Message from Santa Barbara Tax Products Group (TPG)

Message from Santa Barbara Tax Products Group (TPG):

REFUND TRANSFER (RT) CHECKS
With the revised funding cycles the IRS has published this year, you can expect check print records to be sent to you more frequently throughout the week. Regardless of when we receive IRS notification of deposits on any given day of the week (more frequently on Tuesdays or Wednesdays this year) and in order to follow bank compliance procedures, we will be releasing check print records each day starting at 3:00 pm PST since we do not receive the actual funds from the IRS until the following day. Please be prepared to print your checks that evening or the following morning for the season.

ACH DISBURSEMENTS
All tax preparer fees and taxpayer disbursements designated to go by ACH direct deposit have an effective date of the next business day, so please keep that in mind when you are expecting a deposit for you or your client. Most banks will post the deposits the same day they receive them, but some post it the following business day.

IRS FUNDING DELAYS FOR RTs
Most accounts are paid as expected according to the IRS refund cycle. Each year however there are accounts that were expected but not paid either fully or partially each week. Please inform your affected clients to be patient with the IRS. As we normally get funding weekly, have them check back the following week as that usually will be the earliest we will see another deposit. (NOTE: For refunds processed through the IRS CADE (Modernized) system, you may see check print records come through sooner than the following week, however, our customer service reps will continue to tell clients to check back next week.)

For assistance with these clients, we have posted a notice call "IRS Refund Delays" under the ‘Downloadable Forms’ link when you log in to our website. This can help you explain to your customer what may have happened.

CHECK PRINTING RECONCILIATION
In order to print checks, you need to place a verification code from your check stock called “Check Layout Version” (it is 4 characters, and it is located on the bottom right of the check stub). This verifies you are printing on current year stock. After you finish printing your checks, try to make sure you connect again with your transmitter to send your check print records back to us as soon as you can do it. This helps reconcile our system to recognize what the check numbers are for check verification purposes. It is important to do this as quickly as possible after printing checks. Also, please remember to inform your clients who have primary and secondary taxpayer names on the check that if they both cannot cash the check at the same time, the primary taxpayer must be the one to cash their check when they go to a check cashing establishment.

COMPLIANCE UPDATE
You should have or will receive a separate email directly from TPG titled “Important Compliance Update for 2012”. Please read through that and the attachments when you receive it as it may impact you directly this tax season. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding. Team TPG

IRS Quick Alerts for Tax Professionals: Refund Status

The below information was sent out via today's IRS Quick Alert:

"The IRS has opened its filing season successfully this month, and refunds have started going out to many taxpayers. As with the start of any tax season, there are system validations that occur requiring some fine-tuning of our systems. As part of this, some taxpayers will receive refunds approximately one week later than initial projections they may have received, but these are still in line with historical refund delivery times.

The IRS reminds taxpayers that refund time frames provided by “Where’s My Refund” and tax providers are projected time frames and are subject to revision. Many different factors can affect the timing of the refund after the IRS receives the return for processing. The IRS apologizes for any inconvenience caused by the revised refund dates.

When the IRS announced the opening of the 2012 filing season, it advised taxpayers who electronically file and select direct deposit that they could see their refunds in as few as 10 days and 90 percent of refunds are provided within 21 days. Some taxpayers are getting refunds much faster, but at this time taxpayers should expect refunds to be issued as indicated in the original IRS guidelines.

The one-week delay for some refunds relates to fine-tuning IRS systems to adjust for new safeguards put in place this tax season to provide stronger protection against refund fraud. The IRS is providing additional screening for fraud this year before issuing refunds, but the vast majority of taxpayers can still continue to expect to receive their refunds in a timely fashion."

IRS Update: Helpful IRS Tools for the 2012 Tax Season

Below are a couple of IRS look-up tools that should be useful to you and your taxpayers during the 2012 Filing Season:

Where's My Refund?

Remember that the information for a taxpayer’s refund status and when it will be direct deposited or mailed will not be available until 72 hours after the return has been accepted.

Also, this tool will indicate why a refund has been reduced (the taxpayer owed money to the IRS, a state, child support, etc.). Learn More

First Time Homebuyer Credit Account Look-Up

This tool is for taxpayers who need to repay the (up to) $7,500 credit received in 2008. This tool replaces the reminder letter that the IRS sent last year.

Affected taxpayers will need their SSN, Date of Birth, Street Address, and Zip code from the latest return they have filed in order to log in. Learn More

Click here to read the entire CrossLink Tax Update which includes more information on helpful tools for the 2012 Filing Season.

IRS Update: Reminders for the Upcoming Filing Season

As you prepare your tax office for the start of the 2012 Tax Season, there are some things that you need to know:

• The start of the filing season is Tuesday, January 17, 2012. To read more about the start date see the IRS 2012 Kick Off News Release.
• Acknowledgements will not be delayed at the beginning of the season.
• If preparers have not already done so, they must renew their PTIN before they begin preparing Tax Year 2011 returns.
• If preparers still need to renew their PTIN, they need to go to www.irs.gov/ptin.
• Form 8867 (Paid Preparer Earned Income Credit Checklist) will be transmitted with all returns that are claiming EITC this year.

Click here to read the entire CrossLink Tax Update which includes more reminders for the upcoming filing season.

Pre-Season Readiness: Ready for the 2012 Tax Season

With the 2012 Tax Season almost here, your CrossLink Team wants to make sure you are prepared.

Click here for a checklist of tasks that should be completed in January to ensure your readiness for the upcoming tax season.

In addition to your readiness, your CrossLink Team also wants to make sure your clients are prepared for their tax appointment. Click here for a customer checklist of "What to bring to your appointment."

To view these documents and other resources in Spanish, visit the CrossLink Customer Resources page.

For other industry resources, such as the latest IRS information, training opportunities, or helpful documentation, visit http://www.crosslinktax.com/.