TAX-I-QL (rhymes with icicle) is the lead program from the Boston QL software house of EMSoft. It is a spreadsheet template to run under ABACUS on the QL to make the IRS tax preparation easier but is does require at least 384K RAM.
It has been updated each year for the past two years and the 1988 version, TAX-I-QL/88, is now available and incorporates all the new stuff Congress had in mind for you when it passed the Tax Reform Act of 1986.
All the 1040 Schedules (except F) are supplied and most of the forms you will need. You also get a lot of forms you will never need, because it was developed for tax preparers as well.
First, execute ABACUS (EMSoft recommends v 2.3 or 2.35 so that taxiql will load faster), then load taxiql. Even on a disk you will have time to put on the kettle for tea. The template runs 105K even in the abbreviated microdrive version.
You know it’s loaded when the menu pops on screen with the cell ranges for the different forms. Use the F3,X command to get the built-in prompts for initiating the particular tax return, then begin stuffing data in all the places it should go.
TAX-I-QL/88 comes with a well written, information packed, 16 page manual that is almost a tutorial on tax preparation. It primary purpose is to teach you how to use the program, but it incorporates a number of hints to help your figure out the IRS jargon and obscurities. It also has the best starter course in using Abacus we have ever seen.
This is not a program for the faint of heart. The manual cautions that you should refer to the IRS instructions – and truth to tell – you should have the proper IRS forms and instructions at your side.
The great strength of TAX-I-QL is in the spreadsheet. For example, if you are self-employed, Schedule SE is automatically prepared from data entered and calculated elsewhere. If you initiate the return properly, your tax bill and your exemptions are automatically calculated. It even lets you itemise deductions but only counts them if you have enough to make it worth your while (suggesting that you may want to dig deeper into the pile of receipts.)
The disk version has a number of forms on separate files that do not interact with the main spreadsheet. Some such as 8598 for calculating the deductibility of Home Mortgage Interest require individual decision making for which line the results must go and don’t interact in any case; others are fairly obscure forms such as 4970 which are rarely used in any case.
While TAX-I-QL is primarily for tax preparers and others accustomed to doing their own taxes, it is also an excellent teaching tool. Peter Hale, the author, advises that prior year versions are frequently ordered by those who simply want to check out their accountant’s work and begin de-mystifying the whole process of tax preparation. At $19.95 for 5 1/4″ disk or $21.95 for micro cartridge it a cheap short course in taking control of your life and is probably deductable on your 1989 return.
Available from EMSoft, P.O. Box 8763, Boston, MA 02114-8763 (617) 889-0830 or your favorite dealer.