1. How does a state request to be added or deleted to the CF/SF Program? State coordinators need to contact their IRS government liaison to request a state be added to or deleted from the CFSF program. Requests must be submitted by January 1 and the request will be implemented the following tax year. For example: To be added or deleted to the CFSF program for tax year 2022, the request would need to be submitted by January 1, 2022. 2. How often is the CFSF file run? The CFSF program files are provided to participating states six times a year approximately: Calendar Week #14 (Early April) - includes data processed from weeks 1 – 13 Calendar Week #20 (Early May) - includes data processed from weeks 14 – 19 Calendar Week #25 (Mid June) - includes data processed from weeks 20-24 Calendar Week #30 (Late July) - includes data processed from weeks 25-29 Calendar Week #37 (Early Sept) - includes data processed from weeks 30-36 Calendar Week #51 (Late Dec) - includes data processed from weeks 37-50 Runs are not cumulative, meaning the files are separate and distinct. 3. How soon after IRS receives a Form 1099-G is it uploaded to the extract? It depends on when the taxpayer transmits. There is no specific turnaround from the time they transmit to the FIRE system to the point it gets posted on the FIRE file from which we extract the 1099s. 4. Why aren’t the delivery dates more specific? Each cycle run may have a different date based on production cycles in connection with the yearly calendar. Additionally, if any problems arise, developers may need time to correct the problem. At best, we provide a general date of when to expect the CFSF extract to the participating state agency. 5. When can the state expect the data from CFSF? A state must apply to the program. Once a state starts participating in the program, it takes a year before those records start appearing in the CFSF system. The timing of the request is important as well as changes are incorporated into the FIRE system toward the end of the calendar year. For example, if the state applies for CFSF in October 2021, the records would most likely appear out of CFSF in the first distribution of CFSF data in April 2023 to the participating state agency. 6. Where do the states get the CFSF data? CFSF files are put on secure file servers and await pickup from participating state agencies. Each participating state must have a representative go through a process to get access to the CFSF file server and pull the data. 7. Would the states able to choose which information returns we receive, or would all returns submitted through the CFSF by a filer, be provided to us? The states cannot choose individual returns to receive. All returns transmitted are pulled from the FIRE system and provided to the state agency. 8. Are states able to receive payer totals for their state only? Yes, the data is per participating state agency.ody Text 9. What is the job-run-file (JRF) ID number? The JRF ID number is the main program code in the IRS mainframe. The main program for the CFSF program is I42753. Both the program and the Job Control Language (JCL) to run it use this code to identify it in the system. 10. Can the state request CFSF data analysis? No. For example, it would be undeterminable to know if there are any duplicates or updates to individual records, such as if someone files 1099-K more than one time. We do not have the means to determine variances in the number of records from one year to the next. That would be up to the participating state to determine through their process of using the data. 11. Will the extract have the particular data the state is looking for? That would be unknown to the CFSF program. Publication 1220 lists the 1099s and the fields extracted for the CFSF program. There is no additional analysis beyond that. 12. Can the states test with CFSF? No. Publication 1220, Specifications for Electronic Filing of Forms 1097, 1098, 1099, 3921, 3922, 5498, 8935, and W-2G, is written for the payers/transmitters submitting the electronic information returns to the IRS, not for the states picking up the information. The test period referenced in Publication 1220 is for the FIRE test. The test environment contains formatting information, it does not contain “live” data. The test environment does not have a data flow like the production environment. The data is not processed in the FIRE system; nor is it sent forward for processing. Since it does not come out of the FIRE process, CFSF has no way of testing it. 13. How are the records in the file organized? Data file to state agencies All the forms come in one file. The file is fixed length, but has variable records within it based on record type: A, B, K & T. (See Publication 1220 for breakdown of those types). The A record leads a group of B records which contain the individual amounts. The B records are then followed by K records which summarize the As and Bs. After the K records are another group of A, Bs and Ks until the end of the file. There can be A records without any Bs or Ks following. Lastly, there will be T records which are the summary of the entire file for each form possible. We are processing 10 form types so there should be 10 T recs at the bottom of the file for each participating state agency. A record..B records..K records..A record..B records..K records..T records There is a major difference from the T record submitted to the Fire program and the T record sent out from CFSF program to participating state agencies. The CFSF T record is a total (sum) of all the dollar amounts from each type of 1099 form possible for output for a particular cycle/week’s delivery. CFSF currently processes 10 1099 forms, so there will be 10 T records at the end of the file. If any on the 1099 types are not present in the file, a T record would not be created for it. If forms are added or subtracted as part of the CFSF program, then the number of T records will change as well. The T record will contain the sum of the amount variables. The amount variables 1-9, A, B, & C have different meanings depending on what form type the T record is describing. Refer to the form type record description to determine what the amount means for that form. The T records should match what is in the control file. T record layout Length FieldName Comment 2 REC_TYPE “T” 2 STATE_CODE STATE CODE 2 RET_TYPE The code for one of 10 forms 8 NUM_AREC The number of A records 8 NUM_BREC The number of B records 8 NUM_KREC The number of K records 16 TOTPAY_AMNT_1 Amount field defined per form type 16 TOTPAY_AMNT_2 Amount field defined per form type 16 TOTPAY_AMNT_3 Amount field defined per form type 16 TOTPAY_AMNT_4 Amount field defined per form type 16 TOTPAY_AMNT_5 Amount field defined per form type 16 TOTPAY_AMNT_6 Amount field defined per form type 16 TOTPAY_AMNT_7 Amount field defined per form type 16 TOTPAY_AMNT_8 Amount field defined per form type 16 TOTPAY_AMNT_9 Amount field defined per form type 16 TOTPAY_AMNT_A Amount field defined per form type 16 TOTPAY_AMNT_B Amount field defined per form type 16 TOTPAY_AMNT_C Amount field defined per form type Control file For each data file sent to participating state agencies, there is also a control file. The control file contains the record counts and the sum of the amount values from all the forms processed for an individual participating state agency. Note: The control file does not display properly in Notepad. The control file should have a .csv extension. If it has .txt extension, change the extension to .csv and double click the file. It should read directly into Excel. If you do not have Excel, use WordPad to read the control file. But you must turn word wrap off! 14. Who do state coordinators contact for questions? State coordinators should contact their government liaison representative. Payers and transmitters should refer to Publication 1220 PDF, Part A Sec 12, Combined Federal/State Filing (CFSF) program, for information.
