How to resolve Lacerte diagnostic ref 16791 - Taxpayer daytime telephone number is required

This article will help you resolve the critical e-file diagnostic:

• A taxpayer daytime telephone number is required for electronic filing (ref #16791)

This diagnostic will generate if the telephone number hasn't been entered for the taxpayer, or if the options are set to suppress the phone number and the state requires it to be present.

Follow these steps to resolve this diagnostic and avoid e-file rejection:

1. Go to Screen 1, Client Information.
2. Scroll down to the Taxpayer Contact Information section.
3. Make sure that the taxpayer telephone number is entered.
4. Confirm the Daytime Telephone # dropdown is correctly selected.

If the telephone number is entered correctly, the option will need to be changed. This can be changed globally or per client.

To change the option globally:

1. From the Settings menu, choose Options.
2. Select the Tax Return tab.
3. Scroll down to the Federal Tax Options section.
4. Locate the field Daytime Telephone Number and select Print from the dropdown.

To change the option per client:

1. Go to Screen 3, Miscellaneous Information.
2. Enter a 1 in the field Daytime phone: 1=print, 2= print (suppress when optional), 3= suppress [O].