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Share-TAX/1040 (tm) for 1988 U S E R ' S M A N U A L Bammel Software 1307 Westridge Dr. Duncanville, TX 75116 Voice: (214) 296-8518 BBS: (214) 709-6567 DISCLAIMER THIS PROGRAM IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITH NO WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AND IN NO EVENT WILL BAMMEL SOFTWARE OR ANY INDIVIDUAL CONNECTED WITH BAMMEL SOFTWARE BE LIABLE FOR DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES RESULTING FROM THE USE OF THIS PROGRAM. FURTHERMORE, BAMMEL SOFTWARE, AND EVERY INDIVIDUAL CONNECTED WITH BAMMEL SOFTWARE, SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS THE ROLE OF TAX ADVISER. THIS PROGRAM ONLY PERFORMS THE MECHANICS OF TAX PREPARATION IN STRICT ACCORDANCE WITH IRS FORMS AND INSTRUCTIONS. THE USER MUST EXERCISE THE SAME JUDGEMENT AS TO THE CORRECTNESS AND APPROPRIATENESS OF ANY AND ALL AMOUNTS ENTERED USING THIS PROGRAM, JUST THE SAME AS IN FILLING OUT THE IRS FORMS MANUALLY. (C) Copyright 1988, Bammel Software. All Rights Reserved. C O N T E N T S 1. FEATURES and BENEFITS 1.1. What it Does 1.2. What it Won't Do 1.3. Ease of Use 1.4. Forms not Provided by the Program 1.5. Incremental Preparation of Tax Return 1.6. Dollars and Cents, versus Whole-dollar Amounts 1.7. Next Year's Version 2. SOFTWARE LICENSE 3. MACHINE REQUIREMENTS 4. SETUP and RUNNING THE PROGRAM 4.1. Running the Program from Diskette 4.2. Running the Program from Hard Disk 4.3. Program Run-time Options 4.4. Setting Program Options 4.5. Data Compatibility with USA-Tax/1040 5. GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 5.1. Taxpayer Lookup 5.2. Keyboarding Conventions 5.3. Screen Selectors and Multiple-instance Screens 5.4. Data Entry Fields 5.5. Calculated Data Fields 5.6. Calculations 5.7. Data Records 5.8. Multiple Versions of Data 5.9. List of Screens with their Names 6. SCREEN-SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS 6.1. Form 1040 - U.S. Individual Income Tax Return 6.2. Schedule A - Itemized Deductions 6.3. Schedule B - Interest and Dividend Income 6.4. Sch C - Profit (Loss) from Business or Profession 6.5. Worksheet - W-2 Forms Wage Information 6.6. Supplemental Schedule 7. PRINTING 7.1. IRS Approval of Substitute Forms 7.2. IRS Requirements for Computer-Generated Forms 7.3. Calculation Before Printing 7.4. Printing to the Screen 7.5. Printing to a File 8. TAX PREPARER INFORMATION 9. EXCEPTION REPORT MESSAGES 10. PRODUCT SUPPORT 10.1. Limited Voice Telephone Support and Order Line 10.2. Computer Bulletin Board Support 11. ADVERTISEMENT 11.1. USA-Tax/1040 (tm) (C) Copyright 1988, Bammel Software. All Rights Reserved. Share-TAX/1040 Page 1 1. FEATURES and BENEFITS 1.1. What it Does Using the data you enter, Share-TAX/1040 does all computations and prints out your complete tax return ready to submit to the IRS. For all schedules and forms other than Form 1040, it prints substitute forms approved by the IRS. The shareware version, Share-TAX/1040, is limited to the Form 1040, Schedules A, B and C, W-2 worksheet and Supplemental Schedule. 1.2. What it Won't Do Share-TAX/1040 will not make a tax expert out of you. It only performs the mechanics of tax return preparation using the numbers you supply. Therefore, you must know as much about taxes as you would if you were filling out your forms with pencil and eraser. It just frees you from the drudgery of manually filling in the forms and manual calculations. However, the ease with which you can try out various combinations and situations adds a new dimension to tax preparation as compared to manual methods. 1.3. Ease of Use You need only enter the correct numbers, and Share-TAX/1040 will do all computations for you, forwarding amounts from one form to another as necessary. It displays and follows IRS forms as closely as possible so that you can see and understand clearly what is happening and so that you can make the proper judgements. The order in which you enter your data is completely arbitrary, and you can at any time suspend your data entry to work on a different tax return or exit the program. Then later you can resume where you left off. 1.4. Forms not Provided by the Program If you need additional forms not provided by the program, simply fill out these forms manually and enter the total(s) to the proper form in the program. Then submit the manually prepared forms along with those produced by the program. (C) Copyright 1988, Bammel Software. All Rights Reserved. Share-TAX/1040 Page 2 1.5. Incremental Preparation of Tax Return When tax season arrives, you might want to have an idea of what your tax bite is going to be