IRS News: Modernized e-File (MeF) Extended Maintenance Window

MeF Production and Assurance Testing System (ATS) environments will be unavailable due to maintenance from 12:01 a.m. through 1:00 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday, March 21, 2021. Please refrain from accessing the MeF Systems during this maintenance. Please monitor the MeF Operational Status page  for any future updates. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

IRS News: Tax Day for individuals extended to May 17: Treasury, IRS extend filing and payment deadline

 

IR-2021-59, March 17, 2021

WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service announced today that the federal income tax filing due date for individuals for the 2020 tax year will be automatically extended from April 15, 2021, to May 17, 2021. The IRS will be providing formal guidance in the coming days.

“This continues to be a tough time for many people, and the IRS wants to continue to do everything possible to help taxpayers navigate the unusual circumstances related to the pandemic, while also working on important tax administration responsibilities,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig. “Even with the new deadline, we urge taxpayers to consider filing as soon as possible, especially those who are owed refunds. Filing electronically with direct deposit is the quickest way to get refunds, and it can help some taxpayers more quickly receive any remaining stimulus payments they may be entitled to.”

Individual taxpayers can also postpone federal income tax payments for the 2020 tax year due on April 15, 2021, to May 17, 2021, without penalties and interest, regardless of the amount owed. This postponement applies to individual taxpayers, including individuals who pay self-employment tax. Penalties, interest and additions to tax will begin to accrue on any remaining unpaid balances as of May 17, 2021. Individual taxpayers will automatically avoid interest and penalties on the taxes paid by May 17.

Individual taxpayers do not need to file any forms or call the IRS to qualify for this automatic federal tax filing and payment relief. Individual taxpayers who need additional time to file beyond the May 17 deadline can request a filing extension until Oct. 15 by filing Form 4868 through their tax professional, tax software or using the Free File link on IRS.gov. Filing Form 4868 gives taxpayers until Oct. 15 to file their 2020 tax return but does not grant an extension of time to pay taxes due. Taxpayers should pay their federal income tax due by May 17, 2021, to avoid interest and penalties.

The IRS urges taxpayers who are due a refund to file as soon as possible. Most tax refunds associated with e-filed returns are issued within 21 days.

This relief does not apply to estimated tax payments that are due on April 15, 2021. These payments are still due on April 15. Taxes must be paid as taxpayers earn or receive income during the year, either through withholding or estimated tax payments. In general, estimated tax payments are made quarterly to the IRS by people whose income isn't subject to income tax withholding, including self-employment income, interest, dividends, alimony or rental income. Most taxpayers automatically have their taxes withheld from their paychecks and submitted to the IRS by their employer.

State tax returns

The federal tax filing deadline postponement to May 17, 2021, only applies to individual federal income returns and tax (including tax on self-employment income) payments otherwise due April 15, 2021, not state tax payments or deposits or payments of any other type of federal tax. Taxpayers also will need to file income tax returns in 42 states plus the District of Columbia. State filing and payment deadlines vary and are not always the same as the federal filing deadline. The IRS urges taxpayers to check with their state tax agencies for those details.

 

Winter storm disaster relief for Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas

Earlier this year, following the disaster declarations issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA),  the IRS announced relief for victims of the February winter storms in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana. These states have until June 15, 2021, to file various individual and business tax returns and make tax payments. This extension to May 17 does not affect the June deadline. 

For more information about this disaster relief, visit the disaster relief page on IRS.gov.

IRS News: MeF Extended Maintenance Window Sunday March 7

 MeF Production and Assurance Testing System (ATS) environments will be unavailable due to maintenance from 12:01 a.m. Eastern through 10:00 a.m. Eastern on Sunday, March 07, 2021.

Please refrain from accessing the MeF Systems during this maintenance.

Please monitor the MeF Operational Status page  for any future updates.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

CA Type of Coverage Exemption Codes

 There have been a lot changes to CA forms this year, and we know you are confused, but TaxWise is here to help!  Our Content team partnered with Solution Architect, Anthony Sampson, and out together this video that explains the changes and instructions for CA form 3853. Click the picture below to view. 

Modernized e-File (MeF) is Unavailable Due to an Extended Maintenance Window

 MeF Production and Assurance Testing System (ATS) are currently unavailable due to an extended maintenance window.  The MeF systems will be available at 1:00 p.m. Eastern.

Please monitor the MeF Operational Status page for any future updates.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

2020 CA Individual efiles

  Any CA individual efiled returns that were submitted prior to January 29, 2021 will reject with the following error code:

<ErrorMessage>Your State submission does not match the latest published FTB Schema or is not well formed. You must contact your software provider to resolve this error.</ErrorMessage>

<RuleNumber>X0000-010</RuleNumber>

<DataValue> Line Number: 2. Position: 174. Reason: The 'returnVersion' attribute is invalid - The value '2020v4.0' is invalid according to its datatype 'String' - The Enumeration constraint failed.</DataValue>

 

This is due to a schema update from CA.  If you have returns that reject with that error, make sure you have the recent state module downloaded, and recreate the efile and resend. 

The Electronic Filing Center (EFC) Scheduled Maintenance Saturday, January 23, 2021

 

The Electronic Filing Center (EFC) will be undergoing scheduled maintenance from Saturday, January 23, 2021 at 8:00PM EST to Sunday, January 24, 2021, 2:00 AM EST. 

During this time, the following activities will be unavailable and Refunds Today will display a "service is unavailable" message if you attempt them:

• transmitting e-files
• receiving ACKs
• updating Enrollment Manager status (if you use bank products)
• using Return Status
• using Return Retrieval 
• using Online Check Print

Normal service will resume after this scheduled maintenance window.