TaxWise Online Update: Scheduled Maintenance - December 30, 2021

As part of a scheduled maintenance release to prepare for the upcoming Tax Season, please be advised that the TaxWise team will be updating the TaxWise Online application during the evening of Thursday, December 30, 2021 starting at 10pm ET.

The update will take less than an hour and during the scheduled maintenance TaxWise Online will be unavailable.

Reminder - Partner Verification Refresh

In order to be prepared and ready for Pre-Ack beginning January 2, 2022, this is a reminder to refresh Partner Verification to confirm your banking enrollment information (Partner, Product, and Fees) is correct in the TaxWise Desktop and TaxWise Online Applications.

TaxWise Desktop - Steps for Partner Verification:

1 -- Log in as Admin in Taxwise Desktop

2 -- Select ‘Tools > Utilities/Setup Assistant’

3 -- From the Utility window select ‘Setup > Setup Assistant’

4 -- Select ‘Partner Verification’

5 -- Select the ‘Refresh Data’ button

6 -- Confirm partner verification:

Once Partner Verification is refreshed, the page will show current updated Partner Verification data with your bank partner’s information. Please verify and confirm all fees and product selections are correct in the TaxWise desktop application.

TaxWise Online -- Steps for Partner Verification

1 -- In the upper left, Select the ‘Loggedin User>Settings’

2 -- Select ‘Partner Verification’

3 -- Confirm Partner Verification data under ‘Settlement Solutions’

 

If you have any questions, please contact customer support via any of these options:

1. Chat at SFS TaxWise Chat (cch.com)
2. Open a Support case at https://support.cch.com/
• Select the option that best describes your issue and complete all applicable information. Our support team will research your issue or question and contact you with an answer.
3. Phone at 866-641-9473.

E-file Reporting - Annual Maintenance begins December 28, 2021 @10:00 PM EST

All e-filing reporting will stop on Tuesday, December 28, 2021 @ 10:00pm EST to perform annual maintenance. 

E-file reports are found at: "My Information > Reports"  on the Support Site. 

After December 28th, EFC reporting will not be available until the reporting maintenance is completed in mid-January.

Pre-Acknowledgement Availability and Bank Product Season Readiness

January 2nd, 2022, marks the beginning of the tax season for those of you offering Pre-acknowledgement (Pre-ack) advances through TPG and Republic Bank. Pre-ack with these banks will begin at 12pm ET on January 2nd, 2022.

Please note: For MetaBank Customers, Pre-ack begins on January 3rd, 2022, 12pm ET.

If you haven’t enrolled to offer bank products yet, our partners are still open and accepting enrollment applications for all products.

Once you have enrolled, check out our FAQ below for pre-ack advance products.


How do I apply for Pre-ack inside of the return?
On the main information, select bank products and check the box for the appropriate bank (your active bank). You will then visit the bank application and complete the necessary steps, including selecting advance and the taxpayers preferred disbursement. Once that is completed, you will efile the return.

What is EFC reject 91?
EFC 91 is an EFC reject you will receive when the bank rejects the Pre-ack return. To fix these rejects print the ack report and search for the bank rejection, this will tell you what the reject is and you can fix and resend.


For additional information on the bank enrollment process, please visit our enrollment site by logging into the Support Site and clicking “My Account> Enroll in Bank Products.”

1. Complete the Enrollment Agreement
2. Complete Office Info
3. Select your Providers and Complete Provider Info
4. Send Applications

Once the bank approves your application, your status will be updated on the Support Site.


If you have any questions, please contact customer support via any of these options:

1. Chat at SFS TaxWise Chat (cch.com)
2. Open a Support case at https://support.cch.com/
• Select the option that best describes your issue and complete all applicable information. Our support team will research your issue or question and contact you with an answer.
3. Phone at 866-641-9473.

TaxWise - Holiday Hours - Final week of December 2021

 2021 is coming to a close...

This is a reminder that the TaxWise offices will be closed:

• Friday, December 31st

SUPPORT

If you require Support assistance on Friday 12/31, please enter a web ticket through this link and we will respond when normal business hours resume.

Find answers to your questions in our Knowledge Base.

Please feel free to Contact Us online if you have any questions.

Please Note:  Support will be open and available on Sunday January 2, 2022, 10am-6pm ET for Chat and Support tickets only.  

