Electronic filing guidelines for 1040 Screen PIN

Show expandable text

New (tax) year, new help!

Fixed Assets and UltraTax CS 2023 help is now on Help and Support. We're still moving articles, but you can find most content for the 2023 tax year there. Continue using the Help & How-To Center for tax years 2022 and older.

In Screen PIN, you can use the Personal Identification Number (PIN) Program for 1040 electronic filing. This initiative allows the Electronic Return Originator (ERO) to sign electronic returns using a five-digit Personal Identification Number (PIN) and allows the client to sign the electronic return using five-digit taxpayer and spouse PINs.

The IRS allows all taxpayers to use the Self-Select PINs, except for the following taxpayers.

  • Primary taxpayers who are under age 16 on December 31, 2018, and who have not filed before
  • Secondary (spouse) taxpayers who are under age 16 on December 31, 2018, and who did not file a tax return in 2017
  • Taxpayers who are not eligible to file Form 1040 for tax year 2018

Note: When you enter PIN information for a taxpayer and/or spouse under the age of 16, UltraTax CS generates a diagnostic reminder of the requirements of the Personal Identification Number (PIN) program, and the PIN will not be included in the electronic file. If the taxpayer and/or spouse qualify to use the PIN (as described above), mark the Taxpayer or spouse under age 16 and previously filed a return checkbox in Screen PIN to remove this diagnostic.

The IRS allows all taxpayers who are eligible to file Form 1040 for tax year 2018 to use the Practitioner PIN.

Note: There are no age restrictions with the use of the Practitioner PIN.

Required data for completing Screen PIN for 1040 electronic filing

To complete Screen PIN, you need to enter the following data.

  • Prior-year adjusted gross income from the originally reported return (not an amended return) for both taxpayer and spouse (if applicable). If the client's return was processed using 2017 UltraTax/1040, this field is automatically proforma'd with the exception of converted data. This field is not required when using the Practitioner Personal Identification Number (PIN). If a prior-year return was not filed, enter 0 in this field.
  • Prior-year PIN for both taxpayer and spouse (if applicable) from the accepted electronically filed 2017 return. If the client's return was processed using 2017 UltraTax/1040, this field is automatically proforma'd with the exception of converted data. This field is not required when using the Practitioner PIN. If a prior-year return was not filed, leave this field blank.
  • Five-digit PINs for both taxpayer and spouse (if applicable).
  • Five-digit PIN for the ERO.

    Note: The IRS will generally accept an electronically filed return with a Self-Select PIN, even if there is not an exact match for the date of birth. The IRS will verify the Date of birth field on all electronically filed returns using the Self-Select PIN. If the date of birth does not match, but all other requirements are met, the return will not be rejected.

    An indicator in the Acknowledgment File identifies if the primary (taxpayer), secondary (spouse), or both taxpayers have invalid dates of birth. The client must be advised to contact the Social Security Administration to have their records verified and corrected as necessary. Acknowledgment records contain a date of birth mismatch containing one of the following values if a date of birth did not match the IRS master file. You can view these values by highlighting a client in the Electronic Filing Status dialog and clicking the Show Detail button.

    Date of birth mismatch values:

    • Primary DOB Mismatch
    • Spouse DOB Mismatch
    • Both DOBs Mismatched

If any of the qualifying conditions for the PIN are not entered, UltraTax CS generates a diagnostic and an error appears on the E-File Error Report.

Note: UltraTax CS allows you to generate PIN forms and instructions without completing all of the required PIN fields. See Printing 1040 PIN information without completing PIN data entry for more information.

UltraTax CS provides the option to print Form 8879, IRS e-file Signature Authorization, prior to entering the taxpayer and spouse (if applicable) PIN. This is useful if you want to mail this form to your client for entry of the PIN and the taxpayer / spouse signature prior to entering the PIN. To enable printing of this form, do one of the following:

  • Enter X in the Print electronic filing PIN signature forms field in Screen PIN.
  • Choose Setup > 1040 Individual, and click the Tax Return button in the Print collation group box. In the Return Collation dialog, click the Client tab, select PIN Forms from the list, then click the Always if data option in the Print conditions group box. Click OK when you are done. Form 8879 now prints with the client's copy of the return whenever data is entered in Screen PIN.

When paper document attachments are designated in Screen 8453, Form 8453, U.S. Individual Income Tax Transmittal for an IRS e-file Return, is printed. Be aware that if Form 8453 is printed, you still must enter data in Screen PIN to be used when signing the electronic return.

Related topics

Was this article helpful?

Thank you for the feedback!