Tag: Training

Pro Online: Return Prep Maintenance Alert – 1/9/18 (COMPLETE)

09 Jan 18
Craig Smith
,
No Comments

1/9/18 – 8:40am ET

Return preparation is now out of maintenance as new UI/UX updates were released (User Interface, User Experience).

  • The pill shaped buttons are now rectangle in shape and a little larger
  • The navigational buttons (Edit, Begin, Enter Myself, etc.) are darker in color with white wording
  • When on Summary/Print the left navigation bar is collapsed (previous behavior) but instead of clicking the “Expand” arrows, simply hovering your mouse over the left navigation bar will automatically expand the menu

1/9/18 – 8:18am ET

The site (only return preparation) will be placed into maintenance mode for about 30 minutes beginning at 8:20am ET. This maintenance window will be complete prior to 9:00am ET. This will only impact return preparation.

Pro Online: Health Insurance Update – Phase I Live

08 Jan 18
Craig Smith
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Phase I of the new Health Insurance redesign has been released. Phase I incorporates the new flow users will see when preparing 2017 returns starting next week (this is also live in the Practice Lab). Phase II will incorporate the addition of the Affordability Worksheet which is expected to be in production prior to turning on “Start New 2017 Tax Return”. The intent behind the redesign of the flow is to first allow users to claim qualifying exemptions before presenting the option to determine affordability. Assuming the household does not qualify to claim the “Household or Gross Income below…..” exemption, did not receive a Marketplace issued exemption certificate, or does not qualify to claim a coverage exemption, then and only then will the user be presented the option to determine affordability.

The first visible change you will see will be on the “Household Income” screen. This used to be the “Dependents’ MAGI (if filing requirement)” screen. An entry field for “Premium amount paid through salary reduction agreement” has been added. This will be the first step in determining affordability as this entry will be in included in the Affordability Threshold (Line A of Affordability Worksheet).

The second change will be when a user clicks “Continue” on the “Household Income” menu. Clicking continue here is where the automatic determination of “Household or Gross Income below Filing Threshold” exemption will occur. If the return qualifies for this exemption, the exemption will be applied to the return and the Health Insurance menu will be complete. If the return does not qualify for the above mentioned exemption, the user now has the option to claim either a Marketplace issued certificate exemption or another coverage exemption for each household member. They will answer “YES” when asked “Did you qualify for an exemption due to circumstances or receive an exemption certificate from the marketplace?”.

If a user answers “NO” to the above question, “Did you qualify for an exemption…..”, the user will be then asked if they wish to complete the process to determine if the affordability exemption may apply (Phase II coming soon). More details will be released once Phase II has been rolled into production.

 

 

 

Pro Online: General Sales Tax Entry Issue Reported (RESOLVED)

04 Jan 18
Craig Smith
,
No Comments

1/4/18 – 12:53pm ET

This has been resolved and the update is currently being pushed live. Impacted returns will begin to load the Summary/Print page and PDF’s will begin to render as well. Also, we were able to implement Phase II of the General Sales Tax worksheet. Schedule A, Line 5 now shows the calculated general sales tax deduction based on the completion of the General Sales Tax Worksheet.

1/4/18 – 11:10am ET

We have received reports of the Summary/Print menu (and PDF rendering) not loading. Further research determined the underlying action is caused by completing the General Sales Tax worksheet within the Itemized Deduction>Taxes You Paid menu. For immediately resolution, delete the General Sales Tax worksheet. After removing, the Refund Generator will display and PDF’s will render.

Note: You can use the override feature within the General Sales Tax menu to manually report the general sales tax amount to carry to the Schedule A, Line 5.

Pro Online: 1/4/18 Updates

04 Jan 18
Craig Smith
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No Comments

The below items are now live in the Practice Lab and Production Sites.

  • 1040 View – Updated to reflect 2017
    • If you open an existing return and 2016 still shows on 1040 View, on your keyboard hold Ctrl and press F5. This will recycle the page and update to 2017
  • Form W-7 – Under “Identification Submitted”, updated to ask for the middle name instead of just the middle initial. This is shown when the box is checked for “Applicant previously received a TIN or EIN”
  • 1040-X – The “Where is this located” link within “Original Federal Return Information” menu for “Other Credits” removed the reference for 1040-EZ since credits do not apply on Form 1040-EZ
  • W-2 – Box 14: The selection “MD MSRS C-MD Pickup Contribution” has been removed as it was a duplicate entry. Now, only “MD Pickup Contribution” shows
  • Form 1099-K – Text has been added to the “Payment Card and Third Party Network Transactions” information menu to provide guidance on where to report 1099-K income received for rental income

Pro Online: General Sales Tax Menu Missing State Selection Drop-down (LIVE – 1/4/18)

03 Jan 18
Craig Smith
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No Comments

1/4/18

Phase II has been released ahead of schedule. Calculated General Sales Tax amounts based on the roll out of Phase I are carrying to the Schedule A, line 5.

