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A Federal Form 1040 U.S. Individual Tax Return Program PRO93 1993 Tax Year Version 0.93 - 19 Dec 93 U S E R S M A N U A L NOTE: v0.93 is an almost complete version of the Program. It can be used for all tax returns that do not require the following forms: Form 1116, Form 2210, Form 3800, Form 8582 and Form 1040-ES. Look for version 1.00 in early January 1994. _______ ____|__ | (TM) --| | |------------------- | ____|__ | Association of | | |_| Shareware |__| o | Professionals -----| | |--------------------- |___|___| MEMBER F. Roland Bjorklund P.O. Box 1156 Bryans Road, MD 20616 Copyright (c) 1987-1994 F. Roland Bjorklund All Rights Reserved This version of the documentation, software and copyright supersedes all previous versions of PRO93. Specifications subject to change without notice. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 FEATURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 WHAT IT WILL NOT DO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 LICENSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 BBS SYSOPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 DISK DISTRIBUTORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 ASSOCIATION OF SHAREWARE PROFESSIONALS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 TAX FORMS LIST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 ORDERING INFORMATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 GETTING STARTED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 PREPARING A TAX RETURN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 SAVING A TAX RETURN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 PRINTING A TAX RETURN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 PRINTING A TAX REPORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 STATE MODULES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 HELP SYSTEM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 EDITING HELP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 A SAMPLE RETURN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 STARTUP.T93 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 IN CASE OF PROBLEMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 PROBLEM REPORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 ORDER FORM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 APPENDICES Appendix A. Configuration Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Appendix B. Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Appendix C. Version History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Appendix D. Technical Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Appendix E. Error Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Appendix F. Future Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Appendix G. The Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 i INTRODUCTION PRO93 is directed toward experienced tax preparers: individuals who prepare their own tax returns, or who are paid to prepare tax returns for others. This implies that the user knows which forms are required for a particular tax return. PRO93 will create and include other forms as required, i.e. Schedule SE if Schedule C is used. PRO93 is directed to paid preparers, since it includes more forms, a fee schedule, a cover page, more print options, and the capability to use a start up tax return file with selected fields already pre-filled. For example: the fee rates and preparer information is usually constant for all tax returns and can be saved into a start up tax return file. FEATURES 1. The forms presented on the screen are the same ones printed out, and are as much like the Federal Forms as is possible. All these forms are IRS approved for submittal. 2. IRS approved graphics Form 1040 for taxpayer signature on dot matrix printers with EPSON LQ, EPSON FX, or IBM PROPRINTER emulation; and HEWLETT PACKARD laser printers or compatibles. 3. PRO93 includes Fee Schedule and Front Cover Page forms for tax preparers. 4. On line help and context sensitive help (F1). Instant on line access to program Documentation (CTL-D). 5. Mouse support, Pull Down windows, Pop Ups, etc. 6. Pop up Calculator with transfer to form field (F7). 7. One button shifts between any two forms for compares (F6). One button shifts between forms when fields are related, i.e. they transfer between forms (F2). Also one button access to Form 1040 summary of tax/refund (F10). 8. Fast recalculations for full tax return or single form (F9). 9. Any numeric entry field can be expanded to a dynamically created full SUPPORTING SCHEDULE or an IRS required SUPPORTING STATEMENT as required (F2). 10. Mini-schedules for entry fields if identification of state and ownership (Joint/Taxpayer/Spouse) of amounts is required (F5). 11. Multiple copies of many forms (i.e. Schedule C and others) are possible. 12. Start up return for tax preparers lets you start each return with fees and other fixed fields already filled in. 13. PRO93 has a Tax Report for summaries needed to quickly fill in state returns. At least 20 state modules are available this year. 14. Built in print spooler to allow simultaneous printing and tax return preparation. WHAT IT WILL NOT DO 1. It will not "hold your hand". You have to know what forms to use for your return. During calculations the program will create any new forms that are required. For example, Schedule SE is created if Schedule C is used. 2. There are no consistency checks, except for what are required for calculations. You can print out the tax return at any time, even blank forms can be printed if needed. 1 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS PRO93 will run on the IBM PS/2, PC/AT, PC/XT, PC, and on IBM compatible computers. MINIMUM requirements are: 1. 512 KB of system memory is suggested. TAX93 takes about 390KB of memory for the program and data memory. PRO93 takes about 400KB for program memory; PRO93 uses dynamic overlays to reduce memory requirements. 2. TAX93 can use the MS-DOS 2.0 or later version operating system. PRO93 requires the MS-DOS 3.0 or later version operating system. 3. One hard disk drive and one floppy drive is preferred. TAX93 program can be installed on a dual 360K (5.25 inch) floppy system or on a one floppy system if the drive is 720K or 1.44M (3.5 inch), or 1.2M (5.25 inch). 4. Either a color or a monochrome monitor with 80 column by 24 line text display. Color is CGA, EGA, or VGA. 5. Any printer, dot matrix or laser, for printing schedules and supporting forms. 6. A dot matrix printer, supporting the EPSON LQ, EPSON FX, or IBM PROPRINTER graphics commands, or a HEWLETT PACKARD laser printer or compatible is required for the IRS approved Form 1040 for signature. LICENSE The "shareware" version of PRO93 is NOT public domain or free software. Non-registered users of this software are granted a limited license to make an evaluation copy for trial use on a private, non-commercial basis, for the express purpose of determining whether PRO93 is suitable for their needs. At the end of this trial period, you should either register your copy or discontinue using it. What does this mean? If you use this program, then you should pay for your copy. That way, the author, F. Roland Bjorklund, will be able to provide you support and updates, and stay in business. Plus, registered users receive additional tax forms, automatic upgrades during the tax season, technical support, and significant discounts on next year's upgrade program. A TAX93 or PRO93 registration entitles you to use the program on any and all computers available to you, with the following restriction: If other people have access to this program or may use it, then you should purchase a site license. Contact the author if a site license is required. All users are granted a limited license to copy the shareware version of TAX93 or PRO93 for the trial use of others only, and subject to the above limitations. This license does NOT include distribution or copying of this software package in connection with any other product or service, or for general use within a company or institution. BBS SYSOPS Operators of electronic bulletin board systems (Sysops) are encouraged to post the shareware version of this program for downloading by their users, as long as the above conditions are met. 2 DISK DISTRIBUTORS Disk distributors, i.e. companies that charge a nominal fee for the copying and mailing of diskettes listed in their catalogs, do not pay any part of that fee to the author. The author in turn does not pay any listing fees for getting the program into the distributors' catalogs. