Pc, IRS Seem To Be Match Made In Tax-Program Heaven

The personal computer and the Internal Revenue Service seem made for each other. Both love to work with numbers.

There were people in the early days who purchased a personal computer just to do their taxes. This was particularly true of Macintosh users, where Macintax put the actual forms on-screen.

Today Macintax ($79) - purchased a couple of years ago by ChipSoft, the TurboTax folks - no longer has the graphical-interface advantage. For one thing, Meca's TaxCut (also $79) is available for the Macintosh. And Windows programs, including TaxCut, TurboTax and Personal Tax Edge, deliver comparable on-screen performance.

The newest wrinkle in tax-preparation is the PC1040 form developed by the Internal Revenue Service. It's a strange thing, one sheet long, with numbered line entries and totals.

The PC1040, which can only be done on a personal computer, saves on paperwork, processing and mailing costs. Eventually the IRS is supposed to begin scanning in the forms (data is entered by hand today).

TaxCut includes the form with its program; TurboTax's 1040PC must be ordered separately.

For all their gains, tax programs are still prone to accepting mistakes, bogus entries and illogical data. And each program suffers from flaws in their interface.

All the programs permit bonehead mistakes. TurboTax allows you to enter gibberish as a Social Security number. It "estimates" the right number for you (entering "Bill Clinton" as a SS No. returned the number, 000-00-0000) and later flags the mistake in a "final prep" phase. TaxCut and Personal Tax Edge, to their credit, will not accept faulty Social Security numbers.

But they will accept nonsensical addresses, impossible dates of birth and other obvious errors. That's why their "guarantees" against mathematical mistakes are somewhat misleading. If you enter the wrong data, the deal's off.

In their defense, the programs note they are only advisory. TaxCut, for instance, admits in one instance, "The tax law in this area is both complex and, even on a close and careful reading, unclear."

And in egregious cases - for instance, declaring $47,000 in advertising expenses on a piece of property with no income - they will flag the entry in a final-prep stage or "audit."

But a lot of small mistakes, the kind the Internal Revenue Service might use to reject a return, can still pop up.

Although they wind up doing about the same job, the programs are markedly different in their approaches, strengths and weaknesses.

The surprise this year is a newcomer, Personal Tax Edge from Parsons Technology in Hiawatha, Iowa ($59, 1-800-223-6925). Parsons, which also makes MoneyCounts, has long had a reputation for inexpensive, easy-to-use software without many bells and whistles.

But it has a sophisticated understanding of the Windows interface, including the best "button bar" of the bunch, offers well-organized help features and is intelligent and snappy about getting through various forms.

Personal Tax Edge's calculator is convenient - the program also includes a depreciation calculator and Interest Vision for summing interest totals - and it includes W-2, interest and dividend forms so you can duplicate amounts from the originals.

The programs' help files use the familiar Windows "grab" hand and are clearly organized. The "interview" feature lets you choose topics affecting you ahead of time - you don't have to wade through pointless menus answering "no" repeatedly.

The chief drawback came in display. On my high-resolution monitor the wording on some of the forms was too small to read. And Personal Tax Edge did not run as deep in help capacity and number of forms.

TaxCut had the least interesting interface of the group and strangely does not support an HP LaserJet III printer (it advises you to get the driver from Microsoft or reconfigure Windows to use the LJ II). It caught bogus zip codes and Social Security numbers but permitted 3/20/97 as a date of birth.

TaxCut offers the most meticulous interview - virtually every question is a dialog box. This means the interview takes as much as 50 percent longer to complete. The upside is a more solid feel to the program, the sense that it's getting everything down and doing it right.

TaxCut also has a nice "shoebox" feature that links you with the right form based on the type of receipt or data you enter.

The program with the most depth is the hardened veteran of the group, TurboTax. It supports a huge number of forms, has a comprehensive interview process and offers an EasyStep, 1-2-3 procedure for filling out, auditing, printing and electronically filing the return.

TurboTax has a longer installation but lets you view its README file while the program installs. It also has some inconsistent interface patterns, requiring a click with the mouse on OK in some instances instead of merely hitting the ENTER key.

All of the programs do the job, especially moving numbers to the correct forms. If you're uncertain about taking the plunge, the best approach is to have an accountant look over the return.

News bytes

Not many computer outlets can claim the ripe old age of 10 (70 in DOS years), but Delphi Computers will celebrate its 10th anniversary from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday at its Green Lake store, 510 N.E. 65th St. . . Shapeware Corp. has launched Visio Shapes, add-on stencils to its hot new drag-and-drop drawing program. Included are office psace plans, computer network diagrams and insurance claims and policies ($39 to $79, 1-800-446-3335).

Tip of the week

Sage Electronics in Redmond (1-800-225-3404) has come up with a way to beat the nettlesome "memory effect" in cellular phone batteries. Its Pulse Power charger pumps batteries to 100 percent in less than an hour. (Send tips to USER FRIENDLY, The Seattle Times, P.O. Box 70, Seattle 98111. Paul Andrews can be reached at CompuServe 76050,161 or via fax at 382-8879.)