Questions and Answers (ETSA)2043FY-26-R-00007 5_20_26 .pdf

Vendor Question and Answer RFQ 2043FY-26-R-00007 Electronic Tax Preparation and Transmission Software Support (ETSA)

Question No.

Question Answer/Response

1. Scope & Requirements Clarification Please confirm whether the procurement software solution should be commercial off-the-shelf (COTS), custom-developed, or a hybrid approach tailored to Treasury/IRS needs.

Product should be commercial off—the-shelf (COTS) Please See section C on page 17 of the SOW.

2. Are there mandatory security compliance requirements? Such as SSDF alignment, NIST 800-53 controls, IRS Publication 1075, or FedRAMP that must be met at award, or can they be achieved prior to deployment?

• IRS Publication 4812, Contractor Security & Privacy Controls

• Including NIST SP 800-53

• NIST SP 800-61

• Companies who have passed ATS efile testing for a given Tax Year to efile returns for the 1040 family All must be met within 2 weeks after award.

Refer to Section 4.5 Regulatory, Security and Privacy Standards (Pages 27–28); Section 4.2.1.1 ATS Requirement (Page 19);

Publication 4812 references (Pages 60-78); Security Clauses FISMA Cybersecurity Requirements (Pages 86–92)

3. Does the IRS anticipate integration with existing ETSA systems, internal IRS databases, or volunteer-facing platforms currently in use?

No. The IRS does not anticipate integration with existing ETSA systems, internal IRS databases, or volunteer-facing platforms under this requirement.

4. Are there minimum performance metrics (uptime, response time, concurrency thresholds) that the solution must meet to support the nationwide volunteer network?

See Attachment 4 the Quality Surveillance Plan (QASP)

5. Please clarify whether data migration, retention, or archiving services are expected as part of the contract scope.

Yes, In the Statement of Work it states a method to carry forward permissible data to the next year’s tax return within each software version. (Page 7)

6. Technical Proposal Submission Guidelines Please confirm the required proposal structure, including section order, page limits, and formatting standards (font, spacing, file type).

See Section L of the Solicitation Instructions, Conditions, and Notice to Offerors (Page 103)

7. Are resumes required for all proposed personnel or only designated key personnel?

No. Resumes are not required as part of the proposal submission.

8. Should the technical volume include system architecture diagrams, workflow descriptions, or data-flow models?

While not explicitly required in the SOW, inclusion of system architecture diagrams, workflows, and data-flow models is recommended to demonstrate compliance with software, security, reporting, and portal requirements described in Sections 4.2 through 4.11.

See Technical Page limitations

9. Are screenshots, mockups, or sample dashboards permitted in the technical volume?

The SOW does not prohibit screenshots, mockups, or dashboards. Additionally, Section 4.8 references the Government’s ability to use screenshots and product information, indicating such materials are acceptable and potentially beneficial.

10. Does Treasury require a Quality Control Plan, Risk Management Plan, or both as part of the submission?

Yes. Offerors shall follow all applicable requirements and guidance outlined in IRS Publication 4812, including any Quality Control Plan and Risk Management Plan requirements. Page 61

11. Budget & Pricing Requirements Please confirm the required contract type (Firm-Fixed-Price, Time-and-Materials, or hybrid).

The required contract type will be Firm Fixed Price (FFP).

12. Is a detailed cost breakdown required, including labor hours, indirect rates, materials, software licenses, and subcontractor costs?

Yes. Offerors shall provide a detailed cost breakdown that includes labor hours, indirect rates, materials, software licenses, and any applicable subcontractor costs.

13. Will Treasury provide a pricing template, or should offerors submit their own structured pricing table?

The Government has provided a pricing line item format.

Offerors may submit a separate cost breakdown as part of their proposal submission.

14. Should option years be priced individually or consolidated into a single pricing matrix?

Option years should be priced individually within the pricing line item.

15. Are travel costs allowable, and if so, should they be priced as not-to-exceed or estimated?

Travel shall be included as part of the offeror’s Firm Fixed Price (FFP) proposal.

16. Should software licensing fees be priced as annual renewals or multi-year bundles?

Software licensing fees should be priced as annual renewals.

17. Staffing & Past Performance Requirements Please confirm the number of required past performance references and whether CPARS reports are mandatory.

Offerors should provide three (3) past performance references.

CPARS reports are not mandatory but may be included if available. See Instruction in section L.

18. Are subcontractors permitted, and if so, should their past performance and staffing details be included?

Yes. Subcontractors are permitted, and their relevant past performance and staffing details should be included in the proposal.

19. Is a Staffing Plan required for all periods of performance or only the base year?

A Staffing Plan is required for all periods of performance, including the base year and all option years.

20. Are key personnel subject to approval, replacement restrictions, or minimum qualification requirements?

Yes, key personnel are subject to approval, replacement restrictions, or minimum qualification requirements. Key personnel require background checks. Refer to Section 10.3 (Page 35)

21. Does Treasury require any specific personnel certifications (cybersecurity, project management, software engineering)?

Follow FISMA guidelines see Pub 4812

22. Evaluation Criteria Please confirm the evaluation factors and their relative importance (technical, past performance, price).

Evaluation factors will include Technical Capability, Past Performance, and Price. Technical Capability and Past Performance, when combined, are more important than Price.

See section L & M.

23. Will Treasury use a Best Value Tradeoff or Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA) approach?

Treasury will use a Best Value Tradeoff approach for this procurement.

24. Are oral presentations, product demonstrations, or software walkthroughs anticipated?

The Government reserves the right to request clarification, demonstrations, or walkthroughs during evaluation.

25. Will innovation, scalability, or user experience be evaluated as part of the technical factor?

See solicitation and Statement of Work.

26. Administrative & Submission Requirements Please confirm the required submission method (email, portal, file size limits)?

See Section L of the Solicitation Instructions, Conditions, and Notice to Offerors (Page 103)

27. Are multiple volumes required (Technical, Price, Past Performance), and should they be submitted as separate files?

See Section L of the Solicitation Instructions, Conditions, and Notice to Offerors (Page 103)

28. Is SAM.gov registration validation required at submission or only at award?

Offerors must maintain an active SAM.gov registration at the time of proposal submission and through contract award.

29. Are there restrictions on subcontractor teaming agreements or joint ventures?

No specific restrictions are anticipated on subcontractor teaming agreements or joint ventures; however, all arrangements must comply with applicable federal procurement regulations and solicitation requirements. The government will issue one contract to the prime. See Clause 52.219-14 Limitations on Subcontracting

30. Will Treasury accept follow-up questions after the initial Q&A deadline if clarifications arise during proposal development?

No. Treasury will not accept follow-up questions after the established Q&A deadline.

31. Contract Management & Deliverables Please confirm the required deliverables, including frequency, format, and approval process.

Deliverables are located in the Statement of Work – Section

4.3.2 (Page 23)

• Weekly management reports from January through April

• Monthly management reports May through October Formatting instructions can be found on Page 34, Section 8.

32. Does Treasury require a Transition-In Plan and Transition-Out Plan?

Yes, please refer to the Statement of Work – 4.6 & 4.7

33. Are there specific reporting tools, dashboards, or templates that contractors must use?

In the Statement of Work it states, “They should also be able to customize reports by adding the features they require and exporting the file in a readable format such as MS Excel”, page 7 – 4.3.1

34. Will Treasury provide a Government-Furnished Information (GFI) or Government-Furnished Equipment (GFE) list?

Yes. The Government provides the IRS Common Operating Environment (COE) requirements, baseline hardware/software environment specifications, supported browsers, drivers, operating systems, and required compatibility standards within the solicitation. Offerors are responsible for ensuring their software operates within the IRS COE and VITA COE environments. Refer to Section 11 (Pages 36 – 48)

35. Should EIN and SAM.gov registration details be included directly within the proposal submission?

Yes. Offerors should include their EIN, UEI and SAM.gov registration details within the proposal submission.

36. Can we request the name of the incumbent vendor and their contract number?

The Incumbent: Rhodes Computer Services, Inc.

Contract No. 2032H5-21-D-00002

37. What is the total award value of the ongoing contract held by the incumbent vendor?

See USA Spending or SAM.Gov for contract value.

38. I have looked and did not see any current RFI's to respond to yet but do look forward to finding out more.

All of the Solicitation information can be found on Sam.gov

2043FY-26-R-00007_V1.

39. Will the Government release a final Solicitation? Yes, the Government has released the final Solicitation. All of the Solicitation information can be found on Sam.gov 2043FY- 26-R-00007_V1

40. Section L.4.2 Technical Capability: Paragraph 1, Page 106-107 Will you upload and provide the TECHNICAL/FUNCTIONAL CAPABILITIES VERIFICATION document that list the requirements?

See Section L & M and the solicitation 2043FY-26-R-00007.

41. Section L.4.6 Instructions for Pricing Information, Paragraph 1, Will you upload and provide a Pricing Table Spreadsheet that contains the line items and a workbook for each year?

See Section B of the solicitation for the format.

42. Section L.4.4 Software Capability: Paragraph 2, Page 107 Will you please provide the address where a USB flash drive can be sent via USPS, UPS, or FedEx?

Yes, the Government will provide the mailing address for delivery of USB flash drives via USPS, UPS, or FedEx.

Sasha Lanes

TS:CAR:SPEC:HQ:PS

401 West Peachtree St. NW Mail Stop 54-TS Atlanta, GA 30308

43. Section L.4.5 Subcontracting Plan: Paragraph 1, Page 108 Will you upload and provide a Subcontracting plan template?

No, the Government will not provide a Subcontracting Plan template. Offerors should use their own format that complies with solicitation requirements.

44. Section L.1.2 Format Requirements: Paragraph 1, page 103 Can we submit the Technical Proposal Documents as PDF rather than .docx to prevent any format issues?

Yes, Technical Proposal documents may be submitted in PDF format in lieu of .docx to avoid formatting issues.

45. Section L.3.1 Submission Method: Paragraph (2) Technical Redacted Copy (Public/Administrative Version), Page 105 Do we need to submit the redacted version at this time if we mark the pages as "Use or disclosure of data contained on this sheet is subject to the restriction on the title page of this proposal.", as well as including the appropriate wording on the Title Page.

Yes, offerors are still required to submit both the Technical Unredacted Copy and the Technical Redacted Copy as specified in the solicitation instructions. Marking pages with restrictive legends or proprietary notices does not eliminate the requirement to provide a separately redacted version for public/administrative use.

46. Do you have any attachments that lay out details for this solicitation? I would need to know things like what are minimum requirements of the software I am to provide and how many personnel would be needed to provide support to tax preparers.

Please refer to the solicitation attachments and supporting documents associated with Solicitation/Notice ID 2043FY-26- R-00007_V1.