The Future Is Here.

This article reports on the enhance electronic-file system developed and implemented by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to simplify the filing process for corporate returns. Enhancing the outdated, proprietary IRS technology has been a massive undertaking, not without delays and challenges. The earlier electronic filing system did not allow electronic filing of corporate tax returns, was not designed to accept returns from large companies--often more than 50,000 pages in length, and could not accommodate Word or Portable Document Format attachments. The good news is the IRS has overcome these obstacles. The future is here, and a diverse range of tax professionals--from staff accountants to CFO--can take advantage of the new system for the upcoming tax season. The benefits apply to taxpayers--large and small corporations, sole practitioners and accounting firms as well as to certified public accountants who are working for corporations of all sizes. For the first time, corporations and tax-exempt organizations can file their returns electronically. In February 2004, the 1120 and 1120S returns with 53 forms and schedules and the 990 series--corporate income returns and nonprofit informational returns, respectively--joined an array of common forms already available for electronic filing, including employment taxes (forms 940 and 941), partnership returns (form 1065) and estates and trusts (form 1041). Corporations with multiple subsidiary companies can even electronically file complex consolidated returns. INSETS: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY;PRACTICAL TIPS TO REMEMBER.