31st. The links will no longer offer free tax prep to the taxpayers nor offer access to prior year return(s). In the FSA world, 2021 FSA software is now considered prior year. As we begin receiving new orders for TY2022, new URL’s will be generated based on the order received from the IRS and emailed to the volunteer site contact in January of 2023.