Glossary of Terms

A message from the IRS or the State Agency that a Return has been accepted via electronic filing

Additional fee added by ERO or SVB that is associated with providing a bank product.

This amount is the Taxpayer’s total income reduced by certain deductions, such as contributions made to an IRA, student loan interest payments and other available deductions.

This amount is the Taxpayer’s total deductions that are subtracted from gross income to calculate Adjusted Gross Income (AGI). These include, but are not limited to, deductions for moving expenses, alimony paid, a penalty on early withdrawal of savings, and contributions to an individual retirement arrangement (IRA). Adjustments to income can be subtracted from gross income even if itemized deductions are not available or claimed.

A loan is taken against a personal tax return; prior to the IRS funding, processed by a bank product with a bank application.

This is the amount the Taxpayer owes to the IRS when the total tax due for the year is greater than the total tax payments already made for the year

Any item of economic value owned by an individual or corporation which must be depreciated for tax purposes.

These functions are used to configure the diagnostic validations.

This is the "Bank" the ERO has chosen to process their bank products related to Tax Returns. This is independent of a Taxpayers bank where a direct deposit might be made or the bank where the ERO conduct normal bank business

Additional form added to a personal return that tells the bank where to distribute the funds released by the IRS. This is the only way for an ERO to collect fees from the refund.

The Bank fees are fees that the bank charges for using their service. This is a fee that cannot be adjusted. There are bank fees for a Federal tax return as well as an extra bank fee for state tax returns. *This fee is added to every tax return that has a bank product and is taken by each bank upon IRS funding.* *These fees are decided by each bank.

A loan product purchased from the Bank enabling the Taxpayer to receive their tax refund earlier than would be provided by the IRS.

The Basis is the amount of the taxpayer’s monetary investment for tax purposes in real or personal property used for business. The Basis is normally cost, however it could be different depending on how and when the property was purchased, and if the property is used for both business and personal purposes. Basis is used to determine the amount of expense available for the current year from depreciation (regular and special) and Section 179, and to calculate a taxable gain or loss on the sale or other disposition of the property.

Messages received from Central Site during communications containing important, recently released information for all Tax Preparers.

A person or entity who provides care for an individual and whose income can be expensed by the Taxpayer who makes the payments of income.

This is the home base where all communications between the Tax Preparer and the IRS and State Agencies take place. This is also how Remote offices communicate with their Main office.

This is a nonrefundable credit available to certain taxpayers to claim a credit for paying someone to care for their qualifying Dependents under the age of 13 or Spouses or dependents who are unable to care for themselves

The child tax credit is a tax credit intended to make caring for children or qualifying dependents more affordable for working families

The Client is the person for whom the Preparer is preparing Tax Returns. The Client is interchangeably referred to as the Taxpayer

The process of rebranding the software with unique business logos.

The process which occurs during Transmit/Transmission when information is sent to Central Site from the User and information is sent back to the User from Central Site

The process of gathering data from one tax program & auto-populating generic data (taxpayers name, address, phone, spouses data, dependents) in the uTax platform. These converted returns are for Information purpose only & should not be treated as efilable.

This is a person, other than the Taxpayer or Spouse, who entitles the Taxpayer to claim a dependency exemption.

This is a deduction taken for the business use of certain items which lose value over a period of time longer than one year, such as office furniture.

his is an electronic transfer of a Refund into a Taxpayer’s financial institution account directly from the IRS

The e-file fee is a fee that is only available through SBTPG only. This fee is added to every tax return with a bank product added to it. The Doc Prep fee is paid out directly to the ERO bank deposit account on each bank application and is paid out weekly upon IRS funding. *This fee is set during the EFIN bank application process.* *These fees are no longer adjustable once the first tax return is submitted to Central Site.* *The max amount allowed to add on is set by SBTPG Bank.*

A Donee is a non-profit organization that is authorized by the federal government to accept tax-deductible charitable contributions.

This is a process, which when used in the context of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), refers to requirements that Preparers must follow when preparing returns that involve the EITC.

The Earned Income Tax Credit or Earned Income Credit is a refundable tax credit available to some taxpayers.

The e-file fee is a fee that is only available through Refund Advantage only. This fee is added to every bank product tax return. The e-file fee is paid out directly to the ERO bank deposit account on each bank application and is paid out weekly upon IRS funding. *This fee is set during the EFIN bank application process.* *These fees are no longer adjustable once the first tax return is submitted to Central Site.* *The max amount allowed to add on is set by Refund Advantage.*

An EFIN is a number assigned by the Internal Revenue Service to preparers that are accepted into the fed/state e-file program. To become an authorized IRS e-file provider, preparers must submit an application and undergo a screening process.

