E-filing

The Internal Revenue Service has announced that the modernized e-file (MeF) system will be shut down for a system upgrade for two upcoming periods. As a result, federal and Rhode Island e-filing will be unavailable during the two periods, which are as follows:

• From July 18, 2019, at midnight Eastern time, through July 22, 2019, at 12 noon Eastern time.
• From August 3, 2019, at midnight Eastern time, through August 5, 2019, at 12 noon Eastern time.

The IRS will not be accepting electronically filed federal tax returns during those periods. Also, the joint fed-state e-file program will be unavailable during those periods. Therefore, Rhode Island returns transmitted via e-file during those periods will not be transmitted to the state. Tax preparers and taxpayers should plan accordingly. 

The joint fed-state e-file program is a cooperative tax-filing effort between the IRS and most states, including Rhode Island. In general, it allows for federal and state returns to be e-filed simultaneously to the IRS. Once the returns are filed, the IRS keeps the federal portion; the state portion is passed along electronically to the applicable state.