Settings and EF Messages

A number of conditions affect whether a return appears on the EF Return Selector and whether the selection box is available. The most common are these:

Require 'Ready for EF' indicator on EF screen (Setup > Option > EF tab)	Ready for EF indicator (EF screen)	Condition	Return shows on EF selector?
selected	without X indicator	any	no
selected	with X indicator	EF message	no
selected	with X indicator	suppressed return	shows without selection box
selected	with X indicator	clean	shows with selection box
not selected	doesn’t matter	EF message	no
not selected	doesn’t matter	suppressed return	shows without selection box
not selected	doesn’t matter	clean	shows with selection box

EF Return Selector Screen Message Column

Use the EF Return Selector to select returns you intend to e-file. It is accessed in Drake Tax by going to EF > Select Returns for EF. The Messages column provides information about problems with transmission eligibility. You can review the message by double clicking it. These message codes are similar to EF codes located on the Online EF Database.

Message codes indicate the following:

• X - a message page on the main form (i.e., 1040, 1120)

• Y - a message on ETD Message page

• Z - a message page on both the main form and the ETD.

The following codes may also be referenced on the EF Return Selector:

• B - Bank Product

• A - Accepted

• R - Rejected

• T - Transmitted

Unable to Find EF Data

If you're seeing a message referring to the EIN or SSN of a specific return, use the following troubleshooting steps:

• Verify data locations and then recalculate the return. If that does not resolve the problem, follow these additional steps:

• Delete the print file for the named return (Tools > File Maintenance > Delete Print Files).

• Repair the indexes by going to Tools > Repair Index Files > Repair all indexes.

• Open the return and repair it (from the main data entry screen, press Ctrl + Shift + R)​

  Caution  Ctrl + Shift + R removes unneeded state files. A 709 Gift Tax return also can be removed when using this function. Read the warning screens carefully before responding if the return you are in has a Form 709.

• Recalculate the return.

This problem is sometimes associated with a return for which the file type has been changed.

Expired Returns

Due to state requirements, any returns calculated more than 7 days before you try to transmit will have Expired Return as their status.

Those returns will:

• Display a date more than 7 days old in the Last Calc column

• Be unavailable to select

• Be grayed out

To change the return’s status to Ready For EF:

• Recalculate the return.

• Confirm no new messages are displayed on the Calculation Window or on the Messages page of View/Print mode.

• Return to the EF Return Selector.