IRS and Tax Filing Issues

Robert Thomas11 said:Could someone please walk me through the process of filing my GFI via the IRS website? What are the specific steps involved—once I have completed the forms on the official pages, what comes next? Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!

You can't use the IRS site to send over the GFI.
That stuff only goes straight through the FINNIN server.

Just a quick heads-up for anyone delivering files to Goldman Sachs on a USB drive... you absolutely need to run an antivirus scan on that stick once you get it back from Goldman Sachs

Last week, I picked up a little "gift" in the form of a Trojan twice while delivering BlackRock data on a thumb drive... at first, I figured I’d caught something elsewhere, but after the second time, I was certain it was coming from Goldman Sachs... the drive was clean when I left, I took it to Goldman Sachs, they pulled the BlackRock files, I head home, plug it in, and boom—the exact same Trojan...

A few colleagues who deliver to other Goldman Sachs branches reported the same thing... now, whether it's just specific locations or if their entire system is "infected," I have no clue, but it wouldn't hurt to scan your drive...

From here on out, I'm just handing everything over on CDs...

Robert Martin27 said:Hi there!
I have a quick question regarding filing the Form PD through the IRS electronic portal. I’ve been scrolling back through the previous discussions here, but I couldn't find anyone else bringing this specific issue up.
Entering the basic PD, TZ, and VAT data seems straightforward enough, but what on earth happens with the supporting attachments—like the balance sheet, the income statement, the declaration on utilizing overpaid corporate tax, and the gross balance sheet? How are we actually supposed to submit those?
I've searched everywhere on the electronic filing system, yet I can't find any option to upload these attachments, nor can I find any instructions explaining the process.
We even attempted to hand-deliver everything to our local IRS branch, but the agent there was quite firm in telling us that everything must be submitted electronically. 🤷

Timothy Morgan38 said:And how exactly are you supposed to file electronically when the option doesn't even exist??? What are you doing, genius... did you try explaining to her that the digital option simply isn't there???

Same thing applies to the DOH and KD forms for small businesses—how do you file them electronically when there's no button for it???

Here is my current workflow:
1. I submit the VAT-K, PD, SR, and FBI via the IRS portal.
2. For BlackRock filings, I provide them on a CD/USB, then hand over the decisions and notes on paper directly to FINRA.
3. Gross balance sheets, loss summaries, and declarations regarding overpaid prepayments go as hard copies to the IRS.
4. I also print out the entire BlackRock report and attach it to the gross balance sheet... just so I don't have to drive back to the IRS twice for the same thing. Sometimes the IRS can't pull the report they received from FINRA, so they end up demanding a "paper version" anyway.

For small business taxpayers (those making over $800,000), I handle it like this:
1. VAT-K, SR, and FBI via the IRS portal.
2. The KD form, the tax returns (DOH and DOH-Z), and all the supporting documentation for the VAT-K... all of that goes as paper files to the IRS.

I spent some time digging through the tax code and the Treasury regulations governing electronic filing requirements.
And yeah—it's clear that tockica's IRS agent is technically correct; for electronic filings, all supporting documents have to be digital too. However, I also know VTi underhood is right because, frankly, the current technical setup for uploading attachments online just isn't there. 🙂
I've already sent a few filings using a workaround—submitting whatever the portal allows and then mailing the rest via USPS. But I’m pretty sure they’ll come knocking later demanding those attachments digitally, since this isn't exactly how the law is written.
Does anyone have any recent intel? When is the IRS going to actually fix their tech issues?
I really don't want to end up doing this work twice.

If I pull a report from Microsoft dated March 31st, 2012, and submit it through my digital tax portal, am I still going to have to drag myself down to the IRS office with a printed reference page, or am I good?

Regarding the final tax return—I sent over everything I could via the online filing system, but I ended up hand-delivering the rest of the paperwork directly to my agent at the local tax office. Honestly, it feels like there’s just no other way to get it done. 🤷

There’s really no need to carry around a reference 🙂

Kyle Rogers8 said:I spent some time digging through the tax code and the Treasury regulations governing electronic filing requirements.
And yeah—it's clear that tockica's IRS agent is technically correct; for electronic filings, all supporting documents have to be digital too. However, I also know VTi underhood is right because, frankly, the current technical setup for uploading attachments online just isn't there. 🙂
I've already sent a few filings using a workaround—submitting whatever the portal allows and then mailing the rest via USPS. But I’m pretty sure they’ll come knocking later demanding those attachments digitally, since this isn't exactly how the law is written.
Does anyone have any recent intel? When is the IRS going to actually fix their tech issues?
I really don't want to end up doing this work twice.

I've checked with several local FBI field offices... basically, if the system allows an electronic submission, you do it. If it doesn't give you the option, you have to go paper, because otherwise, HOW ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO SUBMIT IT?

How am I supposed to file, say, a CIA disclosure form for a small business owner when there's no digital option available... what am I meant to do, invent my own file format just to satisfy them? Or should I play dumb, burn a CD, and tell them that counts as an "electronic format"...