1/3/18

Phase II scheduled release for Friday, January 5th, 2018. This will complete the new process of claiming the General Sales Tax Deduction.

12/27/17

Phase I Released: Now, when accessing the General Sales Tax Worksheet screen, your state will automatically be determined by the zip code provided. You are no longer required to manually select the applicable state from a drop-down menu.

Note: With the new implementation of not requiring the state selection from a drop-down menu, Phase II should be released next week to carry applicable figures to Line 5 of Schedule A.

12/22/17

The issue has been fixed and will be corrected live with the next production deployment. The next deployment is tentatively scheduled for the morning of Wednesday, December 27th.

12/12/17

The state selection drop down within the General Sales Tax Worksheet menu was incorrectly removed as a result of this mornings production deployment. Currently, if you complete the General Sales Tax Worksheet, when attempting to save your entry, the screen will validate because the zip code entered does not match the state selected (this is because you are unable to choose a state).

A current workaround to claim the General Sales Tax Deduction would be to visit IRS.gov using the link provided within the General Sales Tax Deduction menu. Once you have obtained the applicable general sales tax amount, click the “Override” button to manually enter your deduction.

Pro Online: Production Update Alert – Wednesday, January 3rd at 5:00am ET

02 Jan 18
Craig Smith
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No Comments

A production update is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, January 3rd at 5:00am ET. The scheduled update should be completed prior to 8:00am ET. Items included in tomorrow’s update are listed below.

  • Rejected Clients Menu – A return that was transmitted but received a Federal Validation Error will now be visible within the Rejected Clients menu. This expands upon a quick, easy display of rejected Federal returns. You will see a drop down menu to switch your view from Rejected Returns to Validation Errors
  • MFA – The default window for prompting MFA will be increased from 7 days to 15 days
  • Practice Lab – New requirement of Practice Lab password being at least 15 characters in length

Pro Online: F8888 now offers RTN/ACCT Verfication

15 Dec 17
Craig Smith
, , , ,
No Comments

A new feature was released for sites that will be offering the 8888. Now, when entering direct deposit information inside the E-file menu, if your site is set up to offer the 8888, you will be required to verify both the RTN and ACCT numbers provided. This will work just as the current Direct Deposit entry functions for sites that do not offer the 8888 at their sites. After entering the initial RTN/ACCT number information, it will be masked requiring the preparer to verify the confirmation entry by referring to the documents in hand. Adding this new feature for the 8888 will go a long way in ensuring the correct direct deposit information is entered the first time by the preparer before moving to quality review.

 

Practice Lab 2017: Preliminary versions of the states are available (UPDATE 12/5/17)

04 Dec 17
Kim Manuel
, ,
No Comments

We have released preliminary version of all states.  We wanted to give you an early look at some of the changes we are making to the state programs for TY2017, even though they are NOT finalized.

We are continuing to work on areas that improve the user experience, as well as, update the programs with updated tax law and e-file changes as it is released by the state agencies.

We did not release the localities with this early release.

Are tax calculations in the states finalized?

No, this is a preliminary version of states.  As we receive finalized tax law and e-file changes from the states, we will be updating the state software.  This will be a continual and ongoing process through early January (which is typical of any tax year).

Are all items such as dependents and credits flowing from the federal to the state?

No, this is a preliminary version of the state.   Updating the state software will be a continual and ongoing process through early January.

I am beginning the training process for my volunteers, what year should I use to train on tax software for the purposes of state tax calculations?

You should train your volunteers using the TaxSlayer Pro Online 2016 for the purposes of state calculations.  You can utilize TY2017 states for the purposes of demonstrating how they will navigate through the state portion of the return.

I am receiving an “Unexpected error” message when I click Continue or navigate to the e-file section after loading the state. *RESOLVED 12/5/17*

We are actively working to resolve this error.  You can utilize the left navigation panel to navigate through the return instead of using the “Continue” button to navigate between sections.  If you need to utilize the e-file section, you will need to remove the state from the return until an update resolves this error. *THIS HAS BEEN RESOLVED* You can now access the e-file menu with a state return loaded into your 2017 Practice Lab accounts.

Are the new features requested for the states available with this release?

The majority of the new features have not been released with the preliminary version of the states.  As we finalize testing on these features, they will be updated in the Practice Lab.