Refer to Publication 3112, IRS e-file Application and Participants, for additional information about notifying the IRS of changes to your application.

For sites experiencing slowness, click this link and follow the below instructions.

Click the type of Internet Connection used at your site. Examples include Cable Internet, Public WiFi, DSL, 4G, etc. This will automatically start the Internet speed test.

Take a screenshot of the results and e-mail to [email protected] with Subject Line “Speed Test”.

*For additional and more in-depth troubleshooting tips, please click here.*

TaxSlayer VITA/TCE Support will be closed on Easter Sunday, 4/21/2019. Beginning Monday, April 22nd, off-season customer support hours will begin as follows:

• Sunday: CLOSED
• Monday-Friday: 8am-5pm ET
• Saturday: CLOSED

Today was the last all partner call for this filing season. Thank you to each and every one of you that made this filing season a success! We know local taxpayers in your community champion your efforts in providing a valuable and vital resource to them.

We didn’t have very many updates to cover today other than reminding everyone we are currently in a “code freeze” until after April 15th. This just means that we will not have any program deployments from April 10th (yesterday) through April 15th. We also mentioned the Suggestion Box and strongly encouraged volunteers to enter any and all suggestions to continue to enhance the software for you. Also, regarding the Suggestion Box, as a reminder the Suggestion Box is to report enhancements you’d like to see but not to report items you feel are defects with the software. Any potential defects need to be reported directly to customer support so they can be addressed quickly.

Below are the questions and answers recorded from the All Partner Call on Thursday, April 11th. There were only two questions asked.

Q: More of a suggestion but a volunteer asked if the 1040-NR program can be updated to allow for an entry to support a departure date prior to an arrival date for the Schedule OI. This would specifically benefit students that go home in May and return to school in August or September.

• We asked this item be reported to the Suggestion Box for further review. One item that needs to be reviewed is if the 1040-NR schema would support this type of entry via electronic submission.

Q: This was a question presented to IRS representatives on the call. How to handle a 1099-MISC with Box 7 income when the income should have been reported in Box 3?

• Advisement from the IRS was to “key it how you see it” but ultimately the taxpayer should be referred back to the payer to have a corrected 1099-MISC.

Below are the questions and answers recorded from the All Partner Call on Thursday, March 28th. We are posting questions most applicable to all sites.

Q: How do we determine residency status when an international student with an F1 visa changes to an H1B employee status with the H1B being less then half the year?

• Referred volunteer to their SPEC RM to perform tax research on their behalf.

Q: Can you lock a return after it has been accepted so it cannot be reopened?

• No, but from Client Status, volunteers can generate the accepted PDF of the Federal and State Return(s).

Q: Can the Suggestion Box send automated responses summarizing entries made?

• Currently, this is not available using the third-party survey platform.

Q: Is there a way to delete preparers instead of just marking them inactive?

• No, preparers added must stay in the database because their logins are tied to tax returns prepared and transmitted.

Below are the questions and answers recorded from the All Partner call on Thursday, March 14th. We are posting questions most applicable to all sites.

Q: Looking for reports to access specific dollar amounts for both fed and state returns.

• We recommend taking advantage of the Site Production Detail Report (Electronic and Paper) to drill into TP data at your site. There are also various other reports available within Management Reports to assist.

Q: Question about for carryforward data, why does a state with no income tax show as an optional carryforward item.

• Recommended to the volunteer to request an enhancement via the Suggestion Box to adjust the way carryforward data works in relation to states without income tax.

Q: When suggestions are submitted via the Suggestion Box, would like to receive an automated e-mail referencing the enhancement entered.

• All requests entered into the Suggestion Box are  responded to by Kim or Craig along with regular updates based on status changes with submitted enhancements. Since all suggestions are manually reviewed, it can take a little time before we are able to send out acknowledgement e-mails.

Q: Volunteer was asking the IRS if there was an income limitation for assisting taxpayers in their community.

• IRS representative indicated there is not an income limitation but the most important item to note is the volunteer must have the appropriate certifications to complete the tax returns.

Q: Question about a 1040-NR/EZ return getting rejected by the IRS due to $0 AGI.

• The IRS does not accept any 1040 return with $0 AGI via e-file and that these returns should be paper filed. Alternatively, sites have indicated they enter $1 in Other Income in order to e-file a return.

Q: Why does a 1040-NR return for a married nonresident require spouse information?

• We have opened Issue 3239 to remove the current validations requiring spouse entry when no longer applicable for 2018 1040-NR returns. For the time being, enter all spouse information but if a SSN/ITIN is not known, volunteers can enter 111-00-1111.

Q:What SSN do you enter when needing to apply for an ITIN?

• Enter all zeros (000-00-0000) to get access to the W-7 menu for the applicable individual on the return needing an ITIN.

Q: Can you electronically file Form 8843 for 1040-NR returns?

• The IRS still requires Form 8843 be paper filed if being filed by itself. If also preparing/filing the 1040-NR/EZ, Form 8843 will be included in the transmission.