Automated tax return with universal data import

Abstract

Automated tax return preparation is provided using a relationship-based interview process coupled with universal data import. Information is collected through a process called the interview, during which a taxpayer is asked various questions about her background and relationships with financial institutions. The taxpayer provides to the tax planning software a list of financial institutions with which the taxpayer has a relationship, and the tax software retrieves tax data directly from the financial institutions. The combination of the interview, universal data import, and existing stored data enables an automated tax return system to prepare tax returns in advance with minimal user assistance.

1 . A method for preparing tax returns comprising: 
 obtaining identification data identifying a taxpayer's employer;    determining, using the identification data, that tax data about the taxpayer is available from a tax data provider associated with the taxpayer's employer;    retrieving, from the tax data provider, the tax data about the taxpayer; and    preparing a tax return for the taxpayer using the retrieved tax data.    
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the identification data identifying the taxpayer's employer is an employer identification number (EIN).  
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  wherein retrieving the tax data further comprises: 
 providing taxpayer authentication data to the tax data provider.  
 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  wherein determining that tax data about the taxpayer is available comprises: 
 querying a plurality of tax data providers with the identification data to determine which of the tax data providers are associated with the taxpayer's employer.  
 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1  wherein determining that tax data about the taxpayer is available comprises: 
 identifying a plurality of employers providing tax data electronically; and  
 determining, using the identification data identifying the taxpayer's employer, whether the taxpayer's employer provides tax data electronically.  
 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising electronically filing the tax return with a taxing authority.  
     
     
         7 . A computer-implemented method for preparing a tax return, comprising: 
 determining, without tax payer intervention, a set of relationships between a taxpayer and financial institutions from stored financial data of the taxpayer;    using the set of relationships, automatically retrieving from each financial institution, tax data stored by the financial institution and based upon financial transactions between the taxpayer and the financial institution;    automatically presenting to the taxpayer only retrieved incomplete tax data;    obtaining from the taxpayer information for completing the incomplete data, to form taxpayer completed tax data;    electronically, and at least partially, and without taxpayer intervention, preparing an electronic tax return for the taxpayer using the retrieved tax data and the taxpayer completed tax data.    
     
     
         8 . A computer-implemented method for preparing tax returns comprising: 
 importing taxpayer data from a financial management software application;    determining automatically whether the imported taxpayer data is complete; and    responsive to the imported taxpayer data being complete, automatically preparing a tax return.    
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8  further comprising: 
 responsive to the imported taxpayer data being incomplete, alerting the taxpayer and receiving information to complete the taxpayer data.  
 
     
     
         10 . A system for preparing a tax return, comprising: 
 determining means for determining, without tax payer intervention, a set of relationships between a taxpayer and financial institutions from stored financial data of the taxpayer;    retrieving means, coupled to the determining means, for using the set of relationships and automatically retrieving from each financial institution, tax data stored by the financial institution and based upon financial transactions between the taxpayer and the financial institution;    presenting means, coupled to the retrieving means, for automatically presenting to the taxpayer only retrieved incomplete tax data;    obtaining means, coupled to the presenting means, for obtaining from the taxpayer information for completing the incomplete data, to form taxpayer completed tax data;    preparing means, coupled to the obtaining means for electronically, and at least partially, and without taxpayer intervention, preparing an electronic tax return for the taxpayer using the retrieved tax data and the taxpayer completed tax data.    
     
     
         11 . A system for preparing a tax return for a taxpayer, comprising: 
 an interview engine for obtaining taxpayer data from the taxpayer;    a user database, coupled to the interview engine, for storing taxpayer data; and    an import subsystem, coupled to the interview engine, for electronically importing tax data related to the taxpayer from an input source via a communications network.    
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11 , further comprising a default profile database, coupled to the interview engine, for providing a plurality of interview questions to the interview engine to be used for obtaining taxpayer data from the taxpayer.  
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 11  wherein the import subsystem further comprises: 
 a universal data import engine for communicating electronically with a plurality of import sources and retrieving tax data from the import sources; and  
 a source database, coupled to the universal data import engine, for storing import source information indicative of tax data provided by each of the plurality of import sources.  
 
     
     
         14 . A computer program product comprising: 
 a computer-readable medium having computer program logic embodied therein for preparing tax returns, the computer program logic comprising: 
 an interview engine for obtaining taxpayer data from the taxpayer;  
 a user database, coupled to the interview engine, for storing taxpayer data; and  
 an import subsystem, coupled to the interview engine, for electronically importing tax data related to the taxpayer from an input source via a communications network.