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY THIS SOFTWARE AND MANUAL ARE SOLD "AS IS" AND WITHOUT WARRANTIES AS TO PERFORMANCE OR MERCHANTABILITY. THE SELLER'S SALESPERSONS MAY HAVE MADE STATEMENTS ABOUT THIS SOFTWARE. ANY SUCH STATEMENTS DO NOT CONSTITUTE WARRANTIES AND SHALL NOT BE RELIED ON BY THE BUYER IN DECIDING WHETHER TO PURCHASE THIS PROGRAM. THIS PROGRAM IS SOLD WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES WHATSOEVER. BECAUSE OF THE DIVERSITY OF CONDITIONS AND HARDWARE UNDER WHICH THIS PROGRAM MAY BE USED, NO WARRANTY OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE IS OFFERED. THE USER IS ADVISED TO TEST THE PROGRAM THOROUGHLY BEFORE RELYING ON IT. THE USER MUST ASSUME THE ENTIRE RISK OF USING THE PROGRAM. ANY LIABILITY OF SELLER OR MANUFACTURER WILL BE LIMITED TO PRODUCT REPLACEMENT OR REFUND OF PURCHASE PRICE. The author is committed to supporting this program, so he will repair reported problems and issue upgraded programs as quickly as possible after problem reports are received. The earlier in the tax season that any problems are repaired, the better off all the users are going to be (not to mention peace of mind for the author). ASSOCIATION OF SHAREWARE PROFESSIONALS The Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP) is a group of software authors committed to developing shareware as an acceptable alternative way of marketing software. The author, F. Roland Bjorklund, is a member of the ASP. ASP wants to make sure that the shareware principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a shareware-related problem with an ASP member by contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but does not provide technical support for members' products. Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at 545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI 49442 or send a CompuServe message via CompuServe Mail to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536. TRADEMARKS MS/DOS is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. PC/DOS is a registered trademark of IBM Corporation. WINDOWS 3.0 is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. EPSON is a registered trademark of Seiko Epson Corporation. IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corp. QUICKEN is a registered trademark of Intuit, Menlo, CA 94026 3 TAX FORMS LIST Personal TAX93 | Professional PRO93 HELP? | | | X Front Page - Cover Page and Preparation Fee Yes X X Form 1040 - U.S. Individual Income Tax Return Yes X X Form 1040-EZ - Single Filers Tax Return Yes X X Misc Worksheet - Standard Deduction + Exemptions + Others Yes X X Income Worksheet- Income and Withholding + Miscellaneous Yes X X W2 - Wage and Tax Statement Yes X X 1099-R - Dist.Pensions,Annuties,Retirements,IRAs Yes X W2G - Statement of Gambling Winnings Yes X X 1992 Data - Prior Year Tax Data (for 1993 return) Yes X X SS/RR Worksheet - Social Security/Equiv RR Benefits Yes X X Schedule A - Itemized Deductions Yes X X Schedule B - Interest and Dividend Income Yes X X Schedule C - Profit or (Loss) From Business Yes X X Schedule C-EZ - Net Profit From Business Yes X X Schedule D - Capital Gains and Losses Yes X Schedule D-1 p1 - Schedule D Continuation Page 1 No X Schedule D-1 p2 - Schedule D Continuation Page 2 No X X Schedule E p1 - Supplemental Income and Loss Page 1 Yes X X Schedule E p2 - Supplemental Income and Loss Page 2 Yes X X Schedule F - Profit or Loss from Farming Yes X X Schedule R - Credit for the Elderly or the Disabled Yes X X Schedule SE - Self Employment Tax Yes X X Schedule EIC - Earned Income Credit Yes X Form 1116 - Foreign Tax Credit No X X Form 2106 - Employee Business Expenses Yes X Form 2119 - Sale of Your Home Yes X Form 2210 - Underpayment of Estimated Tax by Individ Yes X X Form 2441 - Credit for Child and Dependent Care Exp Yes X Form 3800 - General Business Credit No X Form 3903 - Moving Expenses Yes X Form 4136 - Credit for Federal Tax on Fuels Yes X Form 4137 - SS Tax on Unreported Tip Income Yes X Form 4562 - Depreciation and Amortization Yes X Form 4797 - Sales of Business Property No X Form 4952 - Investment Interest Expense Deduction No X Form 5329 - Additional Taxes on Retirement Plans Yes X Form 6198 - At Risk Limitations No X Form 6251 - Alternate Minimum Tax - Individuals Yes X Form 6252 - Installment Sale Income No X Form 6781 - Gains and Losses From Sect 1256 No X X IRA Worksheet - IRA Deductions Yes X X Form 8283 p1 - Noncash Charitable Contributions Yes X Form 8582 - Passive Activity Loss Limitations No X Form 8582 p2/p3 - Form 8582 Worksheets No X Form 8606 - Nondeductible IRA Contributions Yes X Form 8814 - Parents Election to Report Child Int/Div No X Form 8815 - Exclusion of Interest EE Bonds after 1989Yes X 8815 Worksheet - Forms 8815/8818 Yes X X Form 8829 - Expenses for Business Use of Your Home Yes X X Form 1040-ES - 1993 Estimated Tax for Individuals Yes X Fees Page - Fees Schedule - Form 1040 Yes X X STATEMENTS - IRS Supporting Statements Yes X X SCHEDULES - Supporting Schedules Yes X X Mini-Schedule - Mini Schedules Yes 4 ORDERING INFORMATION Refer to the ORDER FORM below for registration costs. The ORDER FORM can be printed when you are in the Documentation portion of the tax program (F5 key). Your TAX93 or PRO93 registration licenses you to use the program on a regular basis. Registration includes the latest program version along with additional forms and more context sensitive help screens. The latest TAX93 or PRO93 diskette will include the most current documentation file on the disk for direct access from the tax program or print out on any printer. Registered users will also automatically receive all significant updates to the program during the tax season: January 1993 through April 1993, and will get significant discounts for upgrades to next years tax programs. Refer to the STATE MODULES section for a list of the State programs available last year. These will be upgraded as quickly as possible and new state programs added as demand and time allows. GETTING STARTED The PRO93 program is distributed on one or two diskettes. If you are reading this, then you have already successfully installed the program. A short description of the files on the distribution diskette is listed below: README.EXE A text viewer/printer program with startup information. INSTALL.EXE Installation program. INSTALL.CFG Information for install program. INSTALL.HLP On-line help for install program. TAX93.EX$ or The executable program file in compressed format. PRO93.EXE TAX93.FR$ or The Federal 1040 forms and supporting schedules PRO93.FRM