It doesn't matter. Print to a PDF, save as a PDF, be viewing a form in a 'form window' using form view instead of EasyStep and attempt to "print front window" _all_ put the "DO NOT FILE" banner across the page. The _only_ print that does not put the banner is "Print Returns for Filing" which only prints the forms required for filing and does not print the worksheet, or supporting data which I (and I assume most people) want to keep on a paper copy for future reference when I may not have access to a computer.
It appears that there is a way to print all for the forms, worksheets and supporting data without the banner and that is to print for your records only _after_ "Print for Filing". It seems that once you "Print for Filing" it toggles a switch that then allows print for your records without the banner so maybe this isn't quite so bad after all. It does mean that you can't make printouts of your work in progress though without the banner.
In other words, it's not just registration but activation. It is unfortunate that Intuit essentially prohibits any modification of the file after it has been printed for filing, but I suppose that's necessary to prevent somebody from "editing" everything but the SS number and then changing that number on the return after it's printed. Does TT put up an appropriate warning about this when "Print Returns for Filing" is chosen?
Any activation scheme requires phoning home. There's no way around it. My objection is not to paying more for additional returns. After all, each additional return that's filed increases Intuit's risk of having to pay up on their calculation guarantee. My complaint is that those who don't want to efile are now, in effect, being forced to pay for it. I suppose that's a way for Intuit (and the IRS) to "encourage" electronic filing.
"Financial Reporting. To comply with financial accounting or regulatory reporting requirements, Intuit may collect information associated with non-fee based transactions and activities. In the case of non-fee transactions, such as a non-fee E-file or non-fee first Print only activity, a transmission may be sent to our payment system as a zero dollar based transaction. This transmission does not contain any and is used strictly for Intuit-internal reporting purposes"
My current understanding (Mac version - PC version may be different) is after you "Print for Filing", even if you do that long before you are going to file, like right now for example, then that action identifies that particular return as your "free" return and is saved in the tax file for the return that you printed. After that you can print, edit, add, etc., to that return (tax file) as desired. Only if you attempt to print for filing a different return (tax file) are you required to pay again.
I have no idea what happens or how TT prevents editing every form, including the taxpayer information. The license agreement says that no "personally identifiable information or tax return information" is sent.
It would be interesting if this entire mechanism could be worked around or defeated simply by using a single tax file and then modifying it for each return. I have no desire to find that out myself because TT stated up front what the costs would be. What they didn't say up front is that you can not make readable printouts of your work in progress by printing selected forms for your records. Now it seems that you can, simply by printing a "Final Return" early, that is not obvious or stated in any of the TT help or support help that I could find.
[Sorry for the top-post but I want to prefix this post]
John, and others. This is getting far OT and not tax related so I won't post further in this regard.
I have no intention of providing information on how to override, defeat, or bypass the pricing policy of TT (I don't know if that is what this post is asking but I don't want to go there). If you are asking because you want to make your own tests, I would recommend against that, unless you _really_ know what you are doing, but the nature of your question suggests that you do not - or you wouldn't need to ask the question.
I have only made and reported on some simple tests that I preformed on a Macintosh platform to learn what TT actually does. What it does in a PC and how it does it might be very different. I will say this, simply blocking your network connection by itself will not defeat the mechanism
-- remember the TT product is not even complete yet -- you still need to download many updates before filing time, and that requires a network connection.
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Macintosh System OSX is a unix based system that has the standard unix firewall built in that allows one to allow of disallow particular internet connections.
Same thing. That disallows all network connections. But don't get the idea that you can defeat TT's pricing policy simply by disconnecting your network connection -- there is much more to it -- see below.
All this does is to prevent any external server from becoming aware of any change that has been made. This does not mean that there are not other records of changes internally kept on the computer. In order to make a test that leaves no traces, in addition to blocking network access, any and _all_ internal changes to any file, anywhere on the hard drive must be restored to the exact state as before the test - then, and only then are there are no traces of the test.
There is a big difference between testing what a particular feature of software does using methods like this and actually _using_ the software this way in real life to produce a finished tax return.
A member of my local Mac user group said that TurboTax 2008 for Mac does not use a serial number. That raises the question of how Intuit tracks the activation of a particular copy of the software and the number of returns that are filed using it.
