2013 ProSeries/Massachusetts Readme
Release 2013.100 / June 20, 2014
Contents
Items addressed in this release
Items addressed in previous releases
What's new for ProSeries/Massachusetts
Forms
Electronic filing
Additional Information
Items addressed in this release
Error checking, Various improvements to data validations, error checks.
Items addressed in previous releases
The following forms and worksheets have been addressed in previous releases:
- Form 1-NR/PY - Nonresident/Part-Year Resident Income Tax Return. Pro Series has updated the calculations for line 14e, Non-Massachusetts source income when there were wages reported on the customer's W-2 with more than one state reported.
- Schedule HC - Health Care Information. ProSeries/Massachusetts has updated the calculations when Line 6 of Schedule HC is marked No, Page 4 of the HC worksheet is intended to be completed. Currently no information flows to page 4, which causes the return to get rejected with code 0703.
- Schedule R/NR - Resident/Nonresident Worksheet. ProSeries/Massachusetts has updated the calculation for line 5 Column A of MA Sch. R/NR. It was incorrectly using the amounts from box 1 of the w-2. This was causing an error in Sch. R/NR line 5 column D when a W-2 Box 16 is greater than Fed amount in box 1.
- Schedule HC - Health Care Information. ProSeries/Massachusetts has updated various calculations to correct electronic filing issues with Schedule HC.
- Form 1 - Resident Income Tax Return. ProSeries/Massachusetts has corrected various printing issues.
- Schedule HC - Health Care Information. ProSeries/Massachusetts has updated the calculations to correct issues with the Line 11 calculations and various printing issues with the form.
- Schedules X and Y - Other Income and Other Deductions. ProSeries/Massachusetts has revised the calculations of IRA rollovers to line 2.
- Schedule CB - Circuit Breaker Tax Credit. ProSeries/Massachusetts has updated Schedule CB requiring Landlord information for users that claim the credit as renters.
- Schedule SC - Septic Credit for Repairing or Replacing a Failed Cesspool or Septic System. ProSeries/Massachusetts has revised the calculations for the certificate of compliance date.
- Schedule HC - Health Care Information. ProSeries/Massachusetts has revised the calculations to correct for Head of Household penalty calculation.
- Schedule C - Profit or Loss from Business. ProSeries/Massachusetts has revised the calculations to allow for losses on lines 3 & 5.
- Schedule E, Fixed a calculation defect in the sections for Partnerships, S Corporations, Estates and Trusts. Some totals were including Schedule E-2 and Schedule E-3 amounts even when those forms were marked "Exclude this form from the return".
- Form M-4868, Application for Automatic Six-Month Extension
- Form CA-6, Application for Abatement/Amended Return
- Schedule EC, Solar and Wind Energy Credit
- Paper Filing - All final forms are available for paper filing in this release.
What's new for ProSeries/Massachusetts
The following items are new for tax year 2013:
- Form 1 The filing due date for Massachusetts returns is April 15, 2014.
- Schedule CB - Circuit Breaker Tax Credit The maximum credit for 2014 is $1,030.
- Personal Income Tax Rate Reduction for Taxable Years Beginning with 2014 Effective for tax years beginning on
or after January 1, 2014, the 5.25% tax rate on most classes of taxable income is decreased to 5.20%.
Forms
The Massachusetts Department of Revenue has approved for filing all forms and schedules included in ProSeries/Massachusetts.
Electronic filing
General information for electronic filing:
Electronic filing functionality is available in this release of ProSeries/Massachusetts.
For a list of forms that can be e-filed, go to the What's New for Massachusetts.
Additional information
Check all returns after printing
The Massachusetts Department of Revenue scans computer-generated forms to quickly
process the income tax returns it receives. To meet the requirements for producing
computer-generated forms, ProSeries is required to limit the width of the tax information
printed on forms that are scanned. In certain cases, data you entered may be truncated.
After completing a tax return, review the information that prints (for example, mailing
address information), make any necessary changes, and reprint the return before mailing it.
About bar codes on printed state returns
Some states use bar codes on computer-printed tax forms. This special formatting allows
the state taxing authorities to process returns more quickly and efficiently. On-screen,
you'll see only a small representation of the bar code on the lower-left side of the form.
This image is static and does not change based on the information in the return. However,
when you print the return, the bar code appears as a large rectangular box on the first page
of the form. The width of the bar code is constant; the height varies according to the data
in the return. In general, the more complex the return, the larger the printed bar code.
Returns that contain special formatting may be processed at a different location than manually
prepared returns. Therefore, the filing instructions that print with the state return may contain
a mailing address that's different from the mailing address in the package that is sent to taxpayers.
Be sure to have your clients mail their returns to the address in the filing instructions that
print with the return.
Important: Because the bar code image is a function of the data in the tax return,
it's important that you reprint the page with the bar code if changes are made to any part of
the return. Also, do not print blank copies of the main form and prepare them manually.
The Massachusetts taxing authority may attempt to scan the form and reject it.
Use a recommended printer
We recommend you use a Hewlett-Packard LaserJet Series 4 or later (or 100% compatible printer).
The minimum requirement is a Hewlett-Packard LaserJet or PCL compatible printer with 2MB of
printer memory.
If you do not use a recommended printer, the two-dimensional bar codes on some state
returns do not print properly. The states still accept the returns, but they might take longer to
process.
End of ReadMe file for ProSeries/Massachusetts