file in compressed format. TAX93.HL$ or The context sensitive HELP file in compressed PRO93.HLP format. TAX93.DO$ The information needed to print an IRS approved PRO93.DOT graphics form 1040 for signature using a dot matrix printer or laser printer. TAX93.DO$ This file contains the program documentation in a PRO93.DOC ready to print format. This file is accessible from within the TAX93 or PRO93 program for review. The documentation can be scanned forward and backwards, and printed at will. TAX93.CFG or The configuration data is stored in this file. PRO93.CFG STARTUP.T93 A sample start up tax return file. This file is read into memory when tax program starts or when a new tax return is started. PRO93 only. DEMO.T93 A typical sample tax return. This is the one 5 presented in IRS Pub. 17 YOUR FEDERAL INCOME TAX - 1993 - for Frank and Evelyn Jones. The program will create two additional files when accessing the Documentation: TAX93.TBL or A table is built for the on line Documentation PRO93.TBL routines. This is done once during the first access to the Documentation. ERRORS.DOC This file is built on user request from within the on line Documentation (F7/F8) if a print out of the program errors list is required. The program accesses the help system to extract this information. You will notice in the IN CASE OF PROBLEMS section that the recommended solution for several errors that the program detects is to reuse the installation procedure to get fresh program or data files from the program distribution diskette. As you repeat the installation procedure, the INSTALL program will check to see if files with the same name exist on the destination drive/directory. If you want to retain the old files, most likely the STARTUP.T93 file, answer NO to the question about file overwrites, unless they are the ones you need a new copy of. The remaining files are not customized by you as the user, so just answer YES, thereby causing the INSTALL program to overwrite the files as they are copied. PREPARING A TAX RETURN The PRO93 program is executed from the disk drive and directory where the PRO93.EXE file was installed. If you wish to run in monochrome mode on a color monitor, then use PRO93 /m to force the monochrome screen display features. PRO93 does not restrict the user to any prescribed routine in selecting and filling out forms. This implies that the user is familiar with tax preparation, at least for his own tax situation. The user is presumed capable of preparing his own tax return and familiar with the forms that he needs, since they do not change much from year to year. Schedules A and B are the most common examples of forms that are used year after year in much the same way. If you, as an individual, expect this program to take the place of a paid preparer that you would normally use, you will be disappointed. This program is not the step by step "hands holding" program that most individual tax programs have evolved into. It also does not check for consistency, i.e. "is all the minimum data present for a tax return?". The program will calculate taxes, and transfer data between forms as required, but it is up to the user to make sure the data and results are correct. Experienced tax preparers have a procedure that they follow for every tax return that they work on. As a former paid preparer, the author suggests the following as a minimum order of steps to prepare a tax return using this program: 1. Fill out the Income Worksheet as much as possible first, especially the names, addresses, and filing status. Fill out W2 forms as necessary. If you used last years program, TAX92 for 1992, then PRO93 will import the names, addresses, dependents, and any 6 carryover amounts from last year's tax return, provided you use the same tax return file name for the 1993 version. Refer to the FILES menu for access to last years tax data. 2. Go to Form 1040 and fill out the header for dependents. This will set the exemption count. Form 1040-EZ users can go to Form 1040-EZ and fill in any taxable interest if any. 3. After that it doesn't matter what form you choose. With the program's quick F9 recalculation, it is easy to see the effects on tax/refund as you proceed with each additional form. F10 gives you quick access to Form 1040 when required. If the program detects that an additional form is needed, it will create the form and transfer the results (i.e., Schedule SE when Schedule C is used). 4. Use the F10 key for a quick review of the tax/refund situation. Use F6 if you are flipping between two forms. F6 saves you the time of selecting the form each time from the form menu list. The program "remembers" the previous form that you used. The form menu even has "hot keys" for the most often used forms, i.e. use 'C' to select Schedule C. The "hot keys" are visible only on color displays. 5. You can create Supporting Schedules for any field that allows entry of money amounts (F2). This is particularly handy for tedious lists with many line items. The itemized medical deductions for Schedule A is a common example. Supporting Schedules are not submitted to the IRS. They are kept as part of the taxpayers tax return package. 6. The program also supports the IRS required Supporting Statements for forms when the input data will not fit within the available lines on a given form (F2). The fields requiring supporting statements are defined by the Electronic Filing specifications provided by the IRS. Dividend or interest overflow on Schedule B is a common example where the program will select a supporting statement. Supporting Statements are included with the tax return when submitted to the IRS. 7. You can also make additional copies of Schedule B and other selected forms. Create copies of Schedule E if required; the totals on copies will transfer to the first schedule E form. 8. The F5 key for mini-schedules is handy for "marking" state codes for state income tax returns and/or dividing amounts between Taxpayer and Spouse, when a full Supporting Schedule is not warranted. 9. The PRO93 Tax Report is a feature that is handy for preparing state tax returns, particularly multi-state returns, when a state program is not available. If you are diligent and "mark" the amount fields in the Federal tax return for state codes and ownership (J/T/S) where appropriate, the Tax Report will provide the summaries that will make filling out state returns an easier task. 10. A popup calculator is useful for quick calculations and will transfer the result to the amount field being pointed to. It also has a four level stack and will retain results between uses. Practice a little with this calculator. It does not try to simulate the desktop tape output calculator that bookkeepers and accountants use. Experienced calculator operators will probably notice that 7 this calculator is a hybrid between an "algebraic" and a "reverse polish" calculator, there is no "=" key. If you don't know what this means, then you won't have any preconceived notions about the usefulness of this calculator. Give it a try. 11. It is important to become familiar with the OVERRIDE (F3 key) capability of the program. The program provides a calculation of amounts for fields that are classified as PROTECTED. These fields are usually the results of summations of other fields or calculations as required. It is not possible to provide for the exception cases that the IRS has built for many fields, so an OVERRIDE feature is provided that allows the user to place any amount in a normally PROTECTED field in order to supersede the program calculations. This is also a good way to "fix" a calculation bug (gasp!) in the program, so you can continue your work on a tax return. The author encourages you to report bugs as quickly a possible. See the IN CASE OF PROBLEMS section for further information and incentives. 