Scenarios

Drake Tax includes the following test or practice returns:

500-00-1001

500-00-1002

500-00-1003

500-00-1004

500-00-1005

500-00-1006

500-00-1007

500-00-1008

Use of these returns for training purposes is described online at the Drake Software Support website > Training > Practice Returns.

Prior Year

The scenarios are for the current year of Drake Tax. Prior year practice returns and solutions can be requested by contacting the Drake Education Department at Education@DrakeSoftware.com.

Those who have purchased Drake Tax for a future year (but have not licensed the current year), can use the current year in demo mode for training purposes. Those users will utilize the current year practice returns available on the support site. See Drake Tax – Trial Software for demo software limitations.

e-Filing

Drake Software recommends that you transmit at least one of the e-filing practice returns as a test to make sure you have a working connection. A test transmission is not required, but it may help you eliminate difficulties before you begin to transmit live.

On the Drake Software Support website > Training > Practice Returns, click e-Filing Practice Instructions to see instructions for electronic filing practice returns. The instructions describe how to prepare and e-file the returns, how to view acknowledgments and how to correct issues in the return that cause e-filing rejection. These returns are not live and do not go beyond Drake Software - transmissions are between you and the Drake Software servers for e-filing practice.

Test acknowledgments are identified as Drake Transmission Acks and listed with IRS acks when you review old acknowledgments.

At EF > Process Acks, when there are no new acks to process, you're offered the option to review old acknowledgments. Selecting Yes opens the Review Old Acknowledgments dialog box, which defaults to display IRS Acks received within the last day (to extend the date range, use the Limit Days Shown drop list). In that display, test acknowledgments are listed as Drake Transmission Acks.

Versions

At the Drake Support practice returns page (above), click Practice Return Instructions to see general instructions for entering the practice return scenarios listed on the page. These returns are for your data entry practice and cannot be e-filed. Each of the practice or test returns, and the corresponding solution, is available in a PDF document that you can download.

Updates

Drake Software continually updates the program and these updates may affect the solution of the practice returns. To see the most up-to-date practice return scenarios and solutions, go to the Drake Software Support website > Training > Practice Returns.

PCM/CSM

The Personal Client Manager (PCM) and Client Status Manager (CSM) are designed to track the status of live taxpayer returns, so you will not see practice returns listed in either place. Practice returns are shown under Recent Returns if you open the returns for testing.

PPR Users

When you try to open a test return with a prior-year test return number that is not in the current year of Drake Tax, the software must either update from the previous year (if the return exists there) or create a new return, either of which is chargeable against your activated PPRs. Entering any of the SSNs in the practice return scenarios will require you to redeem a banked PPR return. You cannot create a practice or test return by entering a random 40000 or 50000 series number without redeeming a PPR return. Instead, choose an existing test return from Open/Create.

For data entry practice with these scenarios, use an existing 50000 series test return (specific numbers above). You can change the name in an existing test return without redeeming another return, and you can use Archive Manager to swap out the original test return and various data entry scenarios.