The Authorized IRS e-file Provider that originates the electronic submission of a return to the IRS and has been assigned an EFIN.. The ERO is usually the first point of contact for most taxpayers filing a return using IRS e-file.

This is an electronic device with a touch-sensitive LCD screen which allows users to acquire and register a signature or any other physical signature capture device that captures and converts a signature into an electronic format

The Employer Identification Number, also known as the Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) is assigned to all businesses who hire employees, pay wages, and deposit employment taxes to the IRS on behalf of those employees.

A person or entity who has paid wages to an employee and deposited employment taxes to the IRS on behalf of that employee.

The process of configuring Office Information, Fees associated with Bank Products, Account Payment Information related all to an EFIN through the EMP.

A website that Partners goto to manage office & enrollment data.

The process of acquiring an electronic signature through the program using the signature pad, remote sign, or on screen (touch screen) .

This is a fixed amount a Taxpayer can claim and subtract from income for his or herself, the spouse, and any eligible Dependents

To move data from this program to an outside program for sorting, formatting, and printing.

Synonymous with the TIN, and is generic for any type of Identification number assigned by the IRS for reporting purposes.

Also known as a Remote Computer that will transmit directly to Central Site to communicate with the Main Office or Service Bureau.

The Filing Status of the Taxpayer determines the rate at which taxable income is taxed. The five filing statuses are as follows: Single, Married Filing a Joint return, Married Filing a Separate return, Head of Household, and Qualifying Widow(er) with dependent child.

The standard Internal Revenue Service (IRS) form that taxpayers use to file their annual income tax returns.

Part of IRS Schedule K-1, that reports income from a partnership and is sent to the partners so they can include that income on their personal tax returns if necessary.

A corporate tax return in the United States to report its revenue, expenses, and profits or losses.

Like the 1120 form, the 1120s is a tax document used to report the income, losses, and dividends of S corporation shareholders.

An electronic signature document that is used to authorize e-filing the state return.

An electronic signature document that is used to authorize e-filing the federal return.

This federal form must be filed annually by tax-exempt organizations.

This amount includes money, goods, services, and property a person receives that must be reported as taxable. This also includes unemployment compensation and certain scholarships. It does not include welfare benefits and nontaxable Social Security benefits.

This function moves Returns prepared by other tax programs into this program.

This amount includes taxable and tax-exempt interest, dividends, capital gains distributions, and rental income

PROTECT is a product is a complete identity protection program that the ERO can offer to the taxpayer for purchase when doing their tax return. The taxpayer will be able to pay for this product with funds from their tax return. *This fee is set by iPROTECT and cannot be adjusted, it can be added on to by the ERO.

The office in a Multi-Office Organization or Service Bureau that is the administrator of all Remote Offices and has overall control of the operation

Also known as Tier Owner or Franchise; it is the UID that gets copies of submitted returns from subsites or is required to review returns from feeder sub-sites.

This is the User ID of the Main Office in a Multi-Office Organization or Service Bureau.

This refers to Modernized e-File.

Multiple submitting locations under the same ownership.

This is a Remote Office of the Main Office that can have other Remote Offices organized under it. Under this system, three tiers are available: The Main Office, Multi-Tier Offices, and Remote Offices which may be assigned to a Multi-Tier Office or the Main Office

This is the first four significant letters of a Taxpayer’s last name that the IRS uses in connection with the Taxpayer SSN to identify the Taxpayer, Spouse and Dependents.

A computer which prepares Returns, but does not communicate with Central Site via Transmitting. Instead, the Non-Transmitting computer transfers information to the Transmitting Computer

A description of what the Taxpayer does to earn income.

This is an individual who is paid to prepare Tax Returns. A Paid Preparer is not necessarily also an ERO, but instead may work for an ERO.

This is a person who lived in a particular state for only part of the year, and may have to file a state income tax return for that state if he or she lived there a specific amount of time and/or made a certain amount of income from a source in that state

A form used for a balance owing return indicating how much & where to make payment.

An exemption claimed for yourself and, if married filing jointly, for your spouse

Used by a Taxpayer and/or an ERO as a replacement to a signature in some cases. This number is not assigned by any agency, but rather is chosen by the person using the pin.

A loan taken prior to the IRS Acknowledging the personal return, processed by a bank product with a bank application.

These fees are the fees set by the ERO for completing a tax return. The prep fees will be sent to the ERO bank deposit information that was entered on the bank application during the EFIN application process. Each bank has a prep fee limit set and if the ERO goes above this fee limit it red flags the ERO’s EFIN and can result in their EFIN being suspended by that bank. Prep fees are usually paid upon funding unless the ERO is in any of the banks prep fee advance programs.

