Below are bullet points from our opening presentation of the All Partner Call before opening up for Q&A from the field.
- E-file volume remains up by approximately 2% year over year for the VITA/TCE Program
- We have some outstanding CA acks. Our development team is working with CA on this (Issue 4550)
- Changes to the Kiddie Tax have been deployed for TS 2019
- Taxpayers can now choose to elect to use their Parents Tax Rate when calculating the Kiddie Tax
- We do not have a deliverable date on when the retroactive extenders will be added to the prior year application
- MO acks were delayed earlier this week, but should be resolved now
- Check the blog for this type of information
- We launched the new FSA Kiosk landing page this morning for those on the call with Fusion and Stand Alone URLs
- If you start from the URL we sent you, this page displays and allows you to more easily use bookmarking and creating desktop shortcuts
- If your taxpayer does not see this page, then you are starting from the wrong URL
- Put the Best Practices guide and other FSA guides on the blog and under User Guides on the left navigation panel when you are logged into TaxSlayer
- Updated the 1042-S to the 2019 form
- Updated the User Interface on some of the pages outside of the return, but did not change the functionality
Q1: Any update on Strike Benefits and how to report in the software properly?
- Software vendors are still waiting for additional guidance from the IRS to ensure there are no issues in the MeF (electronic submission) sent to the IRS.
Q2: Kiddie Tax ready for 2019?
- Yes, the extender update for Form 8615 was delivered to the 2019 software this morning.
Q3: Will preparers be notified of when kiddie tax may be applicable in a tax return?
- Currently, no warning is prompted. We do have a suggestion logged for this to assist the preparer when Form 8615 may be applicable.
Q4: Is there still an e-file block for Kiddie Tax?
- No, the e-file block has been removed.
Q5: Is there a way to assign a preparer to multiple returns at one time?
- No, there is not. However, with the intent of filtering Client List so your preparers no longer see accepted returns, they can select “Do Not Show Accepted Returns” from Client List menu.
Q6: Has Alimony Paid always required the Recipients SSN? What if no SSN is available?
- Yes, to deduct Alimony Paid, the SSN for the recipient is required. If no SSN is available, use 111-XX-1111 (X=0) and be sure to paper file the return. Also include a statement with the paper filed return to support why no SSN was available.
How do we file a MFS return when we don’t know spouse SSN?
- If no SSN is available, use 111-XX-1111 (X=0) and be sure to paper file the return. Also include a statement with the paper filed return to support why no SSN was available.
When will extenders be applied to 2018 program?
- Prior year extender work is captured in our backlogs, but we do not have an ETA when these items will be available in the prior year programs.