Important Notes
Supported Tax Returns
Support: Federal and all State 1040 tax returns.
Not supported: Locality, state-only filings, and US-1040-NR.
Only long-form 1040 returns are supported (1040EZ and 1040A are not).
Required Forms in Tax Return PDF
Federal & State 1040 forms.
Federal Form 8879.
Estimated payment vouchers/payment vouchers (if applicable).
State 8879 form is required for these states:
Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, Washington DC, and West Virginia.
PDF Preparation Requirements
Use the native print function of your tax software (do not use a PDF print driver).
Ensure the PDF:
Is not password protected
Has watermarks disabled
Includes the taxpayer’s email address on page 2 of the Federal 1040
Combines Federal and State returns into a single PDF (do not upload multiple PDFs).
Drake Setup and Printing Instructions
Before a return is ready to print, it must have a signature date on the 8879.
Select the PIN screen from the client data entry page.
Ensure the PIN signature date is selected.
From the data input screen, select View/Print to print a single return.
To print in bulk, select the printer icon from the tax return dashboard.
Select the returns you want to print.
Select Print.
The following instructions will make the printing process more efficient.
From the document print page, select Setup > Printing.
Select 'Sets' Setup.
In the Client set, set Drake PDF Printer as the default printer.
Make sure the Print set box is checked.
When bulk printing, disable the automatic opening of the PDFs.
Select Edit Printer Settings Tab.
Select Drake PDF Printer from the dropdown.
Uncheck Launch Adobe after creating a Drake PDF.
Select Update > Save.
From the form select screen, select the Sets tab > Clients.
Ensure that the Client Set is configured to include the eFile Authorization Forms, Estimates, and Payment Vouchers.
Select the Print icon.
Make sure the Drake PDF Printer is selected next to Client.
Uncheck Select/Unselect All password checkboxes.
Select Print.
A Save As box will open.
If you have Drake Documents enabled, the pdf will default to save in the Drake Documents directory for the client.
Select Save.
If bulk printing, select Next to navigate to the next client to print, and repeat the previous steps to select the print set, print options, and save location.