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Contents Downloads e-file Alerts Bulletins Manuals 2007 Editions Public Website

e-file Alerts for 2008 Editions of Tax Preparer
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e-file for the 2008 filing season.


Supplemental instructions appear below for help with:

This page applies only to the Tax Preparer 1040 program. For e-file information that applies to the California Supplement (540) program, see the bottom of our California downloads page.

Important information on e-file for the 2008 filing season

(e-file is activated in release 2008.01a)


Once you update to release 2008.01a (Standard or Premium) and install the EFI2007 transmission software, you can transmit e-file output generated by Tax Preparer. The EFI2007 software is installed by running the file efiwin.exe on the CD-ROM for releases s2008.01 and p2008.01, which you should have received by now. (We shipped the CD-ROM to pre-release customers as well as regular customers because EFI2007 and the IRS forms and publications were not included on the pre-release disk.) In your EFI2007 setup, be sure to identify HOWARDSOFT as the tax software you are using so that the program will look in your C:\TAX\E-FILE folder for returns to import and transmit.

If you do not yet have your 2008.01 program disk, you can also download the EFI2007 software over the internet: just right-click here for EFI2007 and choose Save Target As..., then save it to any convenient location you will remember. Then, when you're ready to install EFI2007, run the downloaded file. (To run the downloaded file, efiwin.exe, you can click Start, then Run, then Browse, then navigate to the folder where you saved the downloaded file, then click the file efwin.exe, click Open, then click Ok.) To activate the installed program you must register for e-file with HowardSoft (which you must do anew each tax season). You'll then be able to set up the EFI2007 program and run tests even before your new Tax Preparer disk arrives.

PIN signatures now required and Form 8453 no longer the main form. The role of Form 8453 has changed from a signature form for those who file a paper Form 8453 to a mere cover letter for attachments, because the IRS now requires ALL e-file returns to be signed electronically, using the PIN signature method. As a result, the Forms Menu where you access the main e-file form (form 85 this year) is no longer labeled ef8453 but rather just e-file. The new e-file form is very similar to our former ef8453 form, even though the IRS has changed their forms drastically. The software automatically takes care of all the forms and format changes, so you don't have to change the way you use our main e-file form. The only major operational difference is that no e-file output will be generated if you do not supply PIN signatures on the last two screens of our main e-file form. The software will still print the hardcopies you want, including Forms 8453, 8879, W-2, W-2G, 1099-R, and a Payment Record for Amount Due returns. And you can omit the printout of any of these through your answers to the Paper Printout Options on screen 5 of the new e-file form.

Beware Error Reject Code 103 in Field 1160. A return could be rejected with this error earlier in the tax season for two reasons:

  • Rounding errors. Because of a change in IRS processing, this error message was common until the IRS returned to their prior method. The error arose because the sum of amounts on line 2 of the W-2 (federal income tax withheld) could be lower than the total withholding on line 64 of Form 1040, since the IRS ignores the pennies in the individual W-2s. As a result, there could be a small discrepancy ($1 or so) because of rounding. As of February 1, the IRS now allows a discrepancy as large as $5, thereby eliminating the false errors caused by their processing.
  • Form 1099-R presence. Due to a change in IRS e-file format for line 64 of Form 1040, returns with a Form 1099-R could formerly be rejected with this error message. This problem was averted starting with release 2008.01a.

However, with the IRS change in the rejection code and our change in the software, neither of these false errors should arise with recent releases of Tax Preparer.


Using RAL/QIK Bank Application Form.

If you have purchased Bank Products from us for the current tax season, you can use our RAL/QIK Bank Application Form (form 85 on the Forms Menu) to provide all information needed to complete the Bank Application form in your EFI2007 software. Once you import a return to EFI2007, you can click Returns, then Client Management, then double-click the line Waiting For Bank Application for the return you want to use. You can then click the Print RAL App button to get a completed application form for your customers to read.)

If you see NO for 'Approved to offer RAL/QIK?' on screen 6 of our form... The most common causes of not seeing YES are:

  • After you purchase Bank Products, wait at least 1 business day and then update your EFI2007 software by clicking Communications, then Transmit/Receive NTS Only, then check the box Download if available. Click Continue and your software should be updating, including the bank information required by both Tax Preparer and EFI2007 software. Once updating is complete, you should see bank information by clicking System, then Setup, then the Bank and Fees tabs. You should see the name of the bank and the fees they charge for loans. Be sure to call if you do not.
  • Once you see the bank information in EFI2007, start Tax Preparer and create Form 85 for a return. Go to screen 6 and look at the answer at the bottom of the screen. If 'Approved to offer RAL/QIK?' is not YES, or you do not see the bank's name and address (usually River City Bank), enter 1 on the last line of the screen, which will update the table. If you still don't see the information, do to the next step.
  • If you installed EFI2007 in a location other than its default location (which is C:\Program Files\NTS\EFI2007), you may not see the bank information in Tax Preparer. If so, you must let our software know where you installed EFI2007 instead by running our special BankPatch.bat program. CAUTION: Use BankPatch.bat only if you do NOT see the bank information in our Form 85 but you DO see it in EFI2007. To do so, you must click Start (in the lower left corner of your screen), then Run, then enter in the Open field the path and name of this special program followed by a space then the location of EFI2007. You must use short filenames in this command, such as PROGRA~1 in place of Program Files. For example, if you installed Tax Preparer in C:\TAX (our default) and you installed EFI2007 in C:\Program Files\MYNTS\EFI2007, you would enter C:\TAX\BankPatch C:\PROGRA~1\MYNTS\EFI2007 then click OK. The next time you start Tax Preparer, you should see the bank information in Form 85 (but you will have to enter 1 on the last line of screen 6 of the form for a previously created Form 85).


Beware IRS restrictions on entries for Dependent Relationship

A common reason for a return being rejected by the IRS is that your entries for the relationship of a dependent (at line 6c of Form 1040) do not match the restricted set of entries allowed by the IRS for e-file. The only entries that the IRS will allow for e-file are: CHILD, FOSTERCHILD, GRANDCHILD, GRANDPARENT, PARENT, BROTHER, SISTER, AUNT, UNCLE, NEPHEW, NIECE, NONE, SON, DAUGHTER, and OTHER. Case doesn't matter, but you must NOT have a leading space in your entry, and such common entries as MOTHER, FATHER, GRANDSON, GRANDDAUGHTER, GRANDMOTHER, and GRANDFATHER are not allowed.

Beware required name Control entries

You can ensure a trouble-free first transmission if you learn and understand the following information about name controls. The IRS requires that special "name controls" be provided for names of taxpayers, dependents, parents, and even businesses. These name controls are 4-character codes derived from the full names they represent, and are used by the IRS in place of the full name in the IRS's own automated software. For most of these entities Tax Preparer generates the name control for you when you just view the relevant form or worksheet. However, there is one important area where the name control is not automatically generated because of the nature of the IRS requirements: name control for business names.

Name control for a business name is a required entry on four of our worksheets:

  • Employer's name on W-2 Worksheets (accessed at line 7a or 7b of our Form 1040)
  • Payer's name on W-2G Worksheets (accessed at line 21 of our Form 1040)
  • Payer's name on 1099-R Worksheets (accessed at line 15a or 16a of our Form 1040)
  • Care providers name on Care Provider Worksheets for Form 2441

For all these worksheets you must enter valid name controls or your return will be rejected by the IRS. The complex rules for determining the proper entries to make are found in the 8-page Section 7.05 of IRS Pub. 1346, Part I. However, we have condensed those instructions into a 5-page document Instructions for Entry of Name Controls for Businesses. (CAUTION: You MUST complete the entry on our W-2 Worksheet for "Employer's e-file name control" in accordance with these instructions or else the return will be rejected with IRS Reject Code 0122.)

How to save this document to your desktop. You can place an icon for the document on your screen, so that you can read the document merely by clicking the icon, as follows:

  • Right-click the highlighted document title, above.
  • From the subsequent menu, left-click the item "Save Target As."
  • At the top of the subsequent window, left-click the box labeled "Save in."
  • Now choose the location "Desktop" then click the "Save" button.

Your desktop should now contain an icon labeled "NameCtrl" or "NameCtrl.pdf." When you click this icon, the document will be displayed on the screen by Adobe Acrobat Reader. (If you don't yet have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is the same program you need to read our on-screen manuals and IRS publications, go to the public Downloads page of our Public Website to get your FREE PDF Viewer: Adobe Acrobat Reader.)

Beware special entries required for decedent returns

The IRS imposes several special requirements on e-filed decedent returns, and failure to heed them will cause the return to be rejected:

  • Do NOT enter anything in our Special Handling Indicator. For a paper return you would enter DECEASED and the name of the deceased person in our special line at the top of screen 1 of Form 1040. But for an e-file return you must leave the entry blank because the entry is reserved in e-file for combat-related special handling.
  • Enter DECD at end of surname of deceased taxpayer(s) unless exception below applies. Unless the exception below applies, you must enter a space then the word DECD at the end of your entry for last name. The software will then automatically format the e-file name (at the bottom of screen 1 of Form 8453) in accordance with IRS rules.
  • EXCEPTION: If filing jointly and spouse has the same last name, enter DECD after first name and initial of the deceased person. This case may require some extra effort on your part because first names are automatically shortened when necessary for the combined e-file name to be no longer than 35 characters. Once you enter space DECD at the end of your entry for the appropriate first name, check the resulting combined e-file name at the bottom of Form 8453, screen 1. If DECD does not appear, you will have to abbreviate the rest of the entry until it does.
  • Enter date deceased in the standard format for dates. You must enter the date in the standard mo-dy-year format for the appropriate spouse, using only numbers and dashes or slashes.
  • Indicate surviving spouse if filing jointly. For e-file, the IRS requires that the last return of the deceased taxpayer be filed by the surviving spouse if the return is filed as married filing jointly. The answer to our question Filing as surviving spouse? on the last screen of Form 1040, page 2, must therefore be Yes in order for the return to be accepted by the IRS.
  • Indicate personal representative if not filing jointly or both spouses are deceased. For e-file, the IRS requires that the last return of the deceased taxpayer(s) be filed by a personal representative unless a joint return with a surviving spouse. The answer to our question Personal representative on the last screen of Form 1040, page 2, must therefore be Yes in order for the return to be accepted by the IRS.
  • In care of (or other add'l) must have an entry for ALL decedent returns. This is the additional address line at the top of screen 3 of Form 1040. When a Form 1310 exits for the return, an entry appears automatically based on your entries on Form 1310 (Premium Level only).
  • Form 1310 required for some refund returns. This form is used for a 3rd party to claim a refund for a deceased taxpayer. For refund returns, Form 1310 is always required unless the return is a joint return with a surviving spoues. (This form is built into the Premium Level only, so you will not be able to e-file a return that requires Form 1310 if you use the Standard Level.)

Because of the above requirements there may be some decedent returns that cannot be e-filed. This is unavoidable and a direct result of overly restrictive IRS specifications for e-file. (If you use our California Supplement to e-file a decedent Form 540 return, you must first remove the DECD you entered for the federal return. You must also enter the executor's name and the type of representative on screen 2 of Form 540.)