2023 Short year S-Corp final return using 2022 program

[Drphibes]

Can a short year final 2023 S-Corp return be e-filed using Lacerte 2022 program?  Thanks in advance.

[IRonMaN · Accepted solution]

Nope.  You need to paper file since the 2023 forms aren't out yet.  Make a copy of the existing client, complete the return for the short period and cross off the year in the corner of each form and write 2023 on it.

[Drphibes]

So while waiting for a response to this Q, I created short year return (changing the client number) placing 1/1/23 as the short year start and 4/21/23 as short year end and made sure e-file boxes and such were checked and such.  When I calculated it, there were no critical errors.   I then created the e-file, still no errors, validation successful.  I then went to file it and that is where it gave me errors about failing presubmission but when I went back to diagnostics there no critical errors or reasons why this return could not be filed.  Even the 8879 shows the short year as 1/1/2023 ending 4/21/2023.  What a drag!

[abctax55]

The IRS isn't ready to accept anything 2023 related yet, and won't be for a while.  It's not a Lacerte issue.

Paper file on 2022 Forms changed to 2023, or do an extension (if that would even give enough time for the 2023 Forms to be available....)

[allyphoe]

Part of the issue is that you only get one original-return e-filing per submission year. So if you had two short-year returns covering 2022, you'd only be able to e-file one of them and the other would have to go on paper.

[karenseyller]

The only module the Lacerte software is capable of e-filing multiple year returns in one year's program for a short period 2023 is the "Exempt Org. Tax" module. I know this because I have actually already utilized it this year. Yes, I had to call Lacerte to have a person "update the processing" on their end, but once they did, I could see it was successfully submitted to the IRS the same day as submission - I speaking of the short-period 2023.

And yes, the girl gave me the same spiel about how the IRS cannot accept multiple year submissions within one year prior to her seeing it with her own eyes that both were submitted and accepted successfully.

Now, does this mean that the IRS is only setup for  "Exempt Organization" multi-year filing, in one filing period, or does it mean Lacerte's software has only been updated that far? I do not know.

But I am still waiting on the tech people to fix the Illinois/New York State algorithm that incorrectly apportions income since 2017. So I'm not really holding my breath here on the former being true. 

[missydennis]

This is not true as we used to use Ultra Tax and we were able to e-file a short year return in the software. i.e. short year 2023 return in the 2022 software.  Lacerte needs to get their software to be able to do this.  I had to paper file a entity that was sold with 13 states.