Annual e-file shutdown begins 11/17

[jklcpa]

The e-file shutdown will begin on 11/17 to allow for annual maintenance and reprogramming for the upcoming 2019 season.

 

[DANRVAN]

Thanks for the reminder, still have some late ones to take care of.

[TAXMAN]

Also If I remember right it is also the last time you can efile 2015 returns.

[Jack from Ohio]

On 11/9/2018 at 3:38 PM, jklcpa said:

The e-file shutdown will begin on 11/17 to allow for annual maintenance and reprogramming for the upcoming 2019 season.

 

Can you give us a link?

[jklcpa]

4 hours ago, Jack from Ohio said:

Can you give us a link?

 

I got it directly from an email from IRS (Newswire that was IR-2018-218), and it's also in the IRS' MeF status section on this page: https://www.irs.gov/e-file-providers/modernized-e-file-mef-status-page

Scroll to the section at the bottom under "1040 MeF Production Shutdown/Cutover Schedule" that also shows the times of cut off for submissions and retrieving acks, state submissions. 

Please note that that same section mentions business MeF shutdown that has NOT been updated yet and is still showing the Dec 2017 shutdown date.

[Lion EA]

CCH Software News - IRS Announces Scheduled Maintenance of Electronic Filing System On the Last Day to File 1040 Returns For the Calendar Year

Dear CCH Customer:

The IRS issued the following QuickAlert regarding a planned outage of their electronic filing system during the upcoming weekend (November 17 and 18). This outage affects only the electronic filing status system:

"The MeF Production system (IRS electronic filing) will be unavailable for scheduled maintenance during the following time periods:

• Saturday, November 17, 2018, starting at 8:00 a.m. Eastern through 6:00 p.m. Eastern
• Sunday, November 18, 2018, starting at 1:00 a.m. Eastern through 6:00 p.m. Eastern

This Maintenance is being performed to ensure the system is functioning at peak performance. Please refrain from accessing the MeF Production System (IRS electronic filing) during this time. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause."

Returns released in Electronic Filing Status after 7:30 AM EST on Saturday, November 17, 2018, will be sent to the IRS after service is restored on Saturday, November 17, 2018, after 6:00 PM EST.

Returns released in Electronic Filing Status after 10:30 PM EST on Saturday, November 17, 2018, will be sent to the IRS after service is restored on Sunday, November 18, 2018, after 6:00 PM EST.

IMPORTANT, PLEASE READ: The timing of this maintenance is significant because on October 17, 2018, the IRS announced that Saturday, November 17, 2018, was to be the last day TY2015 - TY2017 Individual returns could be eFiled before they begin updating for TY2018. Therefore, you will need to be releasing your returns to CCH earlier than originally planned. Here is a revised time frame for your planning:

The IRS requires CCH, as a transmitter, to stop sending submissions at 10:00 PM EST. Therefore, you must release your returns so they are in Transmitted status no later than 9:59 PM EST on Saturday, November 17, 2018. However, to ensure all federal, state, and city returns are in transmitted status by the deadline, you should release returns as early in the day as possible. We recommend you release your returns no later than 7:00 AM EST on the morning of Saturday November 17, 2018. This is particularly important for the following scenarios:

• The IRS begins maintenance on their electronic filing system for Individual returns on November 17, 2018, at 8:00 AM EST until 6:00 PM EST. Do not wait until the window of time after 6:00 PM EST through 9:59 PM EST to release your returns. If something goes wrong and the IRS does not return from their maintenance, no return will be transmitted in this window.
• States and cities linked to the Federal return. We hold the state/city in status Ready to transmit - Validation Complete until the Federal return is accepted. The acceptance of the Federal return could occur several hours after you release the Federal return.
• States and cities acknowledgements of returns. States/cities are required to return acknowledgements by 11:30 PM EST, and a higher volume of returns at the 10:00 PM EST transmitter deadline could create a return processing back-log for the state/city jeopardizing the return of acknowledgements to the transmitter. Should a state not acknowledge a return by the deadline, you will not receive the acknowledgement until after the 2018 tax year filing season opens in early 2019, with the exception of 2015 return acknowledgements which will not be posted to eFile Status.

We have reached out to the IRS asking if they are truly going to perform this maintenance, and at the time of this Software News email, we have not received a reply. If the situation changes after you have read this email, we will send another to provide you with an update.

NOTE: This information only applies to the electronic filing status system and does not impact the use of the tax products.

Find answers to your questions in our Knowledge Base, and visit the Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting Community forums to connect with professionals like you.

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

Sincerely,

Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting, North America