If this isn't a true activation scheme -- and TT for Mac has not used activation before -- this seems to be creating additional complexity for users with little benefit for Intuit. Some people will still pass the disc on to their friends after they've used it, but now those friends may also be able to get a free efiling. Combining such a freebee with a higher purchase price for the software only increases the incentive for such abuse, not to mention complicating how Intuit must account for each software sale. What a mess.
That's not the actual site that is contacted. The actual site is "turbotax.iniuit.com". What happened if it is blocked altogether? I don't know, but I suspect that it would prevent e-filing and or affect the ability to update the software which is required.
I suggest that PC owners read the license agreement that speaks to updates for windows. It says in effect that when TT for windows is installed, a windows service is _also_ installed which will run in the background regardless of whether TT is running or not..."In addition, non-personally identifiable information about your computer system and the update process will be sent to Intuit."
The license agreement states that that does not apply to Macintosh which I can verify that no background processes were installed or are running on my Mac, only the attempt to phone home every time TT is started. That "phone home" might be for the Mac version only to provide the same data collection as the background process in windows.
If I were a Windows user I don't think I would like having a background process running all of the time, using memory, processor time, and other resources even when TT is _not_ running.
That's not the actual site that is contacted. The actual site is "turbotax.iniuit.com". What happened if it is blocked altogether? I don't know, but I suspect that it would prevent e-filing and or affect the ability to update the software which is required.
I suggest that PC owners read the license agreement that speaks to updates for windows. It says in effect that when TT for windows is installed, a windows service is _also_ installed which will run in the background regardless of whether TT is running or not..."In addition, non-personally identifiable information about your computer system and the update process will be sent to Intuit."
The license agreement states that that does not apply to Macintosh which I can verify that no background processes were installed or are running on my Mac, only the attempt to phone home every time TT is started. That "phone home" might be for the Mac version only to provide the same data collection as the background process in windows.
If I were a Windows user I don't think I would like having a background process running all of the time, using memory, processor time, and other resources even when TT is _not_ running.
If I "print for filing" so that I can then print my worksheets to review them, I wonder if I'll still be able to efile the same return when it really is final. Or is it really print OR efile.
According to the "experts" on the TurboTax forums, once a tax file has been marked as 'paid' you can then print at will and/or e-file without limitation. Note that I said 'tax file' which is where the 'paid' indicator resides. To TurboTax a tax file == tax return.
[Also note that you can have as many tax files as you like but when you choose your 'free' tax file (or purchase another) by printing for filing, be sure to *save* that file before quitting TT, or the free/paid status will be lost -- TT does issue a warning to save but the warning does not explain why you would want to save a file that you have made no changes to, only printed.]
Virginia has a requirement that a non-resident with Virginia source income file married filing separately if spouse has no Virginia. This requires that a married filing separately federal return be constructed as the starting point for the Virginia return. I wonder how Turbotax will handle that. Will there be a fee for the dummy Federal return that has to be prepared.
There is a strong argument that Virginia's MFS requirement is unconstitutional under the Priviliges and Immunities Clause of the United States Constitution. If you read between the lines of a letter that I received in October from the Virginia Tax Commissioner it appears to confirm the Virgina's statue is unconstitutional. After citing Lunding v New York Tax Appeals Tribunal, 522 S 287 (1998), which provided that a state may defend its position by demonstrating that (i) there is a substantial reason for the difference in treatment: and (ii) the discrimination practiced against nonresidents bears a substantila relationship to the state's objective, she stated,
"The General Assembly has not explaioned it reason for not granting a similar filing election to nonresidents, but a rational can be found in divorce law... YADA, YADA, YADA.
As noted in another thread on the board, Virginia cannot require a nonresident spouse to file MFJ because of the Due Process provision in the US Constitution. Combine that with the Privileges and Immunities Clause and the non resident taxpayer can chose between filing MFJ or MFS.
Both North Carolina and South Carolina eliminated similar MFS requirements in 2006, about a year and a half after I asked a prominent North Carolina politician a rather pointed question regarding the MFS requirement. The bill that eliminated the requirement passed the NC senate with a vote of 45-0. Unlike Virginia, NC did not have a specific statue for the MFS requirement prior to passage of the statue that eliminated the requirement. The regulation that required MFS was a fabrication of the NCDOR.
Ohio handles this by still requiring the return be MFJ, but if one spouse is a full year nonresident and has no Ohio source income, a certificate of non-domicile (military or nonmilitary versions exist) has to be filed and that spouse dos not have to sign the tax return.
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