before you have all necessary information. You could estimate the significant items and go through the computations manually, but that is too laborious, and so you probably don't bother. However, with Share-TAX/1040, you can enter the data you have, estimate the significant items you don't have, and in a few seconds have your estimate. Then when you do receive those missing numbers, your earlier efforts are not wasted. You simply enter the new numbers and in just a few moments have your complete tax return ready to submit to the IRS. 1.6. Dollars and Cents, versus Whole-dollar Amounts The IRS permits you to enter your money amounts either as dollars and cents, or as rounded whole-dollar amounts, but whichever you choose, you must use it consistently throughout your return. It is our understanding that the IRS probably prefers whole-dollar amounts since it slightly eases their data entry. However, the IRS requires that when adding up amounts for a single entry on a form, that dollars and cents be used, and that rounding to whole dollars be done only after the addition. That is the reason why a few forms in Share-TAX/1040 have dollars and cents, in particular the W-2 worksheet and the Supplemental Schedule. But you will notice that the totals are shown in whole dollars. A number of users have requested the option of entering amounts as dollars and cents. We are considering how this might be done with minimal impact on the program and may add it in the future (but not before next year's version). 1.7. Next Year's Version Due to the usual delays in obtaining the final forms and instructions from the IRS, it is unrealistic to expect next year's final version of USA-Tax/1040 (the comprehensive program) to be ready before December 31, 1989. However, it is likely that a preliminary version of Share-TAX/1040 could be ready as early as October 1, 1989, because of the limited number of active forms in it, and the inactive forms would simply remain the previous year's version. If interested at that time, use the order form built into the program to place your order. (C) Copyright 1988, Bammel Software. All Rights Reserved. Share-TAX/1040 Page 3 2. SOFTWARE LICENSE The program Share-TAX/1040 and this accompanying manual are owned by Bammel Software and are copyrighted with all rights reserved, and are therefore protected by U.S. Copyright Law. You are granted the right to copy Share-TAX/1040 for use in preparing and reviewing actual tax returns only if you pay promptly as follows: Right to use Share-TAX/1040 on one computer..... $5.00 (Texas residents please add 7% sales tax) This fee is due when you start using it on actual tax returns, and payable to: Bammel Software 1307 Westridge Dr. Duncanville, TX 75116 Share-TAX/1040 is provided on the basis of the "Shareware" concept, and you are also granted the right to copy it freely for evaluation and distribution purposes without paying a fee on the following conditions, but it is not free nor is it in the public domain: 1) You are encouraged to make copies of Share-TAX/1040 for your friends and acquaintences, but it must be copied and distributed in unmodified form, complete with copyright notices, licensing information and all documentation. 2) You may charge a nominal fee which may include a reasonable profit for your duplicating and distributing services. You may not charge a fee for use of the program; such license fee is payable only to the owner of the copyright, Bammel Software. 3) Share-TAX/1040 may not be distributed in conjunction with any other product. 4) Operators of electronic bulletin board systems may post (and are encouraged to do so) Share-TAX/1040 for downloading by their users, providing such operator abides by the foregoing conditions. 5) Commercial and other distributors of public domain or user supported software may distribute copies (and are encouraged to do so) without further permission providing the above conditions are met. 6) Copying for any other purpose is expressly prohibited. (C) Copyright 1988, Bammel Software. All Rights Reserved. Share-TAX/1040 Page 4 The files which must be included for a complete copy are: READ.ME Information file ORDER.FRM A blank order form STAX88.MAN The User's Manual (this file) STAX88.EXE The executable program The following data files are not included under the copyright, but must be included in the copy since they are necessary for the successful execution of STAX88.EXE: T88PT.SCH T88SC.DAT T88SC.KEY T88PR.DAT TOPTN.DAT 3. MACHINE REQUIREMENTS Share-TAX/1040 needs approximataely 200K of free memory (that is memory remaining after subtracting that used by DOS and any resident utilities), and at least one diskette drive with a minimum capacity of 360K. A hard disk is of course nice, but operation is quite acceptable on diskette. It is not expected that there be any problem in operating the program with any of the commonly used resident utilities. However if you have any difficulties in running the program with any such utilities installed, you should de-install them while running this program. 