WO2002000002A2

WO2002000002A2 - Prepaid interactive online income tax preparation method

Info

Publication number: WO2002000002A2
Application number: PCT/IB2001/001127
Authority: WO
Inventors: Syd Hazan
Original assignee: Taxamatic, Inc.
Priority date: 2000-06-29
Filing date: 2001-06-25
Publication date: 2002-01-03
Also published as: AU2001274399