Individuals and businesses seeking to e-file their Rhode Island returns for tax year 2017 must do
so on or before Saturday, November 17, 2018. After that date, returns for tax year 2017 must be
filed on paper.
Each year, the Division temporarily closes its system to e-filing in order to prepare the system for
the coming filing season. The Internal Revenue Service, and many other states, follow the
same practice. This year, the Rhode Island modernized e-file (MeF) shutdown and cutover will
occur on Saturday, November 17, 2018, the same date as the IRS’s.
Transmissions of e-filed personal and business returns must be completed by 10:00 p.m. (Eastern time) tomorrow, Saturday. The shutdown begins at 11:59 p.m. (Eastern time) tomorrow, Saturday. For more information, click here.
- From the Rhode Island Division of Taxation's standpoint, tomorrow's shutdown is for incoming e-filed 2017 returns. However, even after the point of shutdown, the Division will continue to issue electronic receipts -- also known as acknowledgements, or "acks" -- for all returns that have been properly prepared and e-filed by tomorrow's 10:00 p.m. (Eastern time) transmission deadline. Because the shutdown occurs on the weekend, some acknowledgements may not be issued until next week.