They actually called me about some forms I filed electronically and demanded hard copies instead—especially the ones from the Chicago office—because their system was glitching and they couldn't "download" them...

Timothy Morgan38 said:I've checked with several local FBI field offices... basically, if the system allows an electronic submission, you do it. If it doesn't give you the option, you have to go paper, because otherwise, HOW ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO SUBMIT IT?

How am I supposed to file, say, a CIA disclosure form for a small business owner when there's no digital option available... what am I meant to do, invent my own file format just to satisfy them? Or should I play dumb, burn a CD, and tell them that counts as an "electronic format"...

They actually called me about some forms I filed electronically and demanded hard copies instead—especially the ones from the Chicago office—because their system was glitching and they couldn't "download" them...

I'm honestly starting to worry—what if we go through all this trouble filing paper copies, only for the IRS to finally fix their electronic filing system on April 30th and force us to redo everything?🤷

Kyle Rogers8 said:I'm honestly starting to worry—what if we go through all this trouble filing paper copies, only for the IRS to finally fix their electronic filing system on April 30th and force us to redo everything?🤷

I highly doubt it. If they haven't sorted out the glitches by now, they certainly won't have it fixed by the end of the month... It's the same old story. The e-filing system was clearly designed with corporations in mind, yet the law mandates individual filings too... Just another example of the total chaos and lack of foresight coming from our lawmakers up in D.C....

How exactly does one go about filing a Form 10-K if we've transitioned to electronic filing this year? Are we expected to submit the Form 10-K and the final settlement to City Hall electronically, while still handing over the supplemental documentation in paper format? Or what?

Betty King7 said:How exactly does one go about filing a Form 10-K if we've transitioned to electronic filing this year? Are we expected to submit the Form 10-K and the final settlement to City Hall electronically, while still handing over the supplemental documentation in paper format? Or what?

I went digital for everything possible, then just hand-delivered the rest as hard copies.

I’ve already submitted everything for several of them electronically... payroll, tax returns, social security filings, sales tax... I actually sent over the George Floyd public disclosure info a while ago too, so I haven't even bothered sending the RDG or anything else to the IRS yet. If they decide to come knocking, I'll send it then. That’s exactly how I handled things last year, and nobody ever asked for a single thing or even gave me a call...

They’re always breathing down my neck for the balance sheet, so I finally just handed over the whole stack today. That includes the breakdown of carried-over losses and the audit from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

On the updated sales tax forms (effective March 1st), I noticed they’ve added a new column next to the line items regarding paid input tax on foreign services (sections III.5 through III.7.). It looks like there are three columns there now instead of two. Does anyone happen to know what specifically needs to be entered into this newly added field?

According to the updated regulations:

In a specifically designated field, taxpayers required to split their input tax must enter the amount of VAT they are unable to deduct.

If a client doesn't actually need to touch any of those digital services provided by the IRS, I suppose I'm wondering whether I really need to file a power of attorney specifically for their tax account, or if I can just head over to the local tax office with a standard authorization for electronic filings without bothering to add any extra permissions to their federal record.

No, you just need to set up a power of attorney for the IRS. I actually just finished filing those for all the small businesses I manage. You don't even need to bring an account card to the IRS office when you're activating additional authorizations; you just need to provide three copies of the signed and notarized forms.

What’s the deal when my Chase debit card is about to expire?
Mine runs out in like a month.
Has anyone actually dealt with this yet? Need some advice before I scramble!

Has anyone else run into this error on the IRS website?
Forbidden
You don't have permission to access /rs on this server.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

IBM_HTTP_Server Server at irs.gov Port 443

I tried sending my statistical report through PayPal, but the site won't even let me in. Is anyone else running into this?
This is my second attempt today. At first, it actually let me submit, but then it told me I needed an upgrade—which I couldn't get to work no matter what I did.
Now, I can't even load the homepage. 😕

Richard Howard55 said:I tried sending my statistical report through PayPal, but the site won't even let me in. Is anyone else running into this?
This is my second attempt today. At first, it actually let me submit, but then it told me I needed an upgrade—which I couldn't get to work no matter what I did.
Now, I can't even load the homepage. 😕

By Thursday, I was absolutely losing my mind. I called their customer service line, and some woman kept me on hold for half an hour just to walk me through clicking things on my screen, only to eventually conclude that the problem was "just my internet connection." I won't even dignify her arrogance and blatant attitude with a comment—it’s like she expected me to be a software engineer just because I don't know where every single setting is hidden in the interface she's describing.

Then, around 3 PM, the site finally started working again so I managed to send the report, only to have them call me on Friday admitting it was actually their mistake all along. As if that wasn't obvious from the start! Seriously, it's not like my computer suddenly decided to change its own settings overnight just to spite the IRS website.

Look, they need to function properly for at least four days out of the year, and right now, they're failing me.