4. SETUP and RUNNING THE PROGRAM 4.1. Running the Program from Diskette 1. First make a backup of the original diskette with DISKCOPY or other copy program. (example: "DISKCPOPY A: B: where the original is in drive A and the copy in drive B). Also make a run diskette in the same manner. 2. Mount the run diskette in a drive. (example: Mount it in drive B). 3. To obtain maximum working space on the run diskette, delete all files BUT: STAX88.EXE T88PR.DAT T88PT.SCH T88SC.DAT T88SC.KEY TOPTN.DAT (For even more diskette work space, place STAX88.EXE on another diskette drive if available.) 4. Make the diskette drive your default drive. (example: Type "B:", then "CD B:\" if not in the top directory). 5. Run the program by typing: "STAX88". Then follow (C) Copyright 1988, Bammel Software. All Rights Reserved. Share-TAX/1040 Page 5 the prompts and read the help screens. WARNING: If while running the program, the diskette fills up and runs out of space, the data files will likely be DAMAGED or DESTROYED. Therefore, it is important to backup regularly and to check from time to time how much space is left, and to limit the number of tax returns per diskette to a safe margin. As a rule of thumb, a fairly complicated tax return will take on the order of 20K of disk space. 4.2. Running the Program from Hard Disk 1. Make a new directory. (example: "MKDIR C:\TAX"). 2. Copy all files on the original diskette to the directory. (example: assume the diskette is in drive B, then type "COPY B:*.* C:\TAX"). 3. Make the drive and directory your default. (example: "C:", and then "CD C:\TAX"). 4. Run the program by typing: "STAX88". Then follow the prompts and read the help screens. The same warning about disk space applies to hard disks as well as diskettes, but usually there will be much more free space on a hard drive, with little likelihood of running out from the operation of the program. 4.3. Program Run-time Options The default screen output is via BIOS which is the most compatible with different types of hardware, but is also the slowest. A faster option for use on CGA adapters prone to "snow" is to set the following at the DOS prompt: SET TXSCREEN=NOSNOW The fastest option writes directly to screen memory with no waits and is selected by typing the following at the DOS prompt: SET TXSCREEN=FAST You can run the program in monochrome (black & white) on a color monitor by including the /b run-time switch when you run the program as follows: STAX88 /b 4.4. Setting Program Options Certain program options are set by running the program. To select the colors you want, go to the COLOR screen. Then use the cursor keys to position to desired item, and press the F and B keys to change foreground and background colors, respectively. The colors selected will be automatically (C) Copyright 1988, Bammel Software. All Rights Reserved. Share-TAX/1040 Page 6 stored on disk in the current directory so that you will get them next time you run the program. To select the printer options you want, go to the "PRSU" screen. As delivered, the printer control sequences are set up for the IBM Proprinter. If your printer differs, enter the appropriate sequences. If your printer does not have a bold printing capability, the program can simulate it by overstriking. To activate this option, answer "Y" to the bold question and leave the control sequences blank. If your printer does not have an underlining capability, you must use ruled or color-barred paper. Without an underlining capability, answering "Y" to the underling question has no effect. Note that for printer control sequences, non-displaying ASCII characters must be entered as a two-character sequence where the first character is always a "^". For example, a control-C is entered as "^C", an escape followed by the character 0 as "^[0". This two-character notation is shown at the bottom of the screen along with the octal equivalents in parentheses. The octal equivalents are given only for your information and are not entered as such in the control sequences. 