The IRS issued final forms and instructions to software vendors last week. We are in the final implementation of delivering phase I to production. This phase will include the ability to designate the disaster area in the Personal Information Section.
You will then be able to enter the inputs from their TY2016 return into the application. Once the Disaster Designation has been made in Basic Information, a menu option will appear at the bottom of the main income menu titled, “Prior Year Income for Hurricane Disaster Victims”. Preparers will have the option to let the program determine the most advantageous calculation for the return or choose to use the prior year figure.
This phase I delivery will also include the changes to charitable contributions as it applies to Disaster Areas. Within the Itemized Deduction menu > Gifts to Charity, users will first complete the “Cash Gifts to Charity”. After completing this menu, a new menu will appear labeled, “Cash Donations to Disaster Relief Charities”. This is where the preparer will designate the amount of cash donations made towards disaster relief efforts.
Phase II will implement changes that impact Form 8606
Blog posted 01/30/2018