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Form and e-file approval statuses

The Form and e-file approval status in UltraTax CS page is a list of federal and state forms available in UltraTax CS. It updates regularly and has the latest information on whether or not you can e-file or print (and therefore paper file) them.
There are many statuses a form can have before it's approved to print or e-file. The approval process to print and e-file are different. There can be times a form is approved to e-file but not print, and vice versa.
note
The federal and state taxing agencies don't give us time frames for approving final forms. Projected release dates are estimates and subject to change to ensure correctness and completeness.

Print statuses

There are 6 stages in the approval process before a tax form gets approved to print, and therefore paper file. Approved forms will show as “Yes” in the
Can I print?
 column of the status page. It also gives the UltraTax CS version the approved form is on. You can check your installed version in UltraTax CS. Go to
Help
 and select
About UltraTax CS
.
  1. Proforma only:
      We released this only so you can proforma client data. Forms with this status are from last year or are preliminary versions. Calculations will likely change and certain areas of UltraTax CS may not work as expected. To avoid losing work, we don't recommend you use these forms to prepare returns or customize filing instructions.
  2. Prior year:
     These are last year's forms and the tax authority hasn't sent us the current-year changes and guidance, such as publications or regulations. You can start preparing returns, but calculations could change so we don't recommend you print or paper file returns that include forms with this status. If you print, you'll have a watermark.
    note
    Forms with this status show as
    Nonsubmittable prior year
     in the Forms approval section of your diagnostics window.
  3. Draft form:
     The tax authority sent us current-year changes, but not all necessary guidance, such as publications or regulations. Calculations could change so we don't recommend you print or paper file returns that include forms with this status. If you print, you'll have a watermark.
    note
    • Exceptions for a form with this status are if it's one you file separately from the return, or the preparer keeps for their own records. If you're keeping it for records only, you can print later when it's approved.
    • Forms with this status show as
      Nonsubmittable draft
       in the Forms approval section of your diagnostics window.
  4. Pending approval:
      We submitted the printed copies of the form to the tax authority for review, but we haven't received approval yet. You can reasonably rely on the content and calculations in the form for draft purposes only. We don't recommend you print or paper file returns that include forms with this status.
  5. Waiting on agency:
     The taxing authority approved the printed copies of the form, but we're still waiting for additional guidance from them before we can recommend filing the form. For example, we may be waiting on final form instructions, publications, tax regulations, or similar information to make sure all filing requirements are complete. We don’t recommend you print or paper file returns that include forms with this status.
  6. In development:
     The taxing authority approved the printed copies of the form, but we're still completing the calculations and testing. You can reasonably rely on the content and calculations in the form for draft purposes only. We don't recommend you print or paper file returns that include forms with this status.

E-file statuses

Approval to e-file a form is a separate process from the forms approval to print and paper file returns. If a form isn't approved for e-filing, it can have 1 of 2 statuses.
  1. Pending release:
     The tax authority hasn't yet approved e-filing for this form.
  2. Not supported:
     The tax authority doesn't support this form for e-filing.
Approved forms will show as “Yes” in the
Can I e-file?
 column of the status page. It also gives the UltraTax CS version the approved form is on. You can check your installed version in UltraTax CS. Go to
Help
 and select
About UltraTax CS
.

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