CA FTB Electronic Payment Requirement

[AngelicaD]

What happened to the box on Screen 3 CA Miscellaneous that allowed us to mark a tax client as Requires Electronic Payment?  For tracking purposes, we need to have an option to mark these clients as required to pay their CA tax liability electronically. This option needs to be permanent and automatically carried forward each year. If not, and the client pays by check then the FTB will assess a penalty.

There is a box for Participant in EFT/Web Pay Program,  but if I check this box and the client has opted to electronically pay their tax liability through LaCerte's e-pay, then I get a diagnostic (ref# 60810). 

If I uncheck the box for Participant in EFT/Web Pay Program,  then I receive a diagnostic (ref# 12550) that the client has e-payment requirement. 

LaCerte needs to fix this. Make it make sense LaCerte!

[George4Tacks]

If you press F1 at that box you get this, which says this is the new replacement box for "If Requires Electronic Payments"

1 If Requires Electronic Payments

CA Miscellaneous

Screen 3; Code 1105

Select the box or enter 1 if the taxpayer is required to make payments electronically. If you enter 1, the program includes sections in the filing instructions and client letter instructing the taxpayers to transmit payments to the FTB electronically using either FTB’s Web Pay or paying by credit card rather than submitting paper checks with the tax return or estimated payment vouchers. Also, checking the box suppresses forms 540-ES and/or 540-V.

The client letter and filing instructions remain unchanged for returns that are electronically filed and both boxes for “Electronic payment of balance due” as well as “Electronic payment of estimated tax” have been checked in the Electronic Only subsection of the California Direct Debit input section in Screen 3. Check the box for “Requires Electronic Payments” to eliminate the related diagnostic.

My reading for the 60810 error code is it can be ignored if you are sure FTB will be accepting of direct debit, vs payment through the FTB EFT. Maybe @IntuitGabi could reach out for some clarification.

[AndresVTB]

I called about this yesterday, the rep said it is an intentional change by Lacerte, that they were asked to do it. We don't like it.