Review shows I need Form 8396 or Mortgage Interest Credit, yet I have entered all the data on forms to produce this. Should I wait on something more from IRS?

[lonnieash1]

I have recorded INT form from mortgage company, and MCC from state, and all the numbers are correct. 8396 should be able to be produced.  Turbo help person said I have to wait on 8396 form to be approved by IRS, yet I printed approved form out on printer.

[PattiF]

The form is not available yet on TurboTax. Here is a list  of form availability dates. You can search using Control F and enter the form number in the search box.

[taxes_due]

I am having similar issues. 8396 is filled out but says "DO NOT FILE" keeps saying "Ready Soon"

[JillS56]

If the form is showing DO NOT FILE this means that the form has not yet been completed.   You will need to wait until the form is ready to file.  The anticipated date for completion is 3/3/2022.   You can check the Form Availability List by clicking on the link below.

Form Availability List

[LaurieIRS]

That advice is incorrect. The 2021 Form 8396 is available currently on irs.gov 2021 Form 8396 (irs.gov)

[LaurieIRS]

Since the Form IS NOW AVAILABLE on irs.gov, when will TurboTax be updating the software? Could sure use the refund this credit will provide. If Turbo Tax won't push the Form 8396 out until the March 3 date, I will file by mail instead of online. 

[RobertB4444]

The IRS started this filing season further behind than they have ever been in history.  Dealing with the IRS this year is not the same as the IRS of past years.  

This is the national taxpayer advocate's report to Congress for this year.  It's got a lot of information in it but its biggest takeaways are that the IRS started 2021's filing season with 6 million 2020 returns, 2.3 million amended returns, 5 million quarterly returns and 5 million pieces of correspondence unprocessed.  That was how they started the year.

It's just getting more interesting from there.

So the IRS finalizes their forms and then the states finalize their forms.  And then the TurboTax programmers get the forms and have to integrate them into the TurboTax program.  Then there is testing to make sure that the newly added forms work with the program properly.  Then they are rolled out to the public.  As inconvenient as the waiting is it will still get your tax return processed faster than paper filing it.

[LaurieIRS]

Yes, I'm certainly aware that the IRS had a hard time keeping up with the 2020 filing season. As a recent IRS retiree, I also have read the Taxpayer Advocate's reports for years. The fact is, the Form 8396 is published and available for Turbo Tax to upload. The form is the same as in prior years. Since the Mortgage Interest Credit is a Federal Tax Credit, it does not impact a taxpayer's AGI nor in any way impact state tax returns.  This should be an easy, quick fix for Turbo Tax. 

[Cynthiad66]

@LaurieIRS

I wish it was as simple as it seems.   That form interacts with several other forms that are also still in process. There are several steps to getting a fix implemented at TurboTax because we have to first,  get the finalized form from the IRS or the states.  Then, TurboTax has to create an electronic copy of the form and get it approved by the state.  TurboTax must then code then test  the software and do not forget that it then must be approved by the IRS or the state.  There are many issues going on and TurboTax is working as best they can to expeditiously solve the problems so that the customer can file their tax return.