The IRS reconsidered its position on extending e-file availability past Monday, October 17 to include the additional time allowed victims of a variety of natural disasters. The agency will keep its e-file system open through Monday, October 31, and cutoff times are as follows (N.B. times refer to local processing center time):

• The last production drain for corrected Tax Year 2010 Form 1040 returns will be on October 31, 2011, at 11:00 am.
• The Electronic Management System (EMS) will not be available after 11:00 am on October 31, 2011 for transmitting returns.
• The federal acknowledgement files must be picked up no later than 6:00 pm on October 31, 2011.
• The last production drain for corrected electronic tax document transmissions will be on October 31, 2011, at 11:59 pm. The system shuts down at 6:00 pm to prepare for the 2012 Filing Season.
• States must pick up, process files, and transmit state acknowledgments to EMS by 4:00 pm, November 2, 2011. All acknowledgement files must be retrieved no later than 6:00 pm November 2, 2011.

SUGGESTION: Basics suggests transmitting these returns no later than Friday, October 28, to allow for time to correct any rejected returns and to pick up acknowledgement files.