4.5. Data Compatibility with USA-Tax/1040 The data files of Share-TAX/1040 and USA-Tax/1040 are compatible so that if you start entering data with Share-TAX/1040, your efforts will not be wasted if you later purchase USA-Tax/1040. The only exception to this is that data fields which are entered in Share-TAX/1040, but computed in USA-Tax/1040 will be over-written by the computations in USA-Tax/1040. Therefore, once the data has been used by USA-Tax/1040, to go back to Share-TAX/1040 would require re-entry of these fields. Also, when upgrading to USA-Tax/1040, it is necessary to cycle through screens with data (i.e. simply display them all on the screen) so that the calculated values can be brought up to date. 5. GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS 5.1. Taxpayer Lookup Multiple tax returns may be stored in one set of files, and are identified by a "REF" (reference) number. Each tax return also has a 6-character search key for easy lookup when you can't remember the number. You enter the key as you choose, hopefully with a value which you can easily remember, and which will fall in a natural alphabetical sequence. When you need to select a tax return a window will pop up on the screen. Use the arrow keys to select the desired tax return or type in the reference number directly. When you have made your selection, press the Enter key to complete it. If you do not wish to select a tax return at this time, press the ESC key. In this case, the program will enter a (C) Copyright 1988, Bammel Software. All Rights Reserved. Share-TAX/1040 Page 7 display-only mode and will just display the text of the screens with no data. To select a tax return after entering this mode, just press F1 for the Menu window again. 5.2. Keyboarding Conventions The ESC key will usually cancel what you may have started doing, but have not completed. The arrow keys allow you to move from one data entry field to another. The Enter key in most cases is the same as the right arrow, but in some cases it will sequence you through the fields in an more natural order than the right arrow. The function keys normally act as follows; exceptions to this are hopefully self-explanatory: F1 Pop up the MENU window. Use the cursor keys to select the item you want, or type the name of the screen directly. F2 Generally, this key is used to search for something, such as a tax return or a particular instance of a screen. Follow prompts on screen for instructions. F3 Allows you to erase a "record" (see below). F4 Allows you to print a form or a complete tax return. F5 PGUP Go to previous screen. F6 PGDN Go to next screen. F7 Left-Arrow Move to the data-entry field to the left, or to the last field on the previous line, or wrap around to the last field on the screen. F8 Right-Arrow Move to the data-entry field to the right, or the the first field on the next line, or wrap around to the first field on the screen. F9 Up-Arrow Move to the closest data-entry field above, or wrap around to the closest field on the bottom line. F10 Down-Arrow Move to the closest data-entry field below, or wrap around to the closest field on the top line. HOME Go to the first data-entry field on the screen. END Go to the last data-entry field on the screen. The arrow keys, PGUP and PGDN are duplicated with function keys for the convenience of those who do not have an enhanced keyboard and who like to enter their numbers using the number pad. The screens are ordered in a hopefully natural sequence. (C) Copyright 1988, Bammel Software. All Rights Reserved. Share-TAX/1040 Page 8 5.3. Screen Selectors and Multiple-instance Screens Certain IRS forms may need to be filed more than once in a single tax return. There are two basic classes of these forms, namely those which have no fixed number (such as Schedule C), and those which must be filed separately for Taxpayer and Spouse in joint returns (such as Schedule SE). Those with no fixed number are "Selected" with letters "A" thru "Z", giving a maximum of 26. Those for taxpayer/spouse are selected with "T" or "S". To re-select with a different letter, use the "SEARCH" function, F2. 5.4. Data Entry Fields You can move among data fields without changing them by not typing anything into them. However, note that typing just a single blank is defined as changing the field, and the entire field will be set to blank. When typing into a field, the previous value remains displayed until you type over it. Backspacing will "uncover" the original characters one at a time, and control-X will backspace all the way to the beginning of the field. If you backspace all the way back to the beginning of the field, then it is not modified when you go to another field even though you had typed some data which you backspaced over. If you enter data in a field, the entire field is replaced by what you typed, notwithstanding that you may