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: 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.

North Carolina Corporate Acknowledgement Delays

 On 10/21/21 at 11:39 AM EST, the North Carolina Department of Revenue (NCDOR) informed us they are experiencing technical difficulties with the Corporate gateway. According to NCDOR, submissions that were submitted between 10/12/21 – 10/15/21 are delayed. NCDOR uses the Electronic Postmark date when considering a return as timely filed.  No returns will be considered late if the Electronic Postmark date is on or before 10/15/21. NCDOR hopes to have all submissions acknowledged as soon as possible. If you have any additional questions, you should contact the NCDOR directly at nctaxefile@ncdor.gov or 919-814-1500.

*Resolved* New York Reject Code R0170

***Resolved***

On 10/8/21 at 3:37 PM, we received communication from the State of New York (NYS) reporting a temporary fix which resolved the R0170 reject. According the NYS, you can now resume transmitting returns, and NYS will resume pulling from the IRS previously transmitted returns. For returns in Rejected status for R0170, recreate the e-file and retransmit the return. Returns already in Transmitted status will be acknowledged when NYS pulls the files and processes them.

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***Update***

On 10/6/21 at 3:15 PM EST we received communications from the State of New York (NYS) with an updated status about eFile returns. Currently, NYS is not pulling e-file returns due to an issue with the SSNValidation Status between the NYS and the IRS. This issue results in rejected returns with a Reject code of R0170. We will update you as we receive new information from the State of New York or the IRS. Please hold these returns and do not re-submit them until we receive additional guidance.

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We are aware of an issue impacting 1040 New York State returns. We have contacted The State of New York who is examining the issue. Please hold these returns and do not re-submit them until we receive additional guidance from the State of New York. 

Error Message:  R0170 - The primary SSN/ITIN was either invalid, or could not be verified

*Resolved* Intermittent Slowness

Service has been restored.  

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On October 4, 2021 at 8:15 AM EST, some TaxWise customers are experience intermittent slowness including e-filing and online check printing.

Thank you for your patience as our team investigates.

Alabama MeF Scheduled Maintenance

Alabama will be turning off MeF (all tax types) around 4:00pm on Thursday, September 23^rd.  They will be updating their system over that weekend and will not be retrieving submissions or sending ACKs from 4:00pm on Thursday, September 23^rd until after the cutover to their new system and go live.

 

Note: Anything transmitted after 3:00pm, Thursday, September 23^rd may not be acknowledged until after they open back up on Monday, September 27^th or Tuesday, September 28^th.

Arizona's MeF system maintenance

 Arizona's MeF system will be unavailable from 6 PM - 8 PM MST today, Sept. 16th.

Delay in Processing Form(s) 1040, 1040-X and 1040-ES Payments

 The IRS has issued a Quick Alert stating that it has identified a delay in processing direct debits for Form 1040 balance due, Form 1040-X and Form 1040-ES estimated tax payments submitted via Modernized e-File.  This issue has now been resolved and payments are being processed.

Taxpayer's accounts will be credited with the original requested payment date.  Do not resubmit these payments.  If a taxpayer re-submitted any of these payment requests due to the delay, then call 1-888-353-4537 to cancel the additional payment. Cancellation requests must be received no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern time, at least two business days prior to the scheduled payment date.

The Quick Alert can be read in its entirety here: IRS Quick Alert.

E-file Deadline April 15th Midnight EDT

We strongly encourage you to transmit your e-files at least two hours before the midnight (eastern daylight time) deadline.

As the April 15th deadline approaches, the processing volume at the IRS will increase. 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.

Taxpayers have until Monday, April 15, 2019 to file their 2018 returns and pay any taxes due.

Taxpayers requesting an extension will have until Tuesday, October 15, 2019 to file.

C-corporation income tax returns (IRS Form 1120) are due on April 15, 2019 for C corporations that operate on a calendar year, extended deadline is October 15, 2019.  The deadline for C corp returns is the 15th day of the fourth month following the end of the corporation's fiscal year if the corporation is on a fiscal rather than a calendar year.

For calendar year Estates and Trusts, file Form 1041 and Schedule(s) K-1 on or before April 15, 2019.  For fiscal year estates, file Form 1041 by the 15th day of the 4th month following the close of the tax year. For example, an estate that has a tax year that ends on June 30, 2019, must file Form 1041 by October 15, 2019. If the due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, file on the next business day.

Expectations for Agency ACK Response Beginning This Weekend

Beginning this weekend, agencies will begin to actively manage the increasing volume of e-files as we approach the Individual filing deadline. This agency process, known as "throttling," ensures that both federal and state e-filing pipelines continue to flow smoothly while handling the increased volume.

During this period, you can expect some slower ACK responses than are typical for the rest of the season; however, slowed agency responses are normal for this time period.

Common eFile Rejects and Tips to Resolve

Below is a list of the most common e-file rejections, with links to the Knowledge base articles that show you how to resolve them:

IND-031 and IND-032

R0000-500

R0000-503

R0000-504

R0000-507

R0000-902

FW2-502 or 1099R-502

How to Resolve Your Most Common EFC Rejects

Have you received one of the following EFC rejects recently?