Used by Preparers who are not working as a business entity, and therefore, do not have a separate FEIN, so that they do not have to share their Social Security Number with their Clients

Protection Plus is an audit protection product that the ERO can offer to the taxpayer for purchase while preparing their tax return. The taxpayer will be able to pay for this product with funds from their tax return. *This fee is set by Protection Plus and cannot be adjusted, it can be added on to by the ERO.

This is a filing status claimed by a Taxpayer whose Spouse has died during the tax year and entitles the Taxpayer to the tax rates and benefits of a joint return. If a widow(er) has Dependents and does not remarry, that person may be allowed to claim Qualifying Widow(er) status for 2 additional years

This is the amount owed to a Taxpayer when the total tax payments made for the year are greater than the total tax due for the year.

A check issued by the Bank after funds have been received by the IRS and requires no out of pocket fees from the Client. This is an old term isn’t used.

A message from the IRS or the State Agency that a Return has not been accepted via electronic filing. The Return must be corrected and retransmitted.

See Feeder Site.

An office whose registration and setup is controlled by a Main Office. The level of access granted to a Remote Office will be controlled by the Main Office.

The process which occurs when a Transmitting Computer uploads Return data from a Non-Transmitting Computer or when a return is added to a database manually.

A unique number to every bank and is used to identify that bank for direct deposit of a Tax Refund.

A re-seller of uTax or their co-branded tax software.

A fee charged by the service bureau to provide bank products to tax payers. *These fees are no longer adjustable once the first tax return is submitted to Central Site.*

Used when a Tax Preparer has many sites and many different EFIN’s, and is assigned by the IRS.

This is the code for a particular Site assigned by the User so that activity at different Sites can be delineated.

The Social Security Number is what most Taxpayers use for identification purposes.

This is an amount that reduces the taxable income subject to tax and varies according to filing status, age, blindness, and dependency of the Taxpayer, Spouse and any Dependents

These Codes indicate the status of a current Return, such as whether it has been acknowledged, accepted, or completed

This is a globally unique 20 digit number assigned to electronically filed tax returns with the following format: EFIN + ccyyddd + 7-digit alphanumeric sequence number.

A location that submits returns under a Mult-Office or Service Bureau

The Taxpayer is the person for whom the Preparer is preparing Tax Returns. The Taxpayer is interchangeably referred to as the Client.

A generic name for any type of Identification number that is used to represent a Taxpayer. A TIN could be assigned by a Federal Agency or a State Agency.

The Technology Access fee is a fee that is added to Bank Product returns. This is a fee that cannot be adjusted. These fees are paid to Central Site.

The process which occurs when Return data is sent from a Non-Transmitting Computer to a Transmitting Computer or when a return is moved from one database to another manually.

The process which occurs when a Transmitting Computer sends information to and receives information from Central Site.

The Transmitter add on fee is an amount that the SVB, Multi office owner, or single ERO can add on to the Transmitter fee and is placed in an account and paid out directly to the SVB, Multi office owner, or single ERO twice per year (usually in July and November). The Transmitter add on fee is listed to the taxpayer as a part of the Transmitter/Technology Access fee and is added to every return that has a Bank Product added to it. *This fee is set during the EFIN bank application process.* *These fees are no longer adjustable once the first tax return is submitted and acknowledged by the IRS.* *The max amount allowed to add on is set by each bank and the software provider.*

The Transmitter fee is a fee that is added to EVERY returns that an ERO does that has a bank product attached to it. This is a fee that cannot be adjusted. These fees are paid to Central Site.

This is a computer capable of Transmitting to and from Central Site. A Transmitting Computer does not necessarily have an associated Non-Transmitting Computer.

Data received from Central Site which makes alterations to the program during the tax season in order to keep up with changes in the tax laws and regulations, or to make the program work more efficiently.

A person who is using this program. This person could be a Paid Preparer, an ERO, a Data Entry person, or any other person using the program. This person could have Administrator status allowing them access to all functions or very limited access allowing only a few specific functions.

A UserID is a unique identifier used in submitting returns to Central Site for processing. (Charged by CL if they are used. A used user ID is defined as transmitting a return to Central Site)

The internal process which occurs within the program before Transmitting to Central Site in order to catch errors at an early stage. This process is also used for paper Returns.

Shows the amount of taxes withheld from your paycheck for the year and is used to file your federal and state taxes.

A W-7 Form is used to apply for an individual taxpayer identification number, or ITIN, for non-citizens who aren’t eligible to receive a Social Security number but need to file a federal tax return with the IRS for income from US sources.