TAX DOCUMENT IMAGING AND PROCESSING

• US 20140244456A1
• Filed: 02/28/2013
• Published: 08/28/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intuit, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Intuit, Inc.
• Inventors: Huang, Nankun, Eftekhari, Amir, Howe, Carol A., Tifford, Alan B., Ludwig, Jeffrey P.
• Granted Patent: US 10,878,516 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/31
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/123 Tax preparation or submission

Abstract

Methods, systems and articles of manufacture for allowing taxpayers to utilize mobile communication or communication devices such as smartphones and tablet devices to upload tax document images and process tax document images such that resulting recognized tax data is incorporated into an electronic tax return. Authentication data is generated and provided to the taxpayer to establishing a connection with an image processor, which provides recognized tax data to the on-line tax preparation application for incorporation into the electronic tax return. Authentication data may be embodied within a URL address to the image processor that is transmitted as a SMS message to the mobile communication or computing device or encoded within a QR code such that the mobile communication or computing device can be used to take an image of and decode the QR code to determine the URL address and authentication data to establish a connection with the image processor.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for processing an image of a tax document, the method comprising:

a first computer comprising an on-line tax preparation application receiving a request from a first computing apparatus utilized by a taxpayer to access the on-line tax preparation application to enter data into the electronic tax return by acquiring an image a tax document;

the first computer providing authentication data to the taxpayer in response to the request, the authentication data being used by a second computing apparatus different than the first computing apparatus to acquire the image and transmit the image to an intermediate, second computer in communication with the first computer and the second computing apparatus; and

the first computer receiving data comprising a result of image processing performed by the second computer.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the first computer populating at least one field of the electronic tax return with the received data.

3. The method of claim 1, the authentication data comprising an authentication token generated by the first computer in response to the request.

4. The method of claim 1, the authentication data being associated with restriction data, the restriction data indicating when the authentication data is valid and can be used to establish a connection between the second computing apparatus and the second computer for processing the image.

5. The method of claim 4, the restriction data comprising a time from when the authentication data was generated.

6. The method of claim 4, the restriction data comprising a number of times the authentication data can be utilized.

7. The method of claim 6, the authentication data comprising a single use token.

8. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

the first computer receiving an electronic message from the second computer that the authentication data received by the second computer could not be utilized; and

the first computer notifying the taxpayer that the authentication data was not valid or generating new authentication data for the taxpayer.

9. The method of claim 1, the authentication data being usable to image multiple tax documents during a single connection session between the second computing apparatus and the second computer.

10. The method of claim 1, the first computer generating respective authentication data for imaging respective individual tax documents.

11. The method of claim 1, the first computer transforming the authentication data into electronic data of a different format before providing the authentication data to the taxpayer.

12. The method of claim 11, the first computer initially presenting the electronic data of the different format to the taxpayer via a display of the first computing apparatus while the first computing apparatus is accessing the on-line tax preparation program.

13. The method of claim 11, the first computer transmitting the electronic data of the different format to the second computing apparatus.

14. The method of claim 11, the first computer encoding a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) address embodying the authentication data into a Quick Response (QR) code.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein when the QR code is decoded by the second computing apparatus, the second computing apparatus is directed to the URL address of the second computer to begin a secure connection session between the second computing apparatus and the second computer using the authentication data and to allow the second computer to receive the image of the tax document transmitted from the second computing apparatus.

16. The method of claim 14, the QR code being initially displayed on a screen of the first computing apparatus such that the taxpayer can acquire an image of the displayed QR code utilizing an image element of the second computing apparatus.

17. The method of claim 11, the first computer:

generating a SMS message comprising a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) address embodying the authentication data; and

transmitting the SMS message to the second computing apparatus.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the SMS message is not transmitted to the first computing apparatus utilized to access the on-line tax preparation program.

19. The method of claim 1, the first computing apparatus comprising a desktop computer, and the second computing apparatus comprising a mobile communication or computing device.

20. The method of claim 19, the mobile or computing device being a tablet or smartphone device.

21. A computer-implemented method for processing an image of a tax document, the method comprising:

a first computer comprising an on-line tax preparation application, accessed by a browser executing on a first computing apparatus of the taxpayer and utilized to prepare the electronic tax return, and generating an authentication token for use by a different, second computing apparatus to transmit an image of a tax document to an intermediate, second computer in communication with the first computer and the second computing apparatus; and

the first computer receiving data resulting from the second computer processing the image received from the second computing apparatus; and

the first computer populating at least a portion of the electronic tax return with the received data.

22. A computer-implemented method for processing an image of a tax document, the method comprising:

a first computer comprising an on-line tax preparation application and receiving a request from a desktop computer of a taxpayer to enter data into the electronic tax return by acquiring an image a tax document;

the first computer providing the authentication token to the taxpayer in response to the request, the authentication token being usable by a mobile communication or computing device of the taxpayer and operable by the taxpayer to acquire and transmit an image of the tax document to an intermediate, second computer; and

the first computer receiving data resulting from processing of the image by the second computer and populating at least a portion of the electronic tax return with the received data.

23. A computer-implemented method for processing an image of a tax document, the method comprising:

an intermediate, second computer, in communication with a first computer comprising an on-line tax preparation application accessed by a first computing apparatus of a taxpayer to prepare the electronic tax return, receiving a request from a second computing apparatus different than the first computing apparatus to process an image of a tax document acquired by the second computing apparatus;

the second computer receiving an authentication token from the second computing apparatus;

the second computer establishing a secure connection session with the second computing apparatus based at least in part upon the authentication token, receiving the image of the tax document transmitted from the second computing apparatus and processing the image to determine tax data within the image; and

the second computer transmitting the determined tax data to the first computer for populating of at least a portion of the electronic tax return.

24. A computer-implemented method for processing an image of a tax document, the method comprising:

a first computer comprising an on-line tax preparation application receiving a request from a first computing apparatus utilized by a taxpayer to access the on-line tax preparation application to enter data into the electronic tax return by acquiring an image a tax document;

the first computer generating authentication data in response to the request;

the first computer transmitting the authentication data to the first computing apparatus of the taxpayer;

an intermediate, second computer, in communication with the first computer and a second computing apparatus of the taxpayer, receiving a request from the second computing apparatus to process an image of a tax document acquired by the second computing apparatus, the request comprising the authentication data;

the second computer establishing a connection session with the second computing apparatus based at least in part upon the authentication data;

the second computer receiving the image of the tax document acquired with and transmitted from the second computing apparatus;

the second computer processing the image to determine tax data within the image;

the second computer transmitting the determined tax data to the first computer;

the first computer receiving the determined tax data from the second computer;

the first computer populating at least a portion of the electronic tax return with the determined tax data.

25. A method for preparing an electronic tax return utilizing an on-line tax preparation application and an image of a tax document, the method comprising:

utilizing a first computing apparatus executing a browser to access the on-line tax preparation program hosted by a first computer and beginning preparation of the electronic tax return;

transmitting a request for entry of tax data into the electronic tax return by imaging a tax document, the request being generated by and transmitted from the first computing apparatus;

receiving electronic data comprising a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) address of an intermediate, second computer and embodying authentication data generated by the first computer;

establishing a connection between a second computing apparatus and the second computer based at least in part upon the authentication data;

acquiring an image of the tax document utilizing an imaging element of the second computing apparatus;

transmitting the acquired image to the second computer; and

viewing tax data of the image in the electronic tax return utilizing the first computing apparatus.

26. The method of claim 25, the electronic data comprising a QR code encoded with the URL address embodying the authentication data.

27. The method of claim 25, receiving the electronic data comprising viewing the QR code on a screen of the first computing apparatus, the method further comprising:

positioning the second computing device relative to the first computing apparatus such that the electronic data displayed on the screen of the first computing apparatus is within view of an imaging element of the second computing device;

acquiring an image of the displayed QR code utilizing the imaging element of the second computing device; and

decoding the QR code utilizing the second computing apparatus to determine the URL address embodying the authentication data.

28. The method of claim 25, the electronic data comprising a SMS message.

29. The method of claim 28, the SMS message being received by the second computing apparatus but not the first computing apparatus.

30-55. -55. (canceled)