IRS News: Hurricanes Helene and Milton Victims Eligible for Tax Relief; Oct. 15 deadline, other dates extended to May 1

The IRS reassured victims today that it is prepared to offer the tax-related assistance they require to recover from the devastating hurricanes that have ravaged Florida and the Southeast in recent weeks. The IRS automatically gives taxpayers whose address of record is in a disaster-area locality more time to file returns and pay taxes. Currently, taxpayers in the entire states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, and parts of Tennessee and Virginia, who received extensions to file their 2023 returns have until May 1, 2025, to file. Tax-year 2023 tax payments are not eligible for this extension. In addition, May 1 is also the deadline for filing 2024 returns and paying any tax due.

In the wake of a disaster, victims can find a wealth of information on IRS.gov to assist them in navigating common situations. Disaster victims can call the agency’s disaster hotline at 866-562-5227. The hotline is reserved for taxpayers with questions about disasters. Additionally, the IRS encourages affected taxpayers to review all federal disaster relief at DisasterAssistance.gov.

Urgent: 2023 1040 Extension Deadline is Tomorrow!

The 2023 1040 extension deadline is approaching.  

We strongly encourage you to transmit your e-files at least two hours before the midnight deadline.

As the October 15th midnight deadline approaches, the processing volume at the IRS will increase daily. Both return volume and return size will affect processing time. While you are accustomed to receiving your Federal acknowledgements within a one hour time-frame, that turnaround time will increase as the deadline approaches. You may see your acknowledgements take from 2 to 4 hours, and possibly longer.

This is why we suggest that you send returns periodically throughout the day. This will help spread out the volume and also help eliminate some of the 'deadline rush' which also impacts IRS processing.

Contact Hours
This is a reminder that the Refunds Today offices will be be open the following hours leading up to the extension deadline.  

Monday 

October 14th

Phone support: 8am - 6pm EST

Chat support: 8am - 6pm EST

Tuesday

October 15th

Phone support: 8am - 8pm ET

Chat support: 8am - 10pm ET

Common Q/As around filing Deadline and extensions

• What is the latest time I can still electronically file a return on the day of deadline and still be considered timely filed?
• How do I unlink the state return from the federal so that I don’t have to wait for the federal acceptance before I can file my state?
• Can I stop an e-file after it has been transmitted?

Find answers to your other questions in our Knowledge Base.

2023 1040 Extension Deadline is approaching

The 2023 1040 extension deadline is approaching.  

We strongly encourage you to transmit your e-files at least two hours before the midnight deadline.

As the October 15th midnight deadline approaches, the processing volume at the IRS will increase daily. Both return volume and return size will affect processing time. While you are accustomed to receiving your Federal acknowledgements within a one hour time-frame, that turnaround time will increase as the deadline approaches. You may see your acknowledgements take from 2 to 4 hours, and possibly longer.

This is why we suggest that you send returns periodically throughout the day. This will help spread out the volume and also help eliminate some of the 'deadline rush' which also impacts IRS processing.

Contact Hours
This is a reminder that the Refunds Today offices will be be open the following hours leading up to the extension deadline.  

Monday - Friday 

10/7 - 10/11

Phone support: 8am - 6pm EST

Chat support: 8am - 6pm EST

Saturday and Sunday

10/12 - 10/13

Chat support: 10am - 6pm EST

Monday 

October 14th

Phone support: 8am - 6pm EST

Chat support: 8am - 6pm EST

Tuesday

October 15th

Phone support: 8am - 8pm ET

Chat support: 8am - 10pm ET

Common Q/As around filing Deadline and extensions

• What is the latest time I can still electronically file a return on the day of deadline and still be considered timely filed?
• How do I unlink the state return from the federal so that I don’t have to wait for the federal acceptance before I can file my state?
• Can I stop an e-file after it has been transmitted?

Find answers to your other questions in our Knowledge Base.

State News: North Carolina Delay in Partnership Acknowledgements

 Please read this important message from the North Carolina Department of Revenue.

We are experiencing technical difficulties with the Partnership gateway. Therefore, acknowledging TY23 partnership submissions is currently delayed. We will notify you once this issue has been resolved.

We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.

Refunds Today: Scheduled Maintenance Tonight

 In preparation for the upcoming Tax season, The Refunds Today team will be performing scheduled maintenance and routine testing on the date(s)/time(s) below.

Several systems will be impacted and may be unavailable during these maintenance windows.

Tuesday, September 24th, 10PM ET -- Wednesday, September 25th, 6AM ET 

• Systems Impacted: E-File, Central Office Manager (COM), Bank Enrollments, 

We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience as we continue to enhance our systems to offer you the best experience possible. 

Client Accounting Suite/Premier (CAS/P) version 23.5 is available

The 23.5 version of CAS/P is now available from the Solution Center or via the auto-update feature in CAS/P. It includes the following regulatory updates.

Regulatory Updates

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

• 2024 State Withholding Rates - The following state withholding calculations have been updated for 2024:

• Arkansas
• Georgia
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Note:  As other states change their rates for 2024, we will provide updates on the support website.

*Resolved* State News: Ohio MeF Processing and Acknowledgement Delay

*Resolved*

The Ohio Department of Taxation has resolved this issue.

*******

Please review the below message from the Ohio Department of Taxation.

MeF transmissions - processing and acknowledgement delay

Ohio is experiencing a delay of processing MeF transmissions and sending acknowledgements for all electronically filed Ohio taxes (Individual Income Tax, Muni, PTE/Fiduciary) as of today. We will communicate when this has been corrected.