The IRS Modernized e-File (MeF) and TaxSlayer Pro support year round electronic filing (e-file) for the current tax year and the two previous years except during the IRS annual scheduled maintenance outage which generally begins in late November and lasts until January. During this time tax returns cannot be electronically filed for any tax year.
For Forms 1040, 1120, 1120-S, 1065, 1041, and 990, beginning in January 2022 IRS MeF supports the following tax years:
- 2021
- 2020
- 2019
When e-filing a prior year return that had been prepared and marked for electronic filing during the previous year, the signature date on Form 8879 may still reflect the prior year. To avoid the return rejecting, be sure to update the signature date to a date in the current year.
Before e-filing any prior year returns, TaxSlayer Pro recommends that you perform these two steps:
- Download and install any available federal and state updates in the prior year.
- Enter and exit the prior year return (federal and, if needed, the state) to apply the update(s).
To update TaxSlayer Pro, from the Main Menu of the program select
- Updates
- Download/Install Updates - Updates needed will be colored red. Updates selected for download will be colored gray. Updates you already have are colored white.
- Select the Federal Individual update at the top of the Updates window if it is colored red. Both the federal individual and business returns will update.
- Select any State Individual update if desired that is colored red. Both the individual and business returns will update. Note: To update Texas, select the Business tab, then TX.
- Select Download.
Note: We encourage you to periodically update prior year software, irrespective of whether or not you have a return to prepare. Prior year updates eventually become unavailable, generally a year after our support for the program year ends.
See the knowledgebase article "Configuring Automatic State Updates" to learn how to configure updates to download and install automatically when the program is opened.
Additional Information:
