About this guide The PTIN system has implemented numerous accessibility features in compliance with federal regulations. This guide is intended to assist people using assistive technologies while using the Tax Professional PTIN System (TPPS). The guide provides direction in accessing the site's features using specific assistive technologies, including screen readers, screen magnifiers and speech recognition software. Application overview TPPS allows you to sign-up and renew your Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN), keep your account information current, view continuing education credits, and receive communications from the IRS Return Preparer Office. Technologies, issues and guidance Elements not visible in high contrast If you enter TPPS with the High Contrast settings on, some elements will not be visible. These include: Header - IRS Logo (not visible with white contrast display) Actions & Requests table – actions links (not visible with blue contrast display) General Public Portal Behavior & Guidance The following TPPS public portal behavior and guidance is relevant to all users, including users navigating the portal with accessibility tools. Field labels defined within the data entry box: Please wait for your accessibility tool to read the entire field name before you begin entering data in order to confirm which field you are entering information into. Field formatting requirements: Please wait for your accessibility tool to read the entire field name before you begin entering data, as the format of the field may be listed in the field name. Alternately, some fields will display their required format in an error message if the data you entered does not meet the specifications for that field. Popups/Modal: The focus on popup modals might get lost. Depending on the desired user action, users can either continue tabbing through the popup to navigate to the link of interest or select the esc key on their keyboard to dismiss the popup. Tabbing Order: On some pages, users will need to tab through the content more than once to reach their desired location within the page. This primarily impacts pages within the registration flow that contain tiles, as well as pages where the calendar picker is present, the Secure Mailbox, and Professional Credential pages. Zoom: While zoomed in at over 200%, users might not have access to the entire application. In these instances, users can use mouse keys to navigate to their desired location within the application. Follow these steps to use mouse keys: 1) Go to Ease of Access; 2) Click on the mouse section; 3) Turn on mouse keys; 4) Check the Only use Mouse Keys when Num Lock is on; 5) Turn on NumLock; 6) Use numbers 2, 4, 8, and 6 to move the mouse and use number 5 to click page objects. Focus: Users should use shift or tab keys on their keyboard to get focus on the desired page element or field. Keyboard – Known Issues Unnecessary Decorative Image Label There is an unnecessary label description output for the US Flag and Form icons displayed across the application. These decorative images are not pertinent to navigating the application and, therefore, their label descriptions should be ignored. Calendar Date Picker Calendar date pickers in the portal are not always keyboard accessible. Users can work around this limitation by entering the respective date directly into the date field in MM/DD/YYYY format. JAWS and Mac VoiceOver (Screen Reader) – Known Issues Duplicative and Extra Information Read JAWS and Mac VoiceOver reads information on pages in a duplicative manner. Users should be aware that this is the case, and that they can continue to select links, or enter data despite the duplicative text that is read. This occurs on the Account Pre-Screening page, Date of Birth field, Login widget, and links on the AFSP Dashboard page. Payment Terms and Conditions Screen readers will announce the Payment Terms and Conditions despite these not being visually displayed to the user. Users should be aware that this happens on this page and that all text will be read. Tool Tips When a user tabs to tooltip, screen readers will announce “empty tool tip” to the user, which should not be announced. Users should ignore this message while on the Tax Year field. Tiles Screen readers announce the tool tip of tiles located on the main menu page but not the text displayed on the tiles. Users can proceed by selecting the tile associated with the tooltip that applies to them. Show Numbers Command When using ‘show numbers’ command on a page with a modal, elements behind the modal are also recognized. When using ‘show numbers’ command on the calendar date picker, user is unable to navigate calendar with those same commands Focus is lost when ‘show numbers’ command is in use For all these cases, users should use the ‘show grid’ command to fine tune page selections. Alternatively, users can select the number associated with the date field for the calendar date picker and dictate the date as opposed to using the calendar picker.