Intuit, Inc.

Alan Brian Tifford

Amir R Eftekhari

David Duayne Taylor

Carol Ann Howe

Richard Neil Preece

Vidya Dinamani

Nankun Huang

Jeffrey P Ludwig

Bennett R Blank

Aliza Duenas Carpio

Vijoy J Caro

Avanish C Pathak

Keith A Greener

Dave Curtis Barrett

Carolyn Spencer

Ashley K McMahon

Lisa B Greene-Lewis

Kenichi Mori

Anthony Lionel Creed

Alan F Buhler

Susan A Harman

Karla Julietta Uribe

Cary D E Evans

Qwan T Pham

Jason J Casseday

Joel Kopelioff

Jane L Ryder

Christine A De Sanctis

Kenchi Mori

Michelle M Makowski

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.

Tax document imaging and processing

In a collection technique, a user (such as a taxpayer) provides information (such as income-tax information) by submitting an image of a document, such as an income-tax summary or form. In particular, the user may provide a description of the document. In response, the user is prompted for the information associated with the field in the document. Then, the user provides the image of a region in the document that includes the field. Based on the image, the information is extracted, and the field in the form is populated using the extracted information. The prompting, receiving, extracting and populating operations may be repeated for one or more additional fields in the document.

Interactive technique for using a user-provided image of a document to collect information

Methods, systems and articles of manufacture for generating interface elements of an electronic tax preparation application to allow a taxpayer or user to view a portion of an image of a tax document that is a source of data for a field of a screen generated by the electronic tax application. The image portion displayed may be a particular box or field of a tax document for a corresponding particular field of the screen generated by the electronic tax preparation or a bounding region including one or more adjacent or surrounding boxes or fields. Embodiments allow taxpayers to view an image of a source document while viewing the data that was entered in the field from within the tax preparation application without having to consult paper copies of the tax documents.

Presentation of image of source of tax data through tax preparation application

Systems, methods and articles of manufacture for delivering website content to an internet user which is personalized to the user based on a persona associated with the user. A persona database system accesses personal and financial data for the user from any suitable source, such as from a tax return of the user or personal finance management application or even a questionnaire. The persona database system matches the user's data to a persona for the user from a predetermined, discrete set of personas, wherein each persona identifies a generalized profile of personal and financial characteristics of the user. Then, when a user access a website hosted by a website server, the website server accesses the persona for the user from the persona database system and the website server personalizes the website content delivered to the user based on the persona for the user.

Systems, methods and articles for providing personalized web content based on portable personas

A computer-implemented method of acquiring tax data for use in tax preparation application includes acquiring an image of at least one document containing tax data therein with an imaging device. A computer extracts one or more features from the acquired image of the at least one document and compares the extracted one or more features to a database containing a plurality of different tax forms. The database may include a textual database and/or geometric database. The computer identifies a tax form corresponding to the at least one document from the plurality of different tax forms based at least in part on a confidence level associated with the comparison of the extracted one or more features to the database. At least a portion of the tax data from the acquired image is transferred into corresponding fields of the tax preparation application.

Systems and methods for tax data capture and use

In general, in one aspect, the invention relates to a method for populating a field on a form. The method includes: establishing a communication session between a first computing device and a second computing device; receiving, from a user of the first computing device, a selection of source data; transferring, over the secure communication session, the source data from the first computing device to the second computing device; matching, based on a matching criterion, the source data to the field in the second computing device; calculating, after matching the source data to the field, a value for the field based on the matching criterion and the source data; and populating the field with the value.

System and method for populating a field on a form including remote field level data capture

A computing device of a user, including a processor, a memory, an electronic organization application comprising software instructions stored in memory and executed on the processor to store a plurality of activities associated with the user, and a rewind application configured to interact with the electronic organization application and including software instructions stored in memory and executed on the processor to present at least one question associated with each of the plurality of activities stored in the electronic organization application, receive a response to the at least one question, determine whether each of the plurality of activities is of a predetermined category based on the response received to obtain a subset of the plurality of activities, and store, in a repository, data associated with the subset of the plurality of activities for use in a financial application.

Method and system for performing a financial rewind

A method and system are provided for helping a user configure her paycheck deductions and disbursements. Paycheck information is retrieved (e.g., from an aggregator, from benefits providers, from the user) and a tool is activated to present an electronic paycheck summary to the user. A tax engine is invoked to determine whether her net pay can be increased by reducing the amount of pay withheld for taxes. The user is then invited to change any or all of the benefit deductions taken from her pay. For example, she may be invited to select from a number of insurance plans (e.g., medical, dental, life insurance), select a level of contribution to a retirement account, open an investment account, and so on. Action to implement some or all of the user's selected deductions may then be initiated electronically. Alternatively, she may be presented with a checklist of actions she needs to take.

Method and system for facilitating management of paycheck disbursements

A method for generating a visualization. The method includes receiving, from a user a request to complete a tax form including a first field, presenting a first and second tax query corresponding to the first field, receiving a first response corresponding to the first query and a second response corresponding to the second query, and determining a first value corresponding to the first field using a decision tree corresponding to the first field, and the second response. The method also includes generating a completed tax form including the first value in the first field, generating a visualization corresponding to the first field which graphically depicts a relationship between the first value and the first response and the second response, and displaying the completed tax form and the visualization on a display device with the completed tax form depicting a relationship between the visualization and the first value.

Visual representation and user feedback on calculated form fields

A method for populating forms based on a user interview. The method includes generating, using a computer processor, binary questions according to a first rule, receiving answers to the binary questions from the user, adjusting, using the computer processor, a binary question based on answers according to a second rule during the user interview, and identifying, using the computer processor, forms from a forms library based on the answers according to a third rule. The method also includes presenting based on the answers, data entry fields of forms to the user in a unified format, where related data entry fields are grouped together to form data entry menus in the unified format, receiving data from the user for the data entry fields, populating a portion of the forms to generate populated forms based on the data, and storing the populated forms in a repository on behalf of the user.

Unified data entry for generating multiple forms

Growing community of inventors

San Diego, CA, United States of America

Alan Brian Tifford