1. Chat at SFS TaxWise Chat (cch.com)
2. Open a Support case at https://support.cch.com/
• Select the option that best describes your issue and complete all applicable information. Our support team will research your issue or question and contact you with an answer.

SALES

If you have not purchased or renewed TaxWise for Tax Year 2021, please keep the Friday, 12/31 closure in mind.  You can contact your Account Manager at 800-495-4626 to get setup for the 2021 season. 

The TaxWise team wishes you a happy and safe holiday season!  And a very successful Tax Season. 

IRS issues information letters to Advance Child Tax Credit recipients and recipients of the third round of Economic Impact Payments

 December 22, 2021

Full Article

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service announced today that it will issue information letters to Advance Child Tax Credit recipients starting in December and to recipients of the third round of the Economic Impact Payments at the end of January. Using this information when preparing a tax return can reduce errors and delays in processing.

The IRS urged people receiving these letters to make sure they hold onto them to assist them in preparing their 2021 federal tax returns in 2022.

Watch for advance Child Tax Credit letter

To help taxpayers reconcile and receive all of the Child Tax Credits to which they are entitled, the IRS will send Letter 6419, 2021 advance CTC, starting late December, 2021 and continuing into January. The letter will include the total amount of advance Child Tax Credit payments taxpayers received in 2021 and the number of qualifying children used to calculate the advance payments. People should keep this and any other IRS letters about advance Child Tax Credit payments with their tax records.

Families who received advance payments will need to file a 2021 tax return and compare the advance Child Tax Credit payments they received in 2021 with the amount of the Child Tax Credit they can properly claim on their 2021 tax return.

The letter contains important information that can make preparing their tax returns easier. People who received the advance CTC payments can also check the amount of their payments by using the CTC Update Portal available on IRS.gov.

Eligible families who did not receive any advance Child Tax Credit payments can claim the full amount of the Child Tax Credit on their 2021 federal tax return, filed in 2022. This includes families who don't normally need to file a tax return.

Economic Impact Payment letter can help with the Recovery Rebate Credit

The IRS will begin issuing Letter 6475, Your Third Economic Impact Payment, to EIP recipients in late January. This letter will help Economic Impact Payment recipients determine if they are entitled to and should claim the Recovery Rebate Credit on their tax year 2021 tax returns that they file in 2022.

Letter 6475 only applies to the third round of Economic Impact Payments that was issued starting in March 2021 and continued through December 2021. The third round of Economic Impact Payments, including the "plus-up" payments, were advance payments of the 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit that would be claimed on a 2021 tax return. Plus-up payments were additional payments the IRS sent to people who received a third Economic Impact Payment based on a 2019 tax return or information received from SSA, RRB or VA; or to people who may be eligible for a larger amount based on their 2020 tax return.

Most eligible people already received the payments. However, people who are missing stimulus payments should review the information to determine their eligibility and whether they need to claim a Recovery Rebate Credit for tax year 2020 or 2021.

Like the advance CTC letter, the Economic Impact Payment letters include important information that can help people quickly and accurately file their tax return.

More information about the Advance Child Tax Credit, Economic Impact Payments and other COVID-19-related tax relief may be found at IRS.gov.

As the 2022 tax filing season approaches, the IRS urges people to make sure an accurate tax return and use electronic filing with direct deposit to avoid delays.

Client Accounting Suite/Premier version 21.1 is available

 The 21.1 version of CAS is now available from the Solution Center or via the auto-update feature in CAS. It includes the following regulatory updates.

Regulatory Updates

The following regulatory information is now available for Client Accounting Suite and Client Accounting Suite Premier:

• 2021 Federal Forms update
• 940
• The 943 and 944 will be included in a future update.
• W-2, W-3, 1096, 1098 and 1099s
• 1099-NEChas been added to the list of available 1099s for reporting to IRS through the Combined Fed/ State program.
•  Reminder that W-2, W-3 and 1099- NEC, both printed and electronic must be filed by
  January 31, 2022.
• W-2 and 1099 federal and state electronic filing formats.
• Review the Year End Guide (available on the Help menu) for all end-of-year questions and procedures.

Note: 1094-B and 1094-Cand their transmittal forms will be provided in a future update.

Important: All 1099/ 1096 forms submitted to the IRS must be printed on the red ink approved forms.
Failure to comply with this may result in fines or rejections. To order the 1099/ 1096 red ink forms for
Client Accounting Suite, call Nelco at 1-800-266-4669.