12. After you print out a tax return, go over the tax return and check the arithmetic and tax calculations, the same way you would do if you prepared a tax return manually. If you do many returns, you will gradually gain confidence in the many routine procedures that the program goes through, but don't forget to check carefully when a new form is required or new situation arises. You will also discover that using a program to prepare tax returns does not save time over the manual method if no big changes are required after the first go through, but experience has shown that a program really shines when you have to go back and add, change, or delete data from a return. Just not having to do all the arithmetic over again is wonderful. You can also play "what if" games with a tax return using this program that you would not do manually because of the time and work involved. Use the F10 key to for quick access to Form 1040 and the refund/amount due lines. 13. Context sensitive Help is available for most common forms and fields in the program. The author intended this to be a quick mind refresher for tax preparers, and it is not a substitute for the official IRS instructions. The most common situations for a field are usually described, but the IRS usually has a list of exceptions and additional requirements; so reference is very often made to the official IRS instructions for the particular schedule/form being worked on. F1, Shift-F1, and Alt-F1 gets help information for you. 14. On-line access to this documentation file is provided from within the tax program (CTL-D key). You can browse through the documentation, search for key words, print a screen, or print the whole documentation file without leaving the tax program. SAVING A TAX RETURN You can save the tax return data to a disk file at any time. This can be done at any time by using the CTL-S key combination, or by selecting the Save option under the Files menu at the main screen. You will be reminded to save your tax return every 10 minutes or so. You are limited by MS/DOS to file names of 8 characters or less. The tax program adds the three letter extension ".T93" to the file name. The file is stored in the data subdirectory or floppy disk depending upon the program 8 configuration setting. Use the context sensitive help system for more help when selecting a file name to use. PRINTING A TAX RETURN NOTE: Make sure your printer defaults to 10 characters per inch mono spaced (not proportional spaced) and 6 lines of text per vertical inch on a Master Reset command. Most printers default to this automatically, but the newer programmable printers may require some reprogramming. When you want to print a complete return or maybe a single form, select the PRINT option from the main menu. A request for a complete tax return printing will present a sub-menu to allow the selection of an IRS submittal package, a client (taxpayer) package, or a tax preparer file package. These packages differ and are described below: IRS submittal - All the forms required by the IRS are printed including any Supporting Statements. Client/taxpayer - This includes all the forms in the IRS package plus front page, worksheets and Supporting Schedules. File/preparer - The same as the Client/taxpayer package with the addition of the fees schedule if PRO93 program. The File/preparer package can also be directed to a disk file for long term storage of tax return data in a ready to print format. This is handy for making changes to the return using a text editor or word processor program. The tax return can then be printed using the DOS PRINT command which is the MS/DOS print "spooler". Please Note: the tax return printed this way will not give the overstriking bold emphasis to tax line data that you will get from printing the forms from the program directly. The forms included in the printouts are indicated by a check mark and are highlighted on the forms menu. The forms are printed in Attachment Sequence order, i.e., in the order that the IRS would like to receive them. If Supporting Schedules are used, they will be printed after each form that uses them. A Form 1040 is also printed, but do not sign and submit this form to the IRS. All the other forms meet IRS requirements for submittal. The Graphics Form 1040 printout is IRS approved for submittal and signature. The program provides for an IRS approved signature quality Form 1040 if you have an EPSON LQ, EPSON FX, or IBM PROPRINTER capable dot matrix printer or a HEWLETT PACKARD laser printer or compatible. The printers described above represent about 95% of all printers manufactured after the introduction of the original IBM/PC in 1981. If your printer does not work then you must manually transcribe the information from the rough printed Form 1040 to an official IRS Form 1040. The program provides a "print spooler" option on the Configuration screen. If you activate this option, you can execute print requests for one tax return, and in the time it takes to save the forms to a temporary print spooler file, you can begin working on another tax return while the program prints the requested forms that were saved to disk. This option 9 is recommended only if you are using a hard disk. The spooler also keeps working if you go to state programs or to the on line Documentation. Caution: Reserve the print out of the graphics Form 1040 until the tax return is complete and ready to sign. The graphics printout generates a lot of printer output and will take some time to print, and will take some time to fill the print spooler file. PRINTING A TAX REPORT PRO93 only: A Tax Report is provided to facilitate the preparation of State tax returns when a state program is not available, or for multi- state tax return, where it is particularly useful. The program provides the capability to "mark" amounts in the tax forms for both State and Ownership (J-joint/single, T-taxpayer, S-spouse) as required using supporting and mini-schedules. Unmarked amounts are assumed to be J (joint/single). The Tax Report will summarize all the forms by line by ownership, and by state, so moving amounts to state forms should be easier. STATE MODULES The state modules that were available last year are listed below. It is intended to eventually have program modules for most of the states that have income tax. State programs feature the automatic transfer of Federal tax return data to the state forms as required, however none of the forms have any approval for submittal to state revenue agencies. The data must be transcribed to official forms. Still the automatic transfer and the automatic calculations make these state modules useful, and the printouts can be saved for taxpayer records. ST = State Identification TX = State Income Tax? NR = Non-Resident Forms PY = Part Year Resident Forms CR = Credits to Other States Forms ST TX NR PY CR Version: Forms: -- -- -- -- -- ---------------- -------------------------------------- AK: N AL: Y N N N AR: Y N N N AZ: Y N N Y v1.01 01 Feb 93 140, Sched CR CA: Y N N N v1.02 01 Feb 93 540,540NR,CA,D,H,Misc Wkshts CO: Y Y Y Y v1.02 01 Feb 93 104,104PN,104CR,Misc CT: Y N N N DC: Y N N N DE: Y N N N FL: N GA: Y Y Y Y v1.00 15 Feb 93 Form 500, Misc Worksheets HI: Y N N N IA: Y N N N v1.04 06 Feb 93 IA-1040, Misc Worksheets ID: Y N N N IL: Y N N N v1.00 06 Feb 93 IL-1040 IN: Y N N N v1.00 13 Feb 93 IT-40,CT-40 