not have "covered up" all the data that was there before. There are two types of data-entry fields, numeric and text. If you try to enter text in a numeric field, the program will complain and not accept it. Most single-character text fields are "YES"/"NO" fields. Enter "Y", "y" or "1" for "Yes", and "N", "n" or "2" for "No". A Few single-character text fields are "Taxpayer"/"Spouse" fields. Enter "T", "t" (or sometimes blank) for "Taxpayer", and "S" or "s" for "Spouse". The few other types of single character fields are identified as such on the screen. Dates can be entered with or without the slashes, for example "10188" or "01/01/88" or "1/1/88", and the program will then enter the slashes correctly. Date fields will also accept arbitrary text which does not look like a date such as "VARIOUS". The philosophy used throughout the program is that data entry fields are never changed by the calculations. A minor exception to this is a few fields which must always be positive or negative. In most of these cases, the program forces the necessary polarity. (C) Copyright 1988, Bammel Software. All Rights Reserved. Share-TAX/1040 Page 9 5.5. Calculated Data Fields Data in these fields are calculated by the program and you cannot position the cursor to these fields. If you have chosen colors properly, these fields will have a different color (or shading with some monochrome monitors) from the data entry fields, and the background text. 5.6. Calculations Every effort is made to keep values passed from one form to another current. However, in the interest of efficiency, this cannot always be done. To bring all values up to date at any time, just select the "CALC" function. This takes just a few seconds with a hard disk, and something like 30 seconds with diskettes on a large return. During the calculations, an "Exception Report" is displayed on the screen warning you of any obvious problems. This report can also be printed. 5.7. Data Records Data is organized in the files as "records". In some cases one screen constitutes one record, whereas in other cases a number of screens constitute one record. The "ERASE" function erases records, not screens. Therefore, the erase function will first inform you of the scope of the proposed erasure before asking you to confirm. In order to conserve disk space, data is organized so that zero-valued numeric amounts and blank-valued text do not occupy space in the file. Furthermore, records are not created until data has been entered, or in a few cases where the calculations automatically create records when necessary. At the upper-right corner of the screen, you will at times see and "R" and a "M". The "R" means that the record has been created. The "M" means that the screen has been modified with new data, and if the record has not been created yet, it will be created when you leave the screen. 5.8. Multiple Versions of Data Sometimes you might want to try out several situations for a given tax return. You could create a new tax return and re-enter all the data again, but that is quite a bother. A more efficient way is to enter data up to the point you want to make a second copy. Then copy the data files (T88PT.SCH, T88SC.DAT, T88SC.KEY, T88PR.DAT and TOPTN.DAT) to a new directory or diskette. Then by selecting which directory you run from, you can have more than one version of a tax return without entering the bulk of the data more than once. (C) Copyright 1988, Bammel Software. All Rights Reserved. Share-TAX/1040 Page 10 5.9. List of Screens with their Names The pop-up menu window displays the names of all the screens. The complete list of screens with their names is as follows (Those marked with * are displayed, but are active only in USA-Tax/1040): H1 Sign-on Message H2 Disclaimer H3 Copying & Distributing H4 General Instructions H5 (continued) H6 Product Support A1 Advertisement - USA-TAX/1040 ORDER Order Blank ORD2 (continued) COLOR Screen Color Setup PRSU Printer Setup PREP Preparer Setup TPI Taxpayer Information W2 W-2 Forms OI * Other Income EIC * Earned Income Credit Worksheet EICC * (continued) WP * Pension/Annuity Worksheet WS * Social Security Worksheet WI * IRA Worksheet Data Entry WI1 * IRA Worksheet 1 WI2 * IRA Worksheet 2 WI2N * IRA Worksheet 2, Non-working spouse E 1040 Exemptions I 1040 Income A 1040 Adjustments to Income T 1040 Tax Computation C 1040 Credits O 1040 Other Taxes P 1040 Payments & Refund/Amount Due AM Sch A - Medical expenses AT Sch A - Taxes paid AI Sch A - Interest paid AC Sch A - Contributions AO Sch A - Other expenses BI Sch B - Interest income BD Sch B - Dividend income BF Sch B - Foreign accounts CN Sch C - Business