• 2022 Federal Withholding Rates
• The 2022 Federal withholding rates have not been finalized for 2022. We will include in a future update.
•  For 2022, the employee and employer tax rate for Social Security continues at 6.2%. The
  Social Security wage base increases to $147,000.
  
•  The Medicare Tax rate remains at 1.45% for 2022. There is no wage base limit for Medicare tax.
• The Additional Medicare tax of 0.9% continues for 2022 on earnings over $200,000 for all taxpayers.
• 2022 State Withholding Rates - The following state withholding calculations have been updated
  for 2022:
  
• California
• Georgia
• New York
• New York - Yonkers
• Oregon
• Wisconsin
• Note:  As other states change their rates for 2022, we will provide updates on the support website.
• Reminder: Be sure to update the state wage limit in the State Setup before processing payrolls for 2022.
• Review the Year End Guide for all Regulatory quest ions and procedures. The Year End Guide is available on-line in PDF format from the Help Menu.

Scheduled Updates

• January 2022 - Client Accounting Suite 21.2 - State Withholding and form updates

Reminder for Week of 12/20: EFC and IRS E-filing Shutdown for TY 2018-2020 - Business Returns

 Please take note of this important information about electronic filing.

IRS has announced its MeF (e-file) shutdown and cutover for Tax Year 2021. To ensure that all business tax returns e-filed through the MeF system are processed in a timely manner, submissions must occur before IRS shuts down the system on Sunday, December 26, 2021, at 11:59 a.m. Eastern time.

Electronic Filing Center (EFC) Maintenance/Shutdown 

To prepare for the upcoming season and to ensure that all business returns for tax year 2020 are processed timely, Wolters Kluwer will shut down the Electronic Filing Center (EFC) on Tuesday, December 21, 2021, at 11:00 PM EST (in advance of the IRS Business E-filing Shutdown) for the following returns:

• Partnership (1065)
• Corporation (1120)
• S Corporation (1120S)
• Fiduciary (1041)
• Employee Benefit Plans (5500)
• Exempt Organization (990 Series)
• 94X Series

All other return types not listed including state, local, and school district returns
This maintenance will end no later than the date that the IRS opens for tax year 2021, which is yet to be announced. During this maintenance period, you will NOT be able to:

• Transmit returns
• Receive acknowledgements (acks)

Final Day for Electronic Filing of 2018 Returns

Tuesday, December 21, 2021, is the final day that tax year 2018 returns can be electronically filed. Any acknowledgements must be retrieved by the user no later than December 26, 2021 at 11:00 PM EST for TY18 e-files. EFC for TY18 will not be available after December 26, 2021 at 11:00 PM EST to pick up these acks.

Reminder: TaxWise - December 2021 Holiday Hours

This is a reminder that the TaxWise offices will be closed:

• Friday, December 24th
• Friday, December 31st

SUPPORT

If you require Support assistance during those days, please enter a web ticket through this link and we will respond when normal business hours resume.

Find answers to your questions in our Knowledge Base.

Please feel free to Contact Us online if you have any questions.

SALES

If you have not purchased or renewed TaxWise for Tax Year 2021, please keep those holiday closure dates above in mind.  You can contact your Account Manager at 800-495-4626 to get setup for the 2021 season. 

Wolters Kluwer wishes you a happy and safe holiday season!  And a very successful Tax Season. 

NC Business Recovery Grant Program

  NC is pleased to announce that the application and webpage is now available on NCDOR's website. The deadline to apply is January 31, 2022.

 

The program will issue a one-time payment to eligible North Carolina businesses that experienced significant economic loss due to COVID-19. Two types of grants will be available to eligible businesses that suffered an economic loss of at least 20 percent during the pandemic:

• A hospitality grant will be available to an eligible arts, entertainment, and recreation business, as well as an eligible accommodation or food service business such as a hotel, restaurant, and bar.
• A reimbursement grant will be available to an eligible business not classified in NAICS Code 71 and 72 and that did not receive funding from other relief programs including Paycheck Protection Program, COVID-19 Job Retention Grant, and EIDL Advance.

 We are looking for partners to assist us with outreach so that all eligible NC business owners have the opportunity to apply.