KS: Y Y N N v1.01 01 Feb 93 K-40,Misc Worksheets KY: Y N N N 10 LA: Y N N N MA: Y N N Y v1.01 01 Feb 93 Form 1,Sched B,D,&F,E,NTS-L,Misc Works MD: Y Y Y Y v1.00 19 Dec 93 502,505,502CR,502CG,Misc Worksheets ME: Y N N N MI: Y Y Y N v1.01 01 Feb 93 MI-1040,MI-1040CR MN: Y N N N v1.01 01 Feb 93 M-1,Misc Worksheets MO: Y N N N v1.01 01 Feb 93 MO-1040,MO-A,AdjGrossWksht MS: Y N N N MT: N NC: Y Y Y N v1.01 01 Feb 93 D-400,Misc Worksheets ND: N NE: Y N N N NH: N NJ: Y N N N v1.00 13 Feb 93 NJ-1040,Sched A,B,C, Misc Worksheets NM: Y N N N NV: N NY: Y Y Y N v1.00 09 Jan 93 IT-201,IT-203,IT-201-AT,Misc Worksheets OH: Y Y Y N v1.01 01 Feb 93 IT-1040,Misc Wkshts OK: Y Y Y N v1.01 01 Feb 93 511,Sched D OR: Y N N N PA: Y N N N v1.00 20 Jan 93 PA-40,Sched UE-1,Sched SP, SP WkSht RI: Y N N N SC: Y N N N SD: N TN: Y N N N TX: N UT: Y N N N VA: Y N N N v1.00 01 Feb 93 760,760PY,763,Misc Wkshts VT: Y N N N WA: N WI: Y N N N v1.00 24 Jan 93 Form 1,Sched WD,Misc Wksht WV: Y N N N WY: N HELP SYSTEM The context sensitive help system included with this program is intended to help the tax preparer when he needs a quick explanation of what a particular form and line is used for. It is not intended to be a substitute for the vast quantity of IRS instructions available to the user. It is also NOT intended to be a tutorial. The words used are in most cases directly out of IRS instructions and have the same language, and in some cases, may not provide any insight to the problem being solved. In short, the help system is intended to be a memory jog to the preparer. It very often refers the user to official IRS instructions when the options and rules are more lengthy than can be easily fit on one help screen. The F1 key will usually bring up a help screen applicable to the situation presented on the screen. If F1 brings up a summary of the Function Keys, then ALT-F1 will provide the context help. 11 FUNCTION KEY SUMMARY Esc : ABORT or EXIT any function F1 : brings up FUNCTION KEY SUMMARY screen Alt-F1 : brings up HELP for Selected Form Line Ctl-F1 : brings up EDITING HELP screen Sft-F1 : brings up FORM DESCRIPTION screen F2 : create/enter supporting SCHEDULE/STATEMENT/FORM F3 : fix field to constant OVERRIDE F4 : create COPY of current form F5 : create/edit MINI-SCHEDULE F6 : switch to PREVIOUS FORM F7 : popup CALCULATOR F8 : CLEAR/REMOVE current form only F9 : RECALCULATE all forms Alt-F9 : RECALCULATE current form only F10 : TAX and REFUND/UNDERPAYMENT summary Ctl-D : Tax program DOCUMENTATION Ctl-S : Save the Tax Return to File When editing form fields the following editing functions have been provided. Most of the time, the common DEL, Big Backspace(<--), and left and right arrows are all you need to perform editing of data in a field. The Ins key will toggle the system between insert mode and typeover mode. EDITING HELP Return: finished editing field ^X or ^Y : shift field Home : move to first field End : move last field PgUp : shift up one page PgDn : down one page <- : move cursor left -> : move cursor right Ctl <-: move to field left Ctl -> : move field right Ins : toggle insert on/off Ctl-U : restore old data Ctl-T : erase next word Ctl-X : clear field Ctl-A : cursor left one word Ctl-F : cursor right word DEL : delete char at cursor Esc : Abort Alt-F1: field specific HELP Shft-F1: Form Description Help BIG <-: delete char left Ctl-D : Documentation A SAMPLE RETURN A typical return has been included with the program and is stored in the file DEMO.T93. It is a typical return for a married couple named Frank and Evelyn JONES. It is the sample return that the IRS provides in Publication 17 - YOUR FEDERAL INCOME TAX FOR INDIVIDUALS - 1993. It is a large return with about 20 sheets when finally printed. It exercises many different forms. It is suggested that the new user spend some time with this sample, trying out the various features of the program. Make changes and see the change to the tax and refund. Use the F10 key to see the results on the Form 1040 refund and overpayment lines. Print out the return to get practice using your printer. Try printing the graphics Form 1040. Select the appropriate printer option from the Configuration Menu. 12 STARTUP.T93 PRO93 only: A startup tax return is provided for tax preparers and others that do more than one return in a season. Any fields that are always the same from tax return to tax return can be saved in a file called STARTUP.T93. Examples of data that should be put in this file are the preparer blocks on the Form 1040 and the Front Cover, the Fees Schedule, and the (author's personal favorite) two check marks required in Schedule B for foreign financial interests. If you register and receive program upgrades, you can skip the installation of the STARTUP.T93 file from the distribution disks by requesting the install program to skip the STARTUP.T93 when it detects that STARTUP.T93 already exists. IN CASE OF PROBLEMS Most errors are reported by error messages on the computer screen and may be self explanatory. Errors with on line help available will also include an "F1-Help" message. Appendix E. Lists some of the error messages that the program is capable of producing. The Documentation program can produce a complete list of errors as the ERRORS.DOC file. This file can be printed if required. Along with each error message is a discussion of the possible causes and suggested solutions. There is one class of error from which the software is not capable of recovery - the dreaded FATAL error. Some are data or file related and indicate that some crucial piece of data has been trashed beyond use. Appendix E. or the ERRORS.DOC file is a good source of discussion about the possible causes of most FATAL errors and suggested remedies. The most often suggested remedy you will encounter in this situation is to run the installation procedure again to get a fresh copy of the program PRO93.EXE or the possible supporting files that the problem seems to indicate should be replaced. If the program works for a long time and suddenly one day does not, a replacement from the distribution diskettes is almost certainly the first step in trying to resolve the problem. Program and data files can be made useless by some random glitch in the system, and they usually occur at the most inconvenient times. The most sinister error is the failure of the program to correctly calculate the dollar value for a particular form field. It is for this reason that users of this program must test each form to their satisfaction. The author is committed to timely repairs of these errors as soon as possible after they are noted. In the world of Federal Income Taxes, the rules and laws change every year and it is almost impossible to test the programs exhaustively from the time the official forms are released and the time the first program release must be sent out. The program should be in the hands of users and tax preparers by the middle of January of the tax season. The official data from the IRS is out by the end of December of the previous year. That leaves two weeks to make changes and to test the changes to the program. This is only enough time for form changes and rudimentary testing. As a special offer to encourage the support from both registered and non-registered users: if a computation logic error or program bug is discovered and reported, you will receive free registration of the TAX93 program for the 1993 tax year, i.e., next years program. The decision of the judge (the author, known to be lenient) is final. It is often 13 difficult to separate system problems from program problems. The author must