Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 9, 1995 TAG: 9503090052
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SHANNON D. HARRINGTON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Taxpayers using the latest technology to prepare their returns might want to double-check them with some old-fashioned arithmetic.
Publishers of the two leading computer programs for tax preparation have recognized glitches in their software recently that could cause errors in tax reporting.
H&R Block of Kansas City, Mo., said this week that the "TaxCut" software published by its subsidiary, Block Financial Software Inc., had several problems that could produce inaccurate tax returns.
And last week, Intuit Inc., a Menlo Park, Calif., financial software developer, admitted that glitches were detected in its "Turbo Tax" for Windows and "MacInTax" programs. All three software packages retail for about $40 each.
Western Virginia retailers said they have not received complaints about the publicized errors, but that's probably because the software makers have been so efficient in correcting them.
"The companies have made it rather easy for users," said Chris Mitchell, electronics supervisor at OfficeMax in Roanoke, which sells three versions of "Turbo Tax."
Sales representatives at Wal-Mart, Circuit City and Egghead Discount Software - a mail-order operation in Maryland - also said they have had no complaints about the software. Babbage's would not comment.
"All software has errors, but calculation errors in tax software are unacceptable," said Intuit Chairman Scott Cook.
The errors in each of the programs are similar in that miscalculations can occur when financial information is moved from other financial programs into the tax programs.
In "TaxCut,'' for example, when lists of items such as itemized charitable deductions are moved, all but the first two items may be deleted, said Daniel Caine, chief developer of "TaxCut."
"Turbo Tax" and "MacInTax" can miscalculate information when it is moved from a personal finance program.
Cook said other users most likely to be affected by the errors are those who report only disability income and no other income; those who take a Section 179 deduction for an automobile; those who estimate 1995 tax payments, using the Estimated Tax Worksheet; and users who depreciate an asset in the final year of its depreciable life.
Intuit said all registered purchasers of the TurboTax programs will receive a detailed notification of the problems, and every customer who requests revised software will get it at no charge. Customers must contact the company, using a toll-free number, (800)224-0948.
Block's problems, according to the company, affect the transfer of information from the Headstart edition of the software to the Windows final edition. Some items are dropped during the transfer.
Block Financial Software is offering customers a computer disk to fix the problem; the disk can be downloaded from a computer bulletin board service. The company expects to have the correction available after March 17.
The two software publishers say they are working to update the software of users having this problem, which they say could be fewer than 1 percent of buyers.
Taxpayers who have used the software can take some comfort in the fact that the Internal Revenue Service won't flag their returns just because of the glitches.
The IRS says there is no way it can determine if a return was generated with a specific software system, so there is no plan to treat those returns differently.
"It is impossible to tell if an error was computer generated," said Anthony Burke, an IRS spokesman in Washington.
by CNB