The electronic form specifications are totally different from the paper version of the form. The IRS must issue them, the software company design to them and the IRS must then approve the software companies software before it can be released (i.e the e-file companies encrypted data must be able to be decrypted by the IRS so back and forth testing is required before release). That is usually 2-4 weeks after the paper version has been released (maybe longer with the Gov shutdown).
The 4562 is currently slated for Jan 31 but could be slipped.
**Disclaimer: This post is for discussion purposes only and is NOT tax advice. The author takes no responsibility for the accuracy of any information in this post.**
