Automated Tax Data Capture via Declarative Graphs

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Solution Overview

Problem

Tax preparation is a time-consuming and laborious process, with individuals and businesses spending significant hours complying with filing requirements, and existing tax preparation software often requires manual entry of extensive data through rigid user interfaces.

Innovation Solution

The use of declarative data structures, such as completeness graphs and tax calculation graphs, allows for a more dynamic and automated tax preparation process by connecting tax rules and calculations, enabling the tax preparation software to automatically gather and collect necessary data from various sources, reducing manual input and streamlining the preparation of tax returns.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Loss of time

If manual data entry is used through rigid user interfaces, then data accuracy can be controlled, but the time required for tax preparation increases significantly

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetime required for tax preparationVSAvoidmanual data entry requirement

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of timeVSExtent of automation

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by automatically capturing and storing tax data from multiple sources before the user needs to prepare their return. The data capture utility proactively collects information from employers, financial institutions, and other sources, pre-processing and validating the data so it is ready for use in tax calculations, thereby eliminating the need for manual data entry during the actual tax preparation process

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The tax preparation system provides self-service by automatically gathering, validating, and organizing tax data without requiring user intervention. The data capture utility autonomously connects to external sources, retrieves necessary information, and populates the tax return form automatically, allowing the system to serve itself rather than requiring manual input from the user

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

2Productivity

If automated data capture from multiple sources is implemented, then data collection speed increases, but system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedata collection speedVSAvoidsystem complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system segments the complex data collection process into distinct, manageable modules. The data capture utility is divided into separate components that handle different data sources (employer data, financial data, etc.), each with its own connection and extraction logic. This segmentation allows the system to manage complexity through modular architecture while maintaining high productivity through parallel data collection from multiple sources

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system introduces intermediary components that simplify the interaction between the tax preparation software and external data sources. The data capture utility acts as an intermediary layer that handles all connections, authentication, and data extraction from employers, banks, and other sources, shielding the main system from the complexity of these external interfaces while enabling efficient automated data collection

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Adaptability or versatility

If declarative data structures are used to separate user interface from calculation engine, then system adaptability improves, but implementation complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesystem adaptabilityVSAvoidimplementation complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system implements dynamics by using declarative data structures that allow the user interface and calculation engine to be loosely coupled and independently adaptable. The completeness graphs and tax calculation graphs serve as dynamic frameworks that can accommodate different data sources and calculation methods without requiring changes to the core architecture, enabling the system to adapt to varying tax codes and data formats while maintaining a consistent separation of concerns

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Data Source

PatentUS10475133B1System and method for automated data gathering for completing form

Publication Date: 2019.11.12 INTUIT INC

AI summary

A computer-implemented method for gathering user-related tax data for use with tax preparation software includes a computing device executing a data capture utility configured to connect to one or more remotely located data sources, wherein the data capture utility captures user-specific tax data from the one or more remotely located data sources and stores the captured data in a data store. The computing device executes a tax logic engine configured to read data from the data store and determine the completeness of the data contained within the data store. The computing device communicates a message to the user regarding the level of completeness of the data contained within the data store.