MeF Status Page - Historical Information - Processing Year 2013 2012 and 2011
Historical information posted on this page is posted with the most recently added information on top regardless of the date the item was created, added or revised. They are not in any particular chronological order on this page.
MEF UPDATE: Intermittent Errors Being Reported for MeF Production (updated 8:00 pm, Eastern on May 14, 2013)
The intermittent “Backend AMDAS errors” that transmitters reported earlier today have been resolved. The IRS thanks you for your patience.
MEF Alert: Intermittent Errors Being Reported for MeF Production (updated 4:45 pm, Eastern on May 14, 2013)
Intermittent errors are being reported by several transmitters when logging into MeF Production and MeF ATS, the error reported is “Backend AMDAS error”, The IRS is diligently looking into this issue and we will post an update as soon as we determine what is causing these errors and when this will be resolved.MeF Missing Acknowledgements: (Posted 1:00 pm EST 2/15/2013)
The IRS is aware of an intermittent issue causing a delay in making some acknowledgements available that we expect to have resolved shortly. If you have not received a federal acknowledgement for over 2 hours please refrain from doing more Get Acks for those until further notice. While MeF corrects this issue, there is a small possibility that you may receive a System Error and we ask that you resubmit those messages using a new Message ID. Please continue to monitor this page for further notice regarding this.
Modernized e-File (MeF) Service Request Guidance for Software Developers/Transmitters and States (Version 1.0 dated 8/2012)
efile requirements for the 2013 Filing Season
This web page provides the latest information on the 1040 MeF/ Legacy Platform for Filing Season 2013.
Encoding Protocol Change on Modernized e-File System
In an effort to continue to improve performance on the Modernized e-File (MeF) platform, the DIME encoding protocol was retired in the ATS environment on October 31, 2012, and will be retired in the Production environment effective January, 2013.
MIME and MTOM will be the only approved encoding protocols for the Application-to-Application (A2A) Service Requests.
Questions regarding this change should be sent to the mefmailbox.
MEF 1040 Processing Year News
Three (3) Tax Year 2012 ATS scenarios were made available on August 2, 2012. Other scenarios will be available once finalized.
The initial Tax Year 2012 Business Rules and Schemas will be available by August 20, 2012. There will be multiple issuances throughout the fall.
While the IRS.gov content freeze is in effect, software developers should send an email request for the scenarios to the mefmailbox.
New MeF Mailbox for Modernized e-File (updated 9:30 am, Eastern on 7/21/2011)
We are pleased to announce that Modernized e-File (MeF) now has a new mailbox for sending inquiries regarding MeF Production and Assurance Testing System (ATS) issues, the new address is MeFMailbox@irs.gov. Please use this mailbox to address issues with IRS regarding MeF system problems and questions regarding the development of the forms related to the 1040 MeF program.
Please continue to use the established procedures of contacting the e-help Desk for other issues and forms not related to the 1040 MeF program.
When you send an e-mail to this mailbox, please include the following: your name, phone number where we can reach you, your company name, and a description of the problem. You will also need to indicate if this is a MeF Production issue or ATS issue, and whether the inquiry is about Individual or Business returns. For business returns, please limit your inquiries to production related issues only.
In order to assist us in resolving your issue more efficiently, please include the nature of your issue in the subject line. Examples: Production, Development, Assurance Testing (ATS), Getting started with MeF, or A2A Toolkit.
ATS/Production Calls (updated 2:30 pm, Eastern on 5/08/2012)
We want to thank you for your participation on the ATS and Production Conference Calls. These calls will resume again sometime in September, additional information will be posted as we approach the extended due date peak processing time.
Please refer to The Modernized e-File (MeF) Assurance Testing System (ATS) Update page on IRS.gov for additional information on ATS testing and the ATS and Production Issues Log.
Information on 1040 Modernized e-File (MeF) for Software Developers also has information regarding ATS testing.
e-file requirements for the 2012 Filing Season (FAQs revised at 1:00 pm, Eastern on 1/11/12)
The IRS expects transmitters and states to use the Modernized e-File system as the primary e-filing platform for processing year 2012. Guidance is provided below and a list of Frequently Asked Questions, (FAQ) will be updated as needed (note: FAQs were revised 1/11/12). Questions about the notification can be submitted to the MeF Mailbox. The mailbox will temporarily be used to address questions pertaining only to this Notification. It will not be maintained after the core questions are addressed in the FAQs. Please do not send Notification-related questions to the MeF mailbox. Any Notification-related emails inadvertently sent to the MeF mailbox will not be responded to. The IRS may not be able to reply to each inquiry - we will consolidate and summarize questions and answers and post them to the FAQs. For company and/or state specific questions, the IRS will contact the company/state directly to respond.
