Fillable PDF tax forms now "tax software" for e-file mandate?

Here's a question that has been posed to me in the last week by several people who do their own New York tax returns on paper and got a nasty surprise when they went to the state website to download the forms.

This year, New York has modified its fill-in pdf forms for paper filing so as to autocomplete certain fields, including certain basic addition/ subtraction calculations and inserting the appropriate standard deduction and net tax due amounts based on the other figures typed in by the user. When completed, the forms also display barcodes representing the data thereon, for use by the tax department scanners. (The previous fill-in forms in which all fields were manually entered, without any calculations or other functions, have been eliminated and replaced with simple page images which one has to print out and fill in by hand.)

The question now is, do these enhanced forms constitute "a tax preparation application hosted by the Tax Department" as included in the definition of "tax software" shown on its website, the use of which triggers the perpetual e-file mandate not just for preparers but for individual taxpayers. The actual state law Sec. 698(g)(10)(B)(iv) reads only: ""Tax software" means any computer software program intended for tax return preparation purposes", while the tax department itself has expanded upon that definition on its own, though I don't know if anyone has tested those changes.

While it was evident that the previous forms did not constitute software programs, merely a means for the user to produce a more legible page in these post-typewriter days, it's a bit blurry as to whether these enhanced forms are that much different from TurboTax or its ilk, since even if most of the fields are manually entered, in the end there are some calculations/lookups and the result is a fileable return (or pages thereof). I'm sure, if asked directly, the Tax Department would define them as such a hosted application as a matter of its own self-interest and its wish to have everyone e-file everything, but the whole point of these forms is for use by people who can't or won't e-file for whatever reason and don't want to get caught in the e-file mandate for the rest of their lives, so why would they bother to still provide them at all if not to allow for such paper filings?

Has anyone out there had occasion to either make such inquiries or test a similar situation in another jurisdiction in which a definitive ruling was obtained either way?

Reply to
Lamont Crushank
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I believe the answer is "yes", if they submit the 2-D barcode version, they will be subject to the e-filing mandate. My logic for this conclusion is that you can still download and file the traditional paper form (without the 2-D barcode) (for example, IT-201 is here -

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Ira Smilovitz

Reply to
ira smilovitz

According to the NY government website,

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the barcode-enabled fillable forms are intended to be sent via snail mail: "...if you must file a paper New York State nonresident or part-year resident income tax return, you can still reduce the processing time of your return and minimize errors with our new enhanced Form IT-203 with 2D barcodes. Simply fill in the form online, print, and mail!"

Reply to
johnbsanderson

My interpretation of your quoted instructions hinges on the word "must". There are certain situations where you cannot e-file a NY return even though you are subject to the e-file mandate. In those cases, filing the 2D barcode version will expedite processing.

If you "elect" not to e-file, you must file the non-barcode version to remain outside of the e-file mandate.

Ira Smilovitz

Reply to
ira smilovitz

Well, you're right that the word "must" makes my interpretation of the guidance a little doubtful, but NYS is more explicit elsewhere. At

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?You are not required to electronically file if you: ?download forms from our website, ?order forms from us by phone, or ?pick up forms at your local library.

Those forms are on the website, so a person using them is not required to file electronically.

Reply to
johnbsanderson

No, that makes no sense at all.

The NYS website says

a.. The cost of tax preparation software always includes the e-filing service; New York State law prohibits additional charges. b.. You are not required to electronically file if you: a.. download forms from our website, b.. order forms from us by phone, or c.. pick up forms at your local library. If you use their forms from their website, including their barcode forms, you don't need to e-file. It is crystal clear.

And, think about the alternative: you download their forms and fill them out. If you are supposed to now e-file, you throw away the forms you downloaded and filled out and use some other method to e-file, as the online forms have no capability to e-file.

Reply to
taxed and spent

The quoted text doesn't answer the question. Using downloaded forms (even the 2D barcode forms) doesn't subject you to the e-file mandate *this* year, but that doesn't mean that a 2D barcode form doesn't subject you to the e-file mandate in future years.

I'm not saying it does, but the quoted text doesn't definitively say it doesn't.

Ira Smilovitz

Reply to
ira smilovitz

But the use of common sense does make it definitive. You use a form one year that has no mechanism for e-filing, and now you are mandated to e-file? Ridiculous!

Reply to
taxed and spent

There is no common sense in taxes. For instance, MA requires that certain partnerships e-file their state tax return, but does not provide any webfile application nor any exemption. The cheapest software to efile the MA return costs about $200 (last I checked).

Ira Smilovitz

Reply to
ira smilovitz

But they don't provide a form to use which, when you use it, you are to throw it away and then e-file because you used the form in the first place. They provide a bar code form to speed up processing of paper filings. If the use of the bar code form required e-filing, nobody would use the bar code form, thus slowing down processing of paper filings. Pretty simple stuff.

Reply to
taxed and spent

So why do they still provide the non-bar code version?

Ira Smilovitz

Reply to
ira smilovitz

for people without current computer software versions (Adobe Reader) that will generate and print the bar codes

for people who fill in forms by hand

for people who obtain their forms by mail from the tax office, libraries, etc.

Reply to
taxed and spent

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