• Use the attached Outreach Toolkit and Flyers to raise awareness of the program throughout your networks. It contains highly useful details about the program and application process, FAQs, and example language to use on social media.
• If you'd like to host an event with NCDOR for your members or have someone from NCDOR speak at your events, please contact me as soon as possible. NCDOR will do everything it can to accommodate any requests.

Advance Child Tax Credit Payments (ACTCPs) – Letter 6419 due out in January

 Did your customers receive at least one (1) Advance Child Tax Credit Payment (ACTCP) over the summer/fall of 2021?

If so, the IRS will be sending them Letter 6419 in January. The information in this letter is important as you prepare your customers’ 2021 tax return.  It shows the total amount of payments received, which will assist in calculating what they are eligible for as part of their TY 2021 taxes.  If the taxpayer(s) do not have their 6419, the payment amounts can also be found in the CTCUp Portal.  Many taxpayers like to file as early as possible so authenticating through the portal may be the fastest way to ensure the accuracy of these payments when filing for 2021.

If the accurate amounts from the 6419 letter or CTCUp (for both taxpayer and spouse, if applicable) are not entered, the return will fall into error processing by IRS, delaying the refund deposit. 

For more info, please visit the IRS Site, Advance Child Tax Credit Payments. 

Reminder: EFC and IRS E-filing Shutdown for TY 2018-2020 - Business Returns

Please take note of this important information about electronic filing.

IRS has announced its MeF (e-file) shutdown and cutover for Tax Year 2021. To ensure that all business tax returns e-filed through the MeF system are processed in a timely manner, submissions must occur before IRS shuts down the system on Sunday, December 26, 2021, at 11:59 a.m. Eastern time.

Electronic Filing Center (EFC) Maintenance/Shutdown 

To prepare for the upcoming season and to ensure that all business returns for tax year 2020 are processed timely, Wolters Kluwer will shut down the Electronic Filing Center (EFC) on Tuesday, December 21, 2021, at 11:00 PM EST (in advance of the IRS Business E-filing Shutdown) for the following returns:

• Partnership (1065)
• Corporation (1120)
• S Corporation (1120S)
• Fiduciary (1041)
• Employee Benefit Plans (5500)
• Exempt Organization (990 Series)
• 94X Series

All other return types not listed including state, local, and school district returns
This maintenance will end no later than the date that the IRS opens for tax year 2021, which is yet to be announced. During this maintenance period, you will NOT be able to:

• Transmit returns
• Receive acknowledgements (acks)

Final Day for Electronic Filing of 2018 Returns

Tuesday, December 21, 2021, is the final day that tax year 2018 returns can be electronically filed. Any acknowledgements must be retrieved by the user no later than December 26, 2021 at 11:00 PM EST for TY18 e-files. EFC for TY18 will not be available after December 26, 2021 at 11:00 PM EST to pick up these acks.

IRS Announces Delays in E-file Application Processing Time

 Please see the announcement below from the IRS

The IRS is experiencing delays affecting the processing of e-file Applications. You do not need to take any actions. In lieu of calling the e-help desk, continue to monitor your e-file application through e-services on IRS.gov.

We are working diligently to ensure e-file applications are processed in time for participation in the upcoming filing season.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

TaxWise - December 2021 Holiday Hours

The holidays are here and the New Year fast approaches.  This is a reminder that the TaxWise offices will be closed:

• Friday, December 24th
• Friday, December 31st

SUPPORT

If you require Support assistance during those days, please enter a web ticket through this link and we will respond when normal business hours resume.

Find answers to your questions in our Knowledge Base.

Please feel free to Contact Us online if you have any questions.

SALES

If you have not purchased or renewed TaxWise for Tax Year 2021, please keep those holiday closure dates above in mind.  You can contact your Account Manager at 800-495-4626 to get setup for the 2021 season. 

Wolters Kluwer wishes you a happy and safe holiday season!  And a very successful Tax Season.

IRS FIRE System shuts down tonight.

 We apologize for any inconvenience that this may cause you.  

We were just made aware that the IRS FIRE system is shutting down tonight at 6 PM EST and will not reopen until January 4th, 2022.  If you transmit any 1099 returns after 5 PM EST tonight you will receive an EFC Reject 49.  If you transmitted a return yesterday or earlier today, then you may not receive an acknowledgement until the FIRE System reopens in January.