1040 e-File Notification to Software Developers/Transmitters and States for Filing Season 2012
Previous Notifications
The IRS reminds Software Developers/Transmitters and States of the following notifications previously communicated at the Software Developer’s Conference, during Industry Calls, and other industry meetings and public forums:
Additional Notifications and Requirements
In order to ensure the migration to 1040 MeF proceeds as planned, the IRS is putting in place parameters that will limit the volumes in the legacy system for Filing Season 2012. The IRS believes that this is a reasonable and measured step to take at this time to better ensure MeF’s ultimate success. The IRS is notifying Software Developers/Transmitters and States of the following requirements for transmitting 1040 e-Filed returns during Filing Season 2012:
Limited Exceptions Apply:
- State Return Retrieval – States are encouraged to complete their MeF development and work directly with Software Developers/Transmitters to enable State support in software packages. Due to the above requirements, States must use MeF to retrieve linked Fed/State returns.
- Limited Legacy e-File Availability – In preparation of 1040 Legacy e-File shutdown in October 2012 and to ensure the majority of e-Filed returns are processed through MeF, 1040 Legacy e-File will be limited to the following hours of operation 10 to 11AM local time, 5 to 6PM local time, and 1 to 2AM local time. This schedule applies to all Transmitters and States regardless of your readiness to support MeF. In the event MeF is unavailable, the window of 1040 Legacy e-File availability will be extended at the IRS’ discretion.
ETIN Retrieval errors reported earlier have been resolved. Please continue to monitor this page for updates.
ETIN Retrieval Errors Reported in MeF (Posted at 4:30 pm, Eastern on 02/16/2012)
ETIN Retrieval errors have been reported for the MeF Production and ATS systems. We currently have a team working this issue with high priority. Please monitor this page for updates.
ETIN Retrieval Errors Reported in MeF (Posted at 7:00 pm, Eastern on 02/02/2012)
Intermittent ETIN Retrieval errors have been reported for the MeF Production and ATS systems. We currently have a team working this issue with high priority. Please monitor this page for updates.
MeF Maintenance to Portals (posted 9:30 pm, Eastern on January 26, 2012
The Modernized e-File System completed maintenance to its portals and returned to normal load balancing starting at 8:30 pm, Eastern on January 26th.
Please clear all DNS cache and restart all your connections to open a new session. We thank you in advance for your cooperation.
ETIN Retrieval Errors Reported in MeF (Updated at 1:30 pm, Eastern on 01/24/2012
The ETIN Retrieval error has been resolved.
Network Issues (updated 10:30 pm Eastern on 11/20/2011)
The Modernized e-File System (MeF) was experiencing problems from approximately 5:00 pm - 10:00 pm, Eastern. It was due to a SiteMinder server issue that has been successfully resolved. We apologize for any inconvenience caused.
Modernized e-File (MeF) Downtime for System Upgrade (Posted 3:00 pm, Eastern 11/16/2011)
The Modernized e-File (MeF) System will be taken off-line starting 9:00 pm Eastern, Friday, November 25, 2011 lasting until 6:00 am Eastern, Monday, November 28, 2011 while the IRS performs system upgrades.
The Modernized e-File systems (both Production and ATS) will not be operational during this timeframe. Please refrain from accessing the MeF Production or Assurance Testing Systems to transmit business/individual tax returns, retrieve acknowledgements or submit any other service requests.
Scheduled Maintenance to the MeF Portals (posted 5:00 pm, Eastern 11/02/2011)
The Modernized e-File System has scheduled maintenance to its portals (known as the "F5 redirect") to take place over the next few days starting on Thursday, November 3, 2011 through Saturday, November 5, 2011. During this timeframe you may encounter an error message "Secure FTP error occur in RunReceiver". If you encounter this error message, please clear all DNS cache and restart all your connections.
Important Payment Information: (posted 6:30 pm, Eastern 09/30/2011)
Taxpayers affected by Hurricane Irene were given an extension for certain tax filing and payment deadlines. The third quarter estimated tax (Form 1040ES) payment which would normally be due September 15, 2011 was extended till October 31, 2011. However, the third quarter payment will not be accepted via the MeF program after September 22, 2011. Taxpayers needing to submit the third quarter payment after September 22, 2011 must use another payment option such as the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS), credit/debit card, or check or money order. For information about electronic payments visit the Electronic Payment Options Home Page.
For up-to-date information on Disaster Relief please visit the article on IRS.gov titled
MeF Scheduled Maintenance to Portals (posted 9:30 pm, Eastern on October 28, 2011
The Modernized e-File System has scheduled maintenance to its portals (known as the "F5 redirect") on Saturday, October 29, 2011 from 1:00 am, Eastern to 8:00 pm, Eastern. During this timeframe you may encounter an error message "Secure FTP error occur in RunReceiver". If you encounter this error message, please clear all DNS cache and restart all your connections.
IRS Gives Truckers Three-Month Extension; Highway Use Tax Return due November 30, 2011 (posted 3:30 pm, Eastern 07/19/2011)
The Internal Revenue Service recently advised truckers and other owners of heavy highway vehicles that their next federal highway use tax return, usually due August 31, will instead be due on November 30, 2011.
As a result of this decision, the Tax Year 2011 Schema has been temporarily removed from the MeF Form 2290 Schema page.
Please review the article posted to the Newsroom on the for more details.
ATS and Production Conference Call (updated 2:30 pm, Eastern on April 20, 2011)
We want to thank you for your participation on the ATS and Production Conference Calls. These calls will resume again sometime in September, additional information will be posted as we approach the extended due date peak processing time.
Issues and the resolution captured from the January through April calls:
Important Message: (updated at 3:30 pm EST on 9/9/11)
MeF experienced intermittent errors in Production and ATS that was related to a temporary power outage at one of the IRS computing centers. The problem has been resolved and we apologize for any inconvenience casued.
Intermittent Errors Being Reported for MeF Production (updated 3:00 pm, Eastern on 09/06/ 2011)
The intermittent errors reported earlier today for MeF Production and ATS have been resolved and you should be able to login and transmit service requests. Thanks for your patience today while we resolved the problem with the MeF system.
If you encounter production problems in the future please report issues to the MeFMailbox@IRS.gov.
Intermittent Errors Being Reported for MeF Production (updated 1:30 pm, Eastern on 09/06/2011)
Intermittent errors are being reported by several transmitters when logging into MeF Production and MeF ATS, the errors being reported are “Authorization Failure” and “Authentication Error”. The IRS is diligently looking into this issue and we will post an update as soon as we determine what is causing these errors and when this will be resolved.
Update: MeF has resolved the problems causing the intermittent "Connection Reset" problem (Revised on August 1, 2011 at 11:30 am, Eastern). You can resume transmitting production and test submissions, transmitting other service requests, and getting acknowledgements.
MeF Scheduled Maintenance to Portals (posted 3:00 pm, Eastern on June 13, 2011)
The Modernized e-File System has scheduled maintenance to its portals (known as the "F5 redirect") on Tuesday, June 14, 2011 from 6:00 am, Eastern to 6:00 pm, Eastern. During this timeframe you may encounter an error message "Secure FTP error occur in RunReceiver". If you encounter this error message, please clear all DNS cache and restart all your connections.
New Form 1040 Business Rules not on the Version 2010v4.0 listing (posted 2/13/2011 at 14:30 EST)
There were three new Business Rules for Form 1040 added to MeF on Sunday, February 13, 2011 that are not listed on the Business Rule listing currently on IRS.gov. They are:
R0000 - 512: Form 1040, Line 6c(2), each 'DependentSSN must not match the Primary SSN or Spouse SSN on another return and was not claimed as an exemption on that return.
F1040 - 188: (First Time Homebuyer's Credit): IRS records indicate that a First Time Homebuyer's credit was taken. Therefore, this return must not be filed through Modernized e-file (MeF).
R0000 - 510: Spouse SSN in the Return Header cannot be the same as a Primary SSN on another tax return.
BMF Extender Legislation (updated at 3:30 pm, Eastern on 2/25/2011)
The revised schemas for the impacted business tax returns will be available for software testing in the ATS environment beginning approximately at 8:00 am, Eastern on 2/27/2011.
The revised schemas for the impacted business tax returns will be available for production processing beginning approximately at 8:00 am, Eastern on 3/6/2011.
An addendum to Form 1120, Form 1120F, and Form 1120S Business Rules for schema version 2010v2.3 is posted on the IRS.gov schema page. This addendum reflects revised business rules impacted by the BMF Extender Legislation
MeF Scheduled Maintenance to Portals (posted 2:30 pm, Eastern on 3/17/2011)
The Modernized e-File system has scheduled maintenance to its portals (known as the "F5 redirect") on Saturday, March 19, 2011 from 6:00 am, Eastern to 8:30 pm, Eastern. During this timeframe you may encounter an error message "Secure FTP error occur in RunReceiver". If you encounter this error message, please clear all DNS cache and restart all your connections. If this procedure does not resolve this error message then please use server la2.www4.irs.gov.
Service Error 405: (added at 10:10 am, Eastern on 1/18/11)
IFA Filers are intermittently receiving a Microsoft Explorer Service Error 405.
To get past this generic error message please go into browser Tools » Internet Options » Advanced and uncheck “Show friendly HTTP error messages”, select Save, then retransmit the package.