be able to duplicate the problem in order to repair it. Since the 1993 Tax Program will be distributed to many users this tax season, unusual and unforeseen problems will be detected by active users. The author encourages you to test the program and identify the problem areas, if any. For your convenience the following report is suggested for reporting calculation errors. The author is available in the evenings for phone consultation, but it is impossible to provide bug repairs over the phone, so please copy the tax return file to a diskette and provide a version number of the PRO93.EXE file or copy the file itself to a diskette. Any DOS compatible diskette will do: 5-1/4 360K, 5-1/4 1.2M, 3-1/2 720K or 3-1/2 1.4M. Mail the report and diskette to the author. If you don't like to fill out reports, then mail the diskette with program copy and data file as a minimum. The diskette will be returned to you along with a repaired program if possible. Any tax return data will be held in strictest confidence and will be returned to you. If the problem can be demonstrated with fictional data, then by all means provide that data in place of real data. Some gentle words of caution: the author assumes that you, the user, knows the fundamentals of the MS/DOS operating system. The author cannot teach you the MS/DOS commands, especially over the phone. If you need help in using MS/DOS, then the author suggests looking for MS/DOS learning books at your local library, book store, or computer store, taking classes at the computer store or local community college, or pestering a friend who knows MS/DOS. 14 PROBLEM REPORT Date:_______________________________________ From:_______________________________________ _______________________________________ _______________________________________ Phone:______________ To: F. Roland Bjorklund 1993 PRO93 v0.93 - 19 Dec 93 P.O. Box 1156 Bryans Road, MD 20616 Phone: 301-645-7593 Please tell me about your system, i.e. computer model, version of DOS you are using, memory size, hard disk capacity, etc. If I cannot duplicate the problem on my machines, then I need this to see if a system problem might be the cause. System Description: Problem Description: DON'T FORGET to include a diskette with the tax return data file that caused the error. Also copy the program file PRO93.EXE to this diskette, or make sure you list the PRO93 program version and date above. Your diskette will be returned along with a repaired program as soon as possible. 15 ORDER FORM Date:__________________________ Remit to: F. Roland Bjorklund 1993 PRO93 v0.93 - 19 Dec 93 P.O. Box 1156 Bryans Road, MD 20616 Please enter following order: ____ PRO93 Registration ..................... @ $50.00 ea $________ ____ PRO93 Upgrade (Registered TAX92 user)....@ $30.00 ea $________ ____ TAX93 Registration ..................... @ $30.00 ea $________ ____ TAX93 Upgrade (Registered TAX92 user)....@ $20.00 ea $________ Do Not order states without registering TAX93 or PRO93 ____ STATE Registration ________________ .....@ $10.00 ea $________ ____ STATE Upgrade (Registered TAX92 user)....@ $ 5.00 ea $________ Shipping ........................................... $________ (U.S. and Canada, $1.50; All Other Countries, $10.00) Subtotal $________ ____ Maryland Residents please add Sales Tax ....... @ 5% $________ Total (U.S.Funds) $________ drawn on U.S.Bank Diskette ____ 5.25in. 360K ____ 3.5in. 720K Enclosed please find a check for $______________ Name ___________________________________________________________ Company ___________________________________________________________ Address ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ Day Phone: _______________________ Evening: _______________________ How did you learn about us?________________________________________ (disk catalog name, on-line service/BBS name, or from a friend) Prices are good until December 1993. 16 Appendix A. Configuration Options The program gives some flexibility via a configuration setup file, which you as the user can customize. The program as it is first installed is perfectly usable in its default configuration. Here is a list of the configuration items and an explanation of each one. The context sensitive help system also contains this information. 1. Tax Preparer's Name/Company The name that appears here is used for the opening screen display. You can put your name, your company name, etc. in here to get a little personal touch to the program. If your client is working with you, it makes this program appear customized for you. 2. State Return Code (2 char) This is the two letter post office code for the default state return module to execute most of the time. It saves you from having to type in the code each time the program prompts you for the state code. Post office code examples: VA = Virginia, TX = Texas, CA = California, etc. This is the default code used to identify ownership of income/deductions when no other state code is entered. All valid state codes: AK AL AR AZ CA CI CT DC DE FL GA HI IA ID IL IN KS KY LA MA MD ME MI MN MO MS MT NC ND NE NH NJ NM NV NY OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VA VT WA WI WV WY 3. Password 1 General You can enter passwords here if you only want persons knowing the password to have access to the program and tax return data. The program will prompt you for the password at program startup, if you decide to use one. DON'T FORGET your password after you decide to use one. 5. Tax Data Sub Directory This is the subdirectory where the tax return files are stored. The INSTALL program creates this subdirectory for you on the hard disk. Don't change it unless you know what you are doing. If you wish to use a floppy disk for tax return data storage, then replace the subdirectory name with an "A:" or "B:" (without quotes) to indicate which drive will be used. 6. Tax Form/Help File Directory This is the subdirectory where the tax program expects to find the tax files: PRO93.FRM, PRO93.DOT, and PRO93.HLP. The default is nothing in this entry, indicating that these files are located in the same directory as the PRO93.EXE program file. For a dual 360K floppy diskette installation, these files are placed on the diskette for drive B: and the PRO93.CFG file is created with the necessary data to support this. If you know what you are doing, you can copy these three files to another subdirectory or a faster access drive like a RAM resident drive. You can significantly cut down on the time it takes to retrieve tax forms and help information. If you have a RAM resident drive, say drive D:, 17 you can copy these files to that drive and change this configuration entry to "D:" (leaving out quotes of course). RAM resident drives are volatile, i.e. data is not retained after power is removed from the computer, so the files must be copied each time you power up the computer. You can add automatic copy commands to the system "autoexec.bat" file. If you don't feel comfortable doing this, then DON'T mess with it. 7. Prior Year Tax Data Directory This is the directory on the current drive where the prior year tax program, TAX92, stored tax return data. PRO93 will use this information to fetch information from last year's tax returns as required. You can change this if necessary. Perhaps you stored last years tax return data on floppy diskette. Then place "A:" or "B:" here as appropriate (minus quotes) to get access to floppy diskettes. 