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Wisconsin Department of Revenue

Wisconsin Electronic Filing Program Information
for Tax Professionals

Tax professionals that produce returns for electronic transmission are called Electronic Return Originators (EROs). The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) must approve all EROs.

How to become an authorized Electronic Return Originator (ERO) with the State of Wisconsin

  1. Tax professionals must complete an online application with the IRS to participate in the Federal Electronic Tax Administration e-filing Program. For more information about the IRS application process, visit their web site or call the IRS regional office in Milwaukee at (414) 297-3574 or call toll free at 1-866-255-0654.

  2. Once the IRS has accepted you as an ERO, you will automatically be accepted as an authorized ERO in Wisconsin. As a tax professional, you should be in good standing with the Wisconsin Department of Revenue for both business and personal tax liabilities.

  3. Wisconsin Department of Revenue (WDOR) will no longer send out acceptance letters. Publication 115, 2009 Handbook for Federal/State Electronic Filing, is available to download from our website.

  4. The WDOR has a data base on our website for taxpayers to locate a tax preparer in their area. Please check out our website at http://www.revenue.wi.gov/eserv/city/index.html to see if you are on the data base and that all your information is correct. If you need to add or change any information please contact us by phone, fax or e-mail.

Steps to electronically file Wisconsin income tax returns

  1. Tax Professionals select their tax preparation software.

    Software developers create tax preparation software with the capability to transmit electronic returns using an Internet connection or a modem. Tax professionals purchase this software and use it to prepare federal and state returns. All e-filing software that includes Wisconsin must pass testing with both the IRS and DOR.

    • For more information about choosing electronic filing software, visit the IRS web site for Tax Professionals.
    • For information about approved Wisconsin software, please review the table below.

    Name Website
    ATX
    		 www.atxinc.com
    Crosslink/Petz Enterprises Inc
    		www.petzent.com
    Drake Software
    		 www.drakesoftware.com
    eSmartTax/C&S Technologies
    		www.eSmartTax.com
    FileYourTaxes.com www.FileYourTaxes.com
    GoSystem RS/GoSystems CD www.thomsonreuters.com
    H & R Block/Rapid Refund
    		 www.hrblock.com
    Intellitax Classic/Orrtax
    		www.orrtax.com
    La Certe www.lacertesoftware.com
    Max1040/1040 Office/ATX
    		 www.atxinc.com
    OnLine Taxes Pro
    		 oltpro.com
    states@olt.com
    ProSeries/Intuit
    		 www.proseries.com
    www.intuit.com
    Prosystemfx/CCH Inc www.tax.cchgroup.com
    Profiler
    		 www.JacksonHewitt.com
    Softax06
    		 www.softax-inc.com
    TaxAct/2nd Story Software
    		 www.taxact.com
    TAX$IMPLE
    		 www.taxsimple.us
    TaxSlayer Pro
    		 www.TaxSlayerpro.com
    Taxsoftware
    		 www.Taxsoftware.com
    info@taxsoftware.com
    TaxWise/Universal Tax Systems, Inc.
    		 www.taxwise.com
    Taxworks
    		 www.taxworks.com
    TurboTax Intuit
    		 www.turbotax.intuit.com
    Ultra Tax
    		 www.creativesolutions.com

  2. Tax Professionals electronically transmit tax return information.

    A federal and state return can be transmitted together as one electronic message to the IRS in one of two ways:

    1. Direct transmission to the IRS. EROs choosing the "direct" transmission method will have to test the compatibility of their modems with the IRS.
    2. Transmission to a third party software company. EROs choosing the "third party" method do not have to go through compatibility testing with the IRS.

    Wisconsin electronic returns are processed at the IRS Service Center in Kansas City, MO.

  3. IRS receives the electronic transmission, matches the social security number to the name on the return, and acknowledges receipt of the federal return.

    Once the IRS receives the transmission, the federal return is either accepted or rejected based on established criteria. The IRS will generate a federal acknowledgment that indicates receipt of the return as well as its processing status. If the federal return is rejected, the acknowledgment will state why and list the detected errors.

    Note: The DOR does not receive any state return information associated with a rejected federal return.

    Information about ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:

    1. If returns are transmitted to a software company, the federal and state acknowledgments will be sent back to the software company. EROs retrieve federal and state acknowledgments from their software providers.
    2. If the returns are transmitted directly to the IRS, the federal and state acknowledgment will be sent directly back to the ERO.
    3. The federal acknowledgment is issued within 24 hours of the original transmission.
    4. Wisconsin acknowledgments will be available 48 to 72 hours after transmission of tax returns.

  4. Wisconsin Department of Revenue receives the state return from the IRS.

    The Wisconsin tax return data associated with an accepted federal return will be forwarded to the DOR for processing. This usually occurs the day after the federal acceptance. Therefore, the DOR typically receives the state return two days after the initial transmission to the IRS. The DOR begins processing the same day the data is received from the IRS.

  5. A State-Only return may be filed, if your software developer supports it.

    The return is still transmitted through the IRS. Transmissions must be accomplished according to IRS procedures. All Wisconsin returns must include a copy of the corresponding federal return in the unformatted records. Possible reasons to file a State-Only return:

    1. No federal filing requirement
    2. Federal return has already been filed
    3. Filing as married filing separate
    4. Original state filing was rejected

    In the State-Only program, the state data is made available to Wisconsin Department of Revenue within 24 hours for retrieval.

    If your software vendor supports State-Only and your Wisconsin return was rejected, you can resubmit the return.

  6. Form W-RA Wisconsin required attachments for electronic filing.

A Form W-RA and attachments are required for Wisconsin returns that include the following credits or deductions: homestead, angel investment, dairy cooperatives, dairy manufacturing facility investment, development zones, early stage seed investment, economic development, eligible veterans and surviving spouses property tax, enterprise zone jobs, farmland preservation, film production company investment, film production services, health insurance risk-sharing plan assessments, historic rehabilitation, internet equipment, manufacturing investment, meat processing facility investment, Minnesota reciprocity, model form for legislators who make the sec. 162(h) election, tax paid to another state, and technology zone.

The Form WR-A along with the required attachments (as explained in the instructions) must be sent by the ERO to the Wisconsin Department of Revenue (WDOR) to the address give on the Form W-RA, within 48 hours after receiving the Wisconsin acknowledgement. Your software should produce a Form W-RA when needed. The Form W-RA, along with the required documents, can be electronically submitted through the file transmission process explained at: http://www.revenue.wi.gov/eserv/w-ra.html. By doing this, the process would be totally paper free.

In all other instances, the ERO or taxpayer must retain for four years all income statements, such as W-2s, 1099s, etc., Form 8322 (Release of Claim to Exemption for Child of Divorced or Separated Parents) and any other documents that would normally be attached to a paper return to support the information on the tax return. The WDOR may request these documents from the ERO or taxpayer at a later date.

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE
Electronic Filing Unit
P.O. Box 8949
Madison, WI 53708-8949
Phone: (608) 264-6886
Fax: (608) 264-6884
E-Mail Additional Questions

Last updated January 25, 2010