name CI Sch C - Income CD Sch C - Deductions CC Sch C - Cost of goods DS * Sch D - Short-term gain(loss) DSC * Sch D - Short-term continued DL * Sch D - Long-term gain(loss) DLC * Sch D - Long-term continued DC * Sch D - Loss carryovers DR * Sch D - 1099-B reconciliation ER * Sch E - Rent/royalty income ET * Sch E - Totals EP * Sch E - Partnerships/S Corp (C) Copyright 1988, Bammel Software. All Rights Reserved. Share-TAX/1040 Page 11 EE * Sch E - Estates & Trusts ES * Sch E - Summary FN * Sch F - Farm proprietor name FI * Sch F - Farm income, cash meth FD * Sch F - Farm deductions FD2 * Sch F - Farm deductions continued FA * Sch F - Farm income, accrual RQ * Sch R - Questionnaire RC * Sch R - Credit Computation RW * Sch R - Credit Limit Worksheet SE * Sch SE - Self-Employment ST * Sch SE - SE Tax Computation SO * Sch SE - Optional Methods SM * Sch SE - Govt Medicare Wages 2106 * Employee Business Expense 2106B * (continued) 2106C * Vehicle Expenses 2106D * (continued) 2106E * Depreciation of Vehicles 2119 * Sale/Exchange of Residence 2119B * (continued) 2119C * (continued) 2210 * Penalty - Amts from 87 Return 2210B * Figuring the Underpayment 2210C * (continued) 2210D * Figuring the Penalty 2441 * Credit for Child/Dependent Care 2441B * Credit Limitation Worksheet 3903 * Moving Expenses 3903B * (continued) 3903C * (continued) 4137 * SS Tax on Unreported Tips 4562 * Sec 179 Property 4562B * MACRS 4562C * Other Deducts/Amortization 4562D * Listed Property 4562E * Vehicle Use 6251 * Alternative Minimum Tax 6251B * (continued) 6251C * (continued) 8606 * Nondeductible IRA Contrib 8606B * (continued) 8615 * Tax for Children Under 8615B * age 14 with over $1000 8615C * investment income SS Supplemental Schedule INV * Client Invoice CALC Complete Tax Return Calculation PRALL Print Complete Return EXIT Exit to DOS (C) Copyright 1988, Bammel Software. All Rights Reserved. Share-TAX/1040 Page 12 6. SCREEN-SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS The following is specific instructions for individual screens. Explanation will be given only for items which are not self-explanatory, and only with the purpose of helping you understand the mechanics of data entry. No attempt will be made to explain or analyze the IRS regulations; such information is available directly from IRS publications and other sources. NOTE: "data-entry is self-explanatory" below, does not mean that the tax implications are self-explanatory. You may well have to study IRS regulations carefully. 6.1. Form 1040 - U.S. Individual Income Tax Return First, be sure to enter your basic exemptions and dependents on the front of Form 1040 (screen E). Then be sure to check any boxes on the back which apply to you (screen T). Some amounts on Form 1040 come automatically from other forms. For those which don't come from other forms, it is a very good idea to step through all 1040 screens to be sure that you have entered any necessary amounts. The tax computation (screen T) will automatically choose the larger of your itemized deductions from Schedule A, or the Standard Deduction so that your taxable income will be minimum. The value chosen is displayed on the right. 6.2. Schedule A - Itemized Deductions If you have filled in Schedule A and your itemized deductions add to less than the standard deduction on Form 1040 line 34, then the standard deduction will be used instead of your Schedule A deductions. Note however that Schedule A will always print if you have filled it in. If you do not want it to print, erase it, or else simply do not submit it with your return if it does not apply. 6.3. Schedule B - Interest and Dividend Income The IRS instructions say that if you had over $400 in TAXABLE interest income, then you must list ALL interest you received, and to include on Form 1040, line 8a only the taxable interest, and on line 8b tax-exempt interest. Usually most interest will be taxable, and for taxable interest you can just skip through (i.e. leave zero) the column "Amount tax-exempt". If some or all of the interest is tax-exempt, enter that amount in the "Amount tax-exempt" column. (C) Copyright 1988, Bammel Software. All Rights Reserved. Share-TAX/1040 Page 13 6.4. Sch C - Profit (Loss) from Business or Profession You can have up to 26 Schedules C, one for each letter of the alphabet. Note that each Schedule C pertains to only one individual, even if you are filing a joint return. If both you and your spouse have income from the same business, you must file a separate Schedule C for each person. Beginning in 1987, you generally may deduct only 80% of your business-related meal and entertainment expenses; however, there are exceptions. Therefore line 26b is entered as two amounts. The first amount, "Meals not subj 80%", is the portion which is not subject to the 80% limitation. The second amount, "Amt subj 80% limit", is that amount which is subject to the 80% limitation. 