form 1040NR is paper filed only, why no e-file?

Anyone know why?

What software? What year return?
I believe efiling of 1040NRs was first available for 2016 returns.

We efiled 1040NRs for tax year 2016 (ultratax).

What's New
You can file your Form 1040NR electronically.
Beginning with your 2016 Form 1040NR, you can
electronically file (e-file) your return.
We encourage you to e-file. When you e-file
, you can save time, increase your accuracy, and more. For
additional information, see Options for e-filing your returns – safely, quickly, and easily , later, or go to IRS.gov and click on IRS e-file.

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040nr.pdf

It's very possible that although IRS now accepts E-file for 1040 NR your tax software company is not quite ready .I know with Drake software there are certain returns they don't support and I'm doing paper returns .

My client may think I lied to him about this, but I told him that e-file is available for year 2017 tax returns.
E-file can be done only with a tax identification number, or else they get rejected.

Most of our clients are foreign and lack a tax identification number most of the time, but they still want
a tax return prepared. So I go ahead and prepare it without a TIN, and file a paper tax return, and later
we get lots of notices from the IRS. They get their ITIN later and provide it to me.

When I tell these people to come back to me when they have an ITIN, they don't come back ever again,
so i would rather have their business.

Your post was on Nov 19 - are you talking about a rejection received that day? If so didn't e-filing close 11/18?

I never tried to e-file.

is a year 2017 form 1040NR available yet on the IRS website? when i go to look, all that comes up in my search is this:

https://www.irs.gov/tax-professionals/t ... nformation

When taxpayers do not have an ITIN, the procedure is to submit the W-7 with the tax return, This submission needs to be mailed.
No returns can be efiled without ID numbers.
So yes, 1040NRs can be efiled, but only with a SSN or ITIN.

The Draft 1040NR was released 10/26/17. I don't see the final one.

The IRS will begin to accept year 2017 tax returns in January of 2018.

What cheap software can i buy that will e-file a form 1040NR?

No software will do it without a SSN or ITIN

To e-file 1040NR, one must have at least $ 1 Gross income

I need to prepare a year 2017 form 1040NR for a client, before the fifteen of January. He has
$7,500.00 of withholding that he wants as soon as possible.

What software can I use? he has his TIN, and there is gross income.

efiling won't be open by Jan 15.

how come the IRS web site does not yet have a form 1040NR for year 2017?

I need to prepare a year 2017 form 1040NR for a client, before the fifteen of January. He has
$7,500.00 of withholding that he wants as soon as possible.

What software can I use? he has his TIN, and there is gross income.

Lucky client getting his 1099 or 1042-S by 15 January 2018; or is just possibly a 8288-A?

The IRS promise a 6 month delay in processing refunds on 1040NRs, have you explained this to the client yet?

What software can I use? he has his TIN, and there is gross income.

Lucky client getting his 1099 or 1042-S by 15 January 2018; or is just possibly a 8288-A?

The IRS promise a 6 month delay in processing refunds on 1040NRs, have you explained this to the client yet?

Please provide a link to that please, as this is news to me.

the client lives in France, and he sold a house here in the USA, and 15% of the proceeds went to withholdings.

You could have applied for an early refund. A bit late now.