Today we are releasing another improvement to the tax return preparation and filing you can see in your Formations account.
Our new Return Tracker provides more context and visibility into your tax return preparation and allows you to take more actions directly from your Formations account:-
Return status. The new Return Tracker includes more information about the status of your tax return. Each status includes a description of the status and some estimate of how long it will take. Returns can be in one of five statuses: In Progress, Action Needed, In Review, Ready to Sign, and Completed.
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Actions. With the exception of the In Review status, in each of the other statuses, there are additional actions you can take from the return tracker. You can view your extension receipt, complete your open items, review and sign the return, schedule a review meeting, and view your return documents. Each status will link to different actions based on the status.
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Preferred filing date. You can now set a preferred filing date directly in the return tracker. You can choose between the first and extension deadlines or a customer date between those two. When you pick a preferred filing date, you are helping us prioritize the work on your return to make sure we can get in time for you. Please note that this is not a guaranteed filing date, as a completed return includes many variables and stakeholders.
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New return types. With our standard business tax return (1120-S), we are also launching support for personal tax returns (1040) and partnership returns (1065) to cover more return types and provide you with the same level of visibility and control.
Annual Data Transfer for Business Use of Home
We’ve gotten a lot of feedback on the requirement to update your business use of home (BUH) information at the beginning of the year and have made it easier now to complete your BUH for the new year quickly. With this release, when you go to update your 2024 Business Use of Home, you will be asked if you changed your residence since last year, and if you answer No, the information from last year will automatically update your 2024 reports. The one-time expenses portion (bottom of the form) will zero out as those change from year to year.
Confirm your Business Use of Home (BUH) and Business Miles information
You can now confirm that your Business Use of Home (BUH) and Business Miles information are completed for the tax year. Every January, a new button will appear in the BUH and Miles pages for the previous year, asking you to Submit for the Year. Once you confirm the information is correct for the year, the data will be submitted for your return.