6.5. Worksheet - W-2 Forms Wage Information This worksheet need not be submitted to the IRS since you should have Forms W-2 for each entry on it. Keep it for your records. If you leave the "Taxpayer/Spouse" column blank for any line, then that line will be assumed to be for the "Taxpayer". 6.6. Supplemental Schedule This (these) schedules may be used to report detail which will not fit on the forms themselves. On the Form itself, enter "SEE SCHEDULE ATTACHED" and enter the total. Then on the supplemental schedule, enter the detail and in the title say what form it pertains to. NOTE: TOTALS FROM THIS (THESE) SCHEDULES DO NOT AUTOMATICALLY GO ANYWHERE, and you must enter the totals where they belong. Submit this (these) schedules to the IRS with your return. 7. PRINTING 7.1. IRS Approval of Substitute Forms All substitute forms and schedules (computer generated forms used in place of the IRS official forms) printed by this program have been approved by the IRS. However, there are factors under your control which must meet requirements also, which are explained below. 7.2. IRS Requirements for Computer-Generated Forms Your printer must be set to 6 lines per inch vertically and 10 characters per inch horizontally. These are the normal (default) values for almost all printers. (C) Copyright 1988, Bammel Software. All Rights Reserved. Share-TAX/1040 Page 14 Form 1040 itself MUST be submitted using the IRS pre-printed form or a high-quality duplicate (offset press, photocopy, etc.) thereof. You can do this by using continuous Forms 1040 (available from Bammel Software) which are exact duplicates of the IRS forms. (Note that many commercially available continuous Forms 1040 are not exact copies, but have had some of the data positions altered.) You can also print your 1040 by simply placing single-sheet blank IRS 1040 forms in your computer printer. When printing the "IRS" 1040 form, the program will always pause for you to put the blank form in the printer. The tricky part is getting the 1040 form positioned correctly at the beginning of printing. If you have plenty of blank 1040's, just experiment with them until you get it right. Otherwise, one way of doing it is to print the 1040 on blank continuous paper. Then fasten the actual 1040 over the continuous paper in the proper position and re-run the paper through the printer without altering the top of form position. Another way to meet IRS requirements for Form 1040 is to use a copier and overlays. You will need to use a copier which does not significantly shrink or enlarge the copy. First make an "overlay" of a blank 1040 on transparent plastic of the type designed for use in a copier. Then print the 1040 on blank paper, position the overlay over the printout, and then make a copy of the combination. A "Proof" printout for the 1040 is provided which is similar to the substitute forms, but it is for your own use and review, and it SHOULD NOT BE SUBMITTED TO THE IRS. The forms and schedules other than the 1040 may be fully computer generated with the following requirements: 1) A high standard of legibility is required. Low quality printers should not be used. The originals must be filed, NOT carbon copies. 2) Paper must be at least 18 lb. weight, be 8" x 11" or 8.5" X 11" in size, and must have 1/4" to 1/2" margins on all sides after removal of pin-feed holes. 3) Paper color must be white or cream colored, and either it must be ruled every other line or be color-barred, or the computer printer must underline every other line. 4) Black ink must be used for printing. 5) Printing must be 6 lines per inch vertically, and 10 chars per inch horizontally. 6) Forms must be assembled with the 1040 first, then the schedules and forms in their sequence number order (the sequence number is given after the "1988 *" at the top right), then supporting schedules in the order of the forms they refer to. When you select one of the "print (C) Copyright 1988, Bammel Software. All Rights Reserved. Share-TAX/1040 Page 15 all forms" options, this is the order they will be printed in. 7) Social security numbers must be printed in the format: 000-00-0000 (Thus you must key them in in that form). 7.3. Calculation Before Printing Most forms require that the "CALC" function be current. That is, no data should have been changed since the last "CALC" operation. The print program checks to be sure that this is so, and if it is not will ask you if you wish to calculate before printing. If you answer "No", then it will not calculate, and it will not print. 