8. Printer Left Offset 0 to 5 It is possible to shift the printed forms a little to the right using this option if your paper alignment is not quite right for your printer. You are limited to 0 to 5 spaces (0.10 inch each in 10 CPI mode) for this option, because the forms already have 3 blanks before each line. Each form line is about 75 chars wide and narrow carriage printers are 80 chars wide. This offset also affects the graphics dot matrix Form 1040 printout in the same way. 9. Alert Beep: 0=OFF/1= ON You get more beeps from your computer if you change this value to 1. With the option set to 0, you will still get beeps for errors. 10. Line Printer 0=LPT1,1=LPT2 The printing of tax forms and the graphics version of the Form 1040 requires that the program knows what what the port number is for your primary printer. For most PC's this printer is numbered as LPT1 (0 value in option). If you don't get printer output for the Dot Matrix 1040 option, then try a value of 1. This option is provided for the rare case when more than one printer is connected to your PC. 11. Print Spooler 0=OFF,1=ON You can use the built in print spooling feature if this option is set to ON. The default is OFF. Printer data will be placed into a temporary file from which it will be read and sent to the printer when no other activity is going on. It is handy for printing long tax returns while you are working on another. It should only be used if you are running from a hard disk. It produces large temporary files on the program directory/drive. It works very slowly if you must work from floppy disks. 12. Graphics Printer 0=EPSON LQ 9pin 1=EPSON FX 9pin 2=EPSON 24pin 3=HP LaserJet The program supports the graphics printing of Form 1040 on three types of dot matrix printers and the popular Hewlett Packard LaserJet printer. Most other printer manufacturers emulate the Epson printers 18 because of their popularity. The difference between the LQ and FX modes is the height of the vertical dots (LQ = 1/60 inch and FX = 1/72 inch). The program creates the Form 1040 with 1/6 inch line spacing if you pick the correct option (0 = LQ and 1 = FX) for your dot matrix printer. If the printed form is too short or too long on the page, then try the other option. If the printed form is not useable, then your printer does not emulate the Epson LQ or FX modes. The Epson 24 pin mode will produce a nicer printout if your printer supports that capability. The HP LaserJet option uses 150 dots/inch to produce a signature Form 1040. All these forms have been submitted to and approved by the IRS. 13. First Time User Screen This flag is used to turn the First Time User screen on or off. The First Time User screen is a summary of steps to take to get a tax return started without reading the documentation. The proper steps are defined in the documentation; but reading documentation is not fun, so a quick summary of what to do is presented when the program starts. Experienced users can turn this screen off. Appendix B. Glossary This program and documentation uses many abbreviations and acronyms. They are summarized and defined here. AGI - Adjusted Gross Income CCC - Commodity Credit Corporation EIC - Earned Income Credit EIN - Employer Identification Number FUTA - Federal Unemployment Tax IRA - Individual Retirement Arrangement IRS - Infernal Revenue Service HH - Head of Household filing status J - Joint/Single ownership of amount MFJ - Married Filing Joint filing status MFS - Married Filing Separate filing status QW - Qualifying Widow/er filing status REMICS - Real Estate Mortgage Investment Conduits S - Spouse ownership of amount SGL - Single filing status SSN - Social Security Number SS/RR - Social Security/Railroad Retirement T - Taxpayer ownership of amount Appendix C. Version History v0.90 - 01 Dec 93 - Evaluation version mailed to requesting disk vendors. v0.91 - 07 Dec 93 - more forms become available. v0.93 - 19 Dec 93 - almost all forms are accounted for. 19 Appendix D. Technical Data 1. The TAX93 program requires about 234K bytes of memory and uses about 180K additional bytes of memory for dynamic memory allocation. It should run in an IBM/PC or later with 512K bytes of memory. PRO93 uses dynamic overlays in order to fit a larger program with more forms into approximately the same memory space as the TAX93 program. This limits its use to IBM/PC/AT computers running the MS/DOS 3.1 or better operating system. 2. The largest amount handled by this program is +21,474,836.47 and the negative amount is -21,474,836.48. Money amounts are stored to the nearest cent (.01 dollar). 3. The program uses a memory allocation scheme for creating and destroying memory as required for tax return form display data and storage data. A fixed amount of memory is allocated at program startup and space is allocated to requesting program functions on demand. A memory compaction is done when required to recover small pieces of de- allocated memory back into a bigger pool of available memory. 4. The forms file PRO93.FRM, and the PRO93.HLP file are compressed so they don't take up much space on your hard disk or floppy diskette. If these files were distributed in their uncompressed state, it would take three 360K byte diskettes to store the data. The tax program takes pieces of the forms and help files as it needs them and decompresses them. Help information is decompressed into a temporary file if you request help on a particular form. Appendix E. Error Messages The documentation portion of the tax program has the capability to create a list of almost all the errors that the program generates. The ERRORS.DOC file is generated from the on line help data files if you use the F7 key when in the documentation portion of the tax program. Use the F8 key if you want to print the ERRORS.DOC file to the printer. Most errors have on line help available if "F1-Help" is included in the error display. A SPECIAL NOTE ON FILE CREATION/OPEN ERRORS File creation/open errors can be deceiving. The MS/DOS operation system allows a limited number of files open at any one time. The parameter is specified by adding or changing the FILES = XX in the CONFIG.SYS file in the system boot directory/disk. This is done with a text editor (do not use your word processor for this task unless it has a simple text mode). If you have other applications installed on your hard disk, then the FILES=15 or FILES=20 is a common value and is sufficient for this program. You can use the MS/DOS TYPE command i.e. "TYPE CONFIG.SYS" to view the contents of this file on your screen. The errors not described in the ERRORS.DOC file are listed below: 20 TAX CALCULATION ERRORS ERROR: "Length - Not char string" ERROR: "Write - Not char string" ERROR: "Read - Not char string" ERROR: "Read - Not Long Value" ERROR: "Read - Not Integer Value" ERROR: "Write - Not Long Value" ERROR: "Write - Not Integer Value" These errors occur when the program is recalculating a return and discovers problems with the calculation code. These are not fatal errors, but they do indicate a problem with the program or most likely with the tax return data. If a new copy of PRO93.EXE from your distribution diskette does not solve the problem, then a problem report is necessary. The ESC key allows a direct exit from the program with an option to save the return data that you are working on. DATE ERRORS ERROR: "Date Field Error - Invalid Month - 13/07/90" ERROR: "Date Field Error - Invalid Year - 07/07/1999" ERROR: "Date Field Error - Invalid Date - 323399" ERROR: "Date Field Error - Invalid Day - 07/32/90" The program checks the date that you enter for each field that is designated as a date type. It checks for months 1 to 12, days in the month depending on the month, and general format errors. You can use any delimiter between the