- EFC 14 (Bank Application Previously Submitted)

- EFC 38 (Program or Forms Updates Needed)

- EFC 41 (Return Changed after E-File created)

- EFC 90 (Settlement Solutions Agreement has not been accepted)

If so, the following article outlines some of the reasons for these common rejects (and many more), as well as some easy tips (or KB articles) for resolving them:

What are the Electronic Filing Center (EFC) rejection codes for Refunds Today®, or Refunds Today® Online™?

Reject 91

If you have been holding returns with a Reject 91- you are able to resubmit them today.

Pre-Acknowledgement Status

To check the status of your clients pre-acknowledgement loans please visit your bank partners website.  Your bank partner will have the latest up to the minute information regarding your clients status.

Here is a list of our partners websites:

EPS Financial
Refund Advantage
TPG, 3Fund and FeeCollectPS

IRS Confirms Tax Filing Season to Begin January 28

WASHINGTON ― Despite the government shutdown, the Internal Revenue Service today confirmed that it will process tax returns beginning January 28, 2019 and provide refunds to taxpayers as scheduled.

“We are committed to ensuring that taxpayers receive their refunds notwithstanding the government shutdown. I appreciate the hard work of the employees and their commitment to the taxpayers during this period,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig.

Congress directed the payment of all tax refunds through a permanent, indefinite appropriation (31 U.S.C. 1324), and the IRS has consistently been of the view that it has authority to pay refunds despite a lapse in annual appropriations. Although in 2011 the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) directed the IRS not to pay refunds during a lapse, OMB has reviewed the relevant law at Treasury’s request and concluded that IRS may pay tax refunds during a lapse.

The IRS will be recalling a significant portion of its workforce, currently furloughed as part of the government shutdown, to work. Additional details for the IRS filing season will be included in an updated FY2019 Lapsed Appropriations Contingency Plan to be released publicly in the coming days.

“IRS employees have been hard at work over the past year to implement the biggest tax law changes the nation has seen in more than 30 years,” said Rettig.

As in past years, the IRS will begin accepting and processing individual tax returns once the filing season begins. For taxpayers who usually file early in the year and have all of the needed documentation, there is no need to wait to file. They should file when they are ready to submit a complete and accurate tax return.

The filing deadline to submit 2018 tax returns is Monday, April 15, 2019 for most taxpayers. Because of the Patriots’ Day holiday on April 15 in Maine and Massachusetts and the Emancipation Day holiday on April 16 in the District of Columbia, taxpayers who live in Maine or Massachusetts have until April 17, 2019 to file their returns.

Software companies and tax professionals will be accepting and preparing tax returns before Jan. 28 and then will submit the returns when the IRS systems open later this month. The IRS strongly encourages people to file their tax returns electronically to minimize errors and for faster refunds.

IRS Announces MeF Shutdown and Cutover Dates for Business Returns

IRS has announced the shutdown and cutover of the Modern E-File System (MeF) for Business Returns as a precursor for Tax Year 2018. To ensure that all Business tax returns e-filed through the MeF system are processed in a timely manner, submissions must occur before IRS completes its shut down of the system on Wednesday, December 26, 2018 at 11:59 p.m. (EST).          

In order to allow the states ample time for processing these returns, the Wolters Kluwer E-File Center (EFC) will stop accepting business returns (both federal and state) for the current processing year at 7:59 p.m. (EST) on December 21, 2018. E-file submissions for Tax Year 2015, Tax Year 2016 and Tax Year 2017 are included in this change.  Because not all state agencies process returns in “real-time”, this schedule should allow sufficient time for agencies to post their acknowledgements for the WK EFC to pick up prior to the system shutting down. 

After the shutdown occurs, the WK EFC will not accept business returns (federal and/or state) until IRS comes back online in early January 2019.  This includes preparers being able to pick up any outstanding acknowledgements. The WK EFC will stop accepting communication requests for these Tax Years on December 26, 2018 at 11:59 p.m. (EST).

IMPORTANT NOTE:

Tax Year 2015 returns will no longer be eligible for e-filing after 7:59 p.m. (EST) on December 21, 2018.

IRS Announces MeF Shutdown and Cutover Dates

IRS has announced that the Modern e-File System (MeF) will commence its annual shutdown and cutover maintenance period on Saturday, November 17, 2018, at 11:59 p.m. in order to prepare the system for the upcoming Tax Year 2018 Filing Season

See the full text of the announcement here.

Preparers should note that all 1040 returns will need to be held until e-File production resumes in January 2019 or will need to be paper filed during the shutdown period.

The Two-Step Verification Process

In October 2018, Refunds Today (or National Tax School) will incorporate a Two-Step Verification Process when logging into certain solutions. This security process leverages two authentication factors to increase assurance that the individual attempting to access vital data is who they declare to be. The authentication factors that Refunds Today (or National Tax School) use are:

• Possession factors (Something you have, such as a key fob, smartphone, or external email account)
• Knowledge factors (Something you know, such as username and password or answers to security questions)

The Importance of a Two-Step Verification Process 

Cybercriminals would have a difficult time accessing your client’s data. Here’s why: after entering the password, our two-step verification process requires first-time users to enter a one-time passcode that is sent to a registered/validated telephone or email. That code must be entered within five minutes to verify the user’s identity. This criminal would need physical control of the user’s mobile device or would need immediate access to the user’s email address. Here is the current list of Small Firms Solutions that are impacted by the two-step verification process: 

• Online Check Printing (OCP)
• Support Site for Refunds Today
• National Tax School