7.4. Printing to the Screen You can conveniently preview the printout by looking at it on the screen. Just select the "S" print option. 7.5. Printing to a File In addition to printing to the printer and to the screen, the program has two options for printing to files. The first option, overwrite "O", will erase any data that was in the file and overwrite it. This option will prompt you if the file already exists to be sure you want to over-write it. The other option, append "A", will add the data at the end of what is already in the file, if anything. This option will prompt you if the file does not already exist. 8. TAX PREPARER INFORMATION If you use this program as a professional tax-preparer, your name and address, etc. must be entered on the back of the 1040. The Preparer Menu allows you to enter this information into the database, and then prints it. There is space on the database for 20 preparers, numbered 1 through 20. If you are using this program only for your own use, you do not need to enter any preparer information. Select preparer number 0 when you setup your return. Then these fields will be left blank on the 1040 printout. 9. EXCEPTION REPORT MESSAGES "Excess FICA withheld by one employer, obtain refund from employer." If one employer withholds more than the maximum, you cannot obtain a refund for the excess on your tax return. You can only obtain a refund from the employer. This message will continue to display even though your tax return is correct. (C) Copyright 1988, Bammel Software. All Rights Reserved. Share-TAX/1040 Page 16 "Not joint return, but "S" (spouse) selected on screen W2" "Not joint return, but "S" (spouse) selected on Schedule C" One of these errors is likely to occur if you start entering your tax return as a joint return, but then later change it to an individual return. These errors must be corrected to get correct results. 10. PRODUCT SUPPORT 10.1. Limited Voice Telephone Support and Order Line 1) Voice telephone support will be provided at 214/296-8518. It is limited in the sense that hours will generally be quite irregular. However, please feel free to call at any time, and we will personally answer when we are available. At other times an announcement machine may answer on the fourth ring, which will announce the latest status of the program, answers to common problems, etc. If you do not want to hear the announcement, hang up before the fourth ring. 10.2. Computer Bulletin Board Support 2) A computer bulletin board will be provided at 214/709-6567 where you can download the latest version of Share-TAX/1040 (but not USA-Tax/1040), and can also leave questions for assistance and read replys from the sysop and other callers. It will normally be available 24 hours per day. Use no parity, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit (the usual). If the board is down, the phone will not answer. As soon as we accumulate a list of "Common Questions and Answers", it will be placed in a bulletin on the board and announcement machine, and will probably answer your question(s). If it does not, then you can leave your question(s) on the BBS for the SYSOP and call back later for your answer(s). The SYSOP will try to answer questions within 48 hours. Also, we always appreciate helpful suggestions as to how Share-TAX/1040 might be improved. (C) Copyright 1988, Bammel Software. All Rights Reserved. Share-TAX/1040 Page 17 11. ADVERTISEMENT 11.1. USA-Tax/1040 (tm) USA-Tax/1040 is a comprehensive Individual Form 1040 Income Tax Preparation System. It includes all the following forms, schedules and worksheets: 1040, A, B, C, D, E, F, R, SE, 2106, 2119, 2210, 2441, 3903, 4137, 4562, 6251, 8606, 8615, W-2, Other Income, Earned Income Credit, Pension/Annuity, Tax on Social Security, IRA, Supplemental Schedule, Estimated Taxes, Exception Report and Client Invoice. Except for the inactive forms in Share-TAX/1040, Share-TAX/1040 and USA-Tax/1040 are identical in operation and features. Therefore data files are compatible so that your efforts at entering data into Share-TAX/1040 will not be wasted if you later purchase USA-Tax/1040. Please note that USA-Tax/1040 is NOT shareware, and copies may not be distributed to others, but it is not copy protected. The price includes a license for use on one computer. Use the convenient order form build into Share-TAX/1040 to order. Any shareware license fee due for use of Share-TAX/1040 is waived when you purchase USA-Tax/1040. (C) Copyright 1988, Bammel Software. All Rights Reserved.