month, day, and the year. For example: 07/13/92, 07-13-92, and 07 13 92 will work. If you want to force other data into date fields, then set the override on that field first. If you change your mind, and don't want anything in the field, fill the field with blanks. MEMORY ALLOCATION ERRORS ERROR: "Memory Allocation Fatal Error - XX" Where the code is 1 - Failure to get MPT entry 2 - Allocation request too large 3 - Allocation failed to find free memory 4 - Allocation failed to find free memory 5 - Allocation failed to find free memory 6 - Failure to get allocation requested 7 - Failure with associated function 8 - Master Pointer release error 9 - check byte failure on MemFree() 10,13,14,15 - internal consistency check failed 20 to 31 - internal consistency check failed These are pretty nasty errors that indicate that the program PRO93 failed or the copy of executable file is no longer any good. Use the installation procedure to get a new copy of the PRO93.EXE file. Make sure you reboot the system before you do anything. If the problems persist and seem to occur only with certain situations and tax return 21 data, prepare a problem report and send it for evaluation and possible bug repairs. It is possible to make the program run out of memory and cause either Memory Error 1 or Error 6 by using many forms and many supporting schedules. The DEMO.T93 return provided with the program is a large tax return and uses about 35% of the available memory. It will take an unusual tax return to make the program run out of memory. Appendix F. Future Work A tax program is never completed. If you go beyond the normal changes due to the changes in forms and laws on a yearly basis, a quite formidable list of things to do still looms ahead. The partial list is presented here, and the author welcomes comments and suggestions: 1. More state programs, of course. Some states are quite simple and others are quite complicated with split incomes/deductions. There are 20 state programs available as of this date. Others will be added as quickly as possible. There are 41 states with income tax. States programs will be enhanced to add forms as demand warrants. 2. Individual electronic filing of tax returns via modem and telephone. The IRS has promised this capability in a few years and supporting software is planned. Currently, electronic filing must go through a service company approved by the IRS. This feature will become more useful when all preparers can go direct to the IRS using low cost equipment and software. 3. Depreciation and Amortization work sheets are required to speed up preparation time for small business returns. Alternate Minimum Tax depreciation options should be supported. Work was started. 4. A Passive Credits capability must be added as soon as possible. Work was started for TAX93 but was not completed in time. 5. A "Hold the user by the hand" version of the program may be possible if the demand warrants it. More consistency checking in the current program is definitely planned for. Most users like PRO93 because of the freedom it gives them to do things in any order. 6. QUICKEN is popular personal/business financial program with the capability to export data to other programs. It might be handy for PRO93 to read this data. 7. Other tax return form sets like 1120 and 1065 that would be useful for professional tax preparers. When time permits. Appendix G. The Author F. Roland Bjorklund has been programming computers since 1966. He currently makes a living as a Senior Computer Engineer programming real time embedded systems using the Intel family of microprocessors. This tax program, written in C, was started in 1987 when he took the H&R Block classes for tax preparation. He worked the January 1988 to April 1988 tax season as an H&R Block tax preparer. The following fall he took the advanced H&R Block tax courses, but did not work the tax 22 season. Work on the program lapsed until the fall of 1989 when work began again in earnest. As a result, the program is directed to the paid tax preparer and the problems associated with that kind of work. A TAX89 program was completed too late for that tax season, but it qualified the author for membership in the Association of Shareware Professionals. The TAX90 program was submitted to several major shareware distributors and was accepted by four. User acceptance of TAX90 was better than expected. The TAX91 version was spread far and wide. It was listed in several shareware catalogs, on-line services, and BBS's. There was quite a lot of interest from both personal users and professional tax preparers in TAX91. The 1992 tax year saw two programs: TAX92 and PRO92. The 1993 tax year will have three programs TAX93,PRO93, and WPRO93. WPRO93 is the long awaited Windows 3.1 version. INDEX ALT-F1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 11, 12 ASP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Association of Shareware Professionals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3, 23 author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2, 3, 6, 8, 13, 14, 22, 23 calculator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1, 7, 8, 12 configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5, 9, 12, 17, 18 CTL-D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1, 8, 12 CTL-F1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 13, 19, 20 electronic filing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 22 EPSON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3, 9, 18, 19 F1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1, 8, 11-13, 20 F10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1, 7, 8, 12 F2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1, 7, 12 F3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 12 F4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 F5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1, 5, 7, 12 F6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1, 7, 12 F7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1, 6, 12, 20 F8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 12, 20 F9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1, 7, 12 future work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 HEWLETT PACKARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1, 2, 9, 18 IBM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3, 9, 20 license . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 mini-schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4, 12 mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 MS-DOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 order form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5, 16 OVERRIDE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 12, 21 printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1, 2, 9, 10, 12, 18 PROBLEM REPORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15, 21, 22 registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2, 5, 13, 16 shareware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3, 23 SHFT-F1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 spooler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1, 9, 10, 18 state program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 10 SUPPORTING SCHEDULE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1, 7, 12 SUPPORTING STATEMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1, 7 tax report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1, 7, 10 23 warranty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Windows 3.1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 24