VITA/TCE Live Blog

TaxSlayer FSA Kiosk Access Will Expire on November 2nd

Craig Smith — Tue, 20 Oct 2026 10:30:08 +0000

The FSA (Facilitated Self Assistance) Kiosk URL’s issued for TY2025 will expire on November 2nd. Existing links will no longer offer free tax prep to the taxpayers nor offer access to prior year applications. As we begin receiving new orders for TY2026, new URL’s will be generated based on the order received from the IRS and emailed to the volunteer site contact in mid-January 2027.

Pro Online: Unable To Access Site [RESOLVED]

Craig Smith — Thu, 15 Oct 2026 16:44:28 +0000

1:40pm ET – All issues have been resolved at this time, including access to opening/editing tax returns.

1:28pm ET – Our team is continuing to investigate issues keeping you from accessing tax returns.

1:04pm ET – Access to Pro Online has been restored, however, we are still looking into issues accessing a tax return.

12:43pm ET – We are aware sites are having issues accessing TaxSlayer Pro Online and are actively investigating. Updates will be provided on this post as they become available.

Recording of SPEC Partner and Employee Zoom Session 10.6.26

Craig Smith — Tue, 13 Oct 2026 17:56:34 +0000

To watch the recording of the SPEC Partner and Employee Zoom Session from October 6th, click HERE.

FormGenius (OCR Import) Frequently Asked Questions

Kim Manuel — Thu, 08 Oct 2026 14:08:24 +0000

Q: Do I have to import the documents at the beginning of the return?

A: No, the documents can be imported at any time during the return preparation process

Q: Should I carry forward my income docs from the prior year if I am going to scan them or get them from customer portal?

A: We recommend you going ahead and bring forward the income documents to ensure you have them in case you do not get the documents you are expecting to import. You can easily delete the documents you carried forward from the appropriate income grid if you do not need them

Q: Will the import feature be turned on in the Practice Lab?

A: No, but we will have detailed guides and videos hosted on the Practice Lab

Q: Can the taxpayer take pictures of their documents and upload them?

A: Yes, they can do this via their registered customer portal

Message from SC DOR: Unable To Get Acks From IRS [RESOLVED]

Craig Smith — Wed, 07 Oct 2026 17:02:11 +0000

UPDATE FROM SC DOR (10/8): SCDOR is BACK IN BUSINESS!

Our issue with retrieving returns from IRS was resolved around 4 pm ET on Wednesday, October 7^th. Major dent has been made in the backlog and hoping that all acks will be sent by end of day Friday, October 9^th if not sooner.

Please pass this update along to your customer service personnel. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Vendors received the below messaging from South Carolina DOR this morning. The below means that transmitted SC returns will not receive an ack until this is resolved.

“Since late last week, the SCDOR has been unable to GetNewSubmissions from the IRS. Don’t think we were the only state having such issues, but we have been unable to resolve the issue as of 9 am ET on October 7th.“

Release Notes: September 16th – MI, MN, NY & State Returns

Craig Smith — Tue, 15 Sep 2026 19:40:00 +0000

A deployment is scheduled for the morning of Wednesday, September 16th to release the below update(s). Access to the program may be limited during a deployment.

MICHIGAN

Add direct deposit for MI Amended Return Type (Update)

MINNESOTA

Amended return generating payment voucher when return type is direct debit (Issue 4045)

NEW YORK

NY EITC not calculating when Fed is MFS but qualifies for EITC (Issue 4141)

STATE RETURNS

State PDF Attachment pages missing the “drag and drop” boxes (Issue 4145)

Video Recording of September Partner and Employee Zoom Web Session

Craig Smith — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 17:42:01 +0000

Join the SPEC Employee and Partner Zoom Session for important program updates, announcements, and information relevant to employees and partners. This session will feature a special presentation from the Social Security Administration (SSA) highlighting my Social Security (mySSA), including an overview of the online account, its key features and benefits, and how it can help individuals securely access Social Security services, manage their information, and plan for the future.

Watch the recording HERE.

Release Notes: September 9th – Transmission Menu

Craig Smith — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 12:45:17 +0000

A deployment is scheduled for the morning of Wednesday, September 9th to release the below update(s). Access to the program may be limited during a deployment.

TRANSMISSION MENU

Added a “State Only” column to display if a return will be transmitted as a state only e-file (Enhancement)

VITA/TCE Customer Support: Closed for Labor Day

Craig Smith — Sun, 06 Sep 2026 22:30:25 +0000

TaxSlayer offices will be closed on Monday, September 7th for Labor Day. Normal off-season support hours will resume on Tuesday, September 8th at 8am ET.

2025 TaxSlayer Pro Online: What we Know – Updated 9/1/2026

Kim Manuel — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 12:00:16 +0000

Only TaxSlayer verified Federal and State issues with a potentially broad impact listed

FEDERAL ITEMS

Issue 4120: Schedule E loss is allocated to wrong SP on Form 8379
Issue 3561: Dynamic View of Client List is using incorrect calendar format for filtering the page

STATE ITEMS

Alabama

Arizona

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Delaware

District of Columbia

Georgia

Hawaii

Idaho

Illinois

Indiana

Issue 4106: E-file Opt Out form is generating in PDF when IN amended return marked as an e-file return type

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi

Missouri

Montana

Nebraska

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New Mexico

New York

North Carolina

North Dakota

Ohio

Oklahoma

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

South Carolina

Tennessee

Utah

Vermont

Virginia

Washington WFTC

West Virginia

Wisconsin