System and method for determining paid taxes

• US 7,860,746 B1
• Filed: 07/31/2007
• Issued: 12/28/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intuit, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Intuit, Inc.
• Inventors: Frasher, Thomas, Fitch, Todd Matthew
• Primary Examiner(s): Gart; Matthew S
• Assistant Examiner(s): Goyea; Olusegun
• Application Number:
  US11/831,885
• Time in Patent Office: 1,246 Days
• Field of Search: 705/15, 705/16, 705/19, 705/21, 705/26, 705/30, 705/31, 705/35, 705/14, 705/42, 705/39, 705/67, 235/375, 235/379, 707/1
• US Class Current: 705/19
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/207 Tax processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/123 Tax preparation or submission

Abstract

A method for determining paid taxes including obtaining a total price of a purchase following a transaction involving the purchase, determining a tax jurisdiction associated with the first purchase, determining a tax rate based on the tax jurisdiction, extracting a paid tax from the total price based on the tax rate, calculating a tax sum based on the paid tax, and completing a section of a form using the tax sum.

Claims

1. A method for determining paid taxes comprising:

recording a total price of a purchase using a financial software product (FSP) executing on a processor and owned by a purchaser of the purchase, wherein the total price is recorded after completion of a transaction involving the purchase;

assigning, within the FSP, the purchase to a category of a plurality of categories comprising a non-taxable category and a plurality of taxable categories;

determining, using the processor and after recording the total price using the FSP owned by the purchaser, a tax jurisdiction associated with the purchase;

determining, using the processor and after recording the total price using the FSP owned by the purchaser, a taxable status of the purchase based on the category assigned to the purchase and the tax jurisdiction;

determining, using the processor and after recording the total price using the FSP owned by the purchaser, a tax rate based on the tax jurisdiction;

extracting, using the processor and after recording the total price, a sales tax from the total price based on the taxable status of the purchase and the tax rate, wherein the total price is obtained from the FSP owned by the purchaser;

calculating, using the processor and after recording the total price using the FSP owned by the purchaser, a tax sum based on the sales tax; and

completing a section of a tax form using the tax sum, wherein the tax form is for use in a tax return for the purchaser.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

displaying the tax sum.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the tax rate comprises accessing a look-up table mapping the tax jurisdiction to the tax rate.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the sales tax comprises a state tax component and a federal tax component.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the transaction involves ninety-nine purchases.

23. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

recording the total price in a financial record using the FSP after completion of the transaction.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the total price is accessed by the FSP at a financial institution after completion of the transaction.

25. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the tax jurisdiction comprises obtaining a zip code of a location of the purchase.

26. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the tax jurisdiction comprises obtaining a city associated with the purchase.

27. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the tax jurisdiction comprises obtaining a geographical coordinate of a location of the purchase.

28. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the tax rate comprises accessing a look-up table on a website mapping the tax jurisdiction to the tax rate.

6. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions to determine paid taxes, the instructions when executed by a computer comprising functionality to:

record a total price of a purchase using a financial software product (FSP) owned by a purchaser of the purchase, wherein the total price is recorded after completion of a transaction involving the purchase;

assign, within the FSP, the purchase to a category of a plurality of categories comprising a non-taxable category and a plurality of taxable categories;

determine, after recording the total price using the FSP owned by the purchaser, a tax jurisdiction associated with the purchase;

determine, after recording the total price using the FSP, a taxable status of the purchase based on the category assigned to the purchase and the tax jurisdiction;

determine, after recording the total price using the FSP owned by the purchaser, a tax rate based on the tax jurisdiction;

extract, after recording the total price, a sales tax from the total price based on the taxable status of the purchase and the tax rate, wherein the total price is obtained from the FSP owned by the purchaser;

calculate, after recording the total price from the FSP owned by the purchaser, a tax sum based on the sales tax; and

complete a section of a tax form using the tax sum, wherein the tax form is for use in a tax return for the purchaser.

7. The computer readable medium of claim 6, the instructions further comprising functionality to:

display the tax sum.

8. The computer readable medium of claim 6, wherein the instructions comprising functionality to determine the tax rate further comprise functionality to:

access a look-up table mapping the tax jurisdiction to the tax rate.

9. The computer readable medium of claim 6, wherein the sales tax comprises a state tax component and a federal tax component.

10. The computer readable medium of claim 6, wherein the transaction involves ninety-nine purchases.

29. The computer readable medium of claim 6, wherein the instructions to determine the tax jurisdiction comprise functionality to obtain a zip code of a location of the purchase.

30. The computer readable medium of claim 6, wherein the instructions to determine the tax jurisdiction comprise functionality to obtain a city associated with the purchase.

31. The computer readable medium of claim 6, wherein the instructions to determine the tax jurisdiction comprise functionality to obtain a geographical coordinate of a location of the purchase.

32. The computer readable medium of claim 6, wherein the instructions for determining the tax rate comprise functionality to access a look-up table on a website mapping the tax jurisdiction to the tax rate.

11. A system for determining paid taxes comprising:

a processor;

a financial record comprising geographical information associated with a purchase and a total price of the purchase, wherein the financial record is generated after completion of a transaction involving the purchase;

a financial software product (FSP) owned by a purchaser of the purchase and configured to access the financial record after completion of the transaction; and

assign the purchase to a category of a plurality of categories comprising a non-taxable category and a plurality of taxable categories;

a tax module executing on the processor and configured to;

obtain the total price from the FSP owned by the purchaser after completion of the transaction;

determine, after obtaining the total price from the FSP, a taxable status of the purchase based on the category assigned to the purchase and the geographical information;

extract, after obtaining the total price from the FSP owned by the purchaser, a sales tax from the total price based on the taxable status of the purchase and a tax rate determined from the geographical information; and

calculate, after obtaining the total price from the FSP owned by the purchaser, a tax sum based on the sales tax; and

a form generator executing on the processor, operatively connected to the tax module, and configured to complete a section of a tax form using the tax sum, wherein the tax form is for use in a tax return for the purchaser.

12. The system of claim 11, further comprising:

a financial record repository operatively connected to the tax module and storing the financial record.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the financial record repository is associated with a financial institution.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the financial record is a credit card transaction record.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the tax module is further configured to determine a tax jurisdiction associated with the tax rate from the geographical information.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the financial record further comprises a taxable status associated with the purchase.

17. The system of claim 11, wherein the form generator is further configured to transmit the section of the tax form to a third party.

18. The system of claim 11, further comprising:

a user interface comprising a card reader and operatively connected to the tax module.

19. The system of claim 11, wherein the financial record is stored on a smart card.

20. The system of claim 11, wherein the tax module comprises a look-up table mapping a tax jurisdiction to the tax rate.

21. The system of claim 11, wherein the transaction involves ninety-nine purchases.

22. The system of claim 11, wherein the sales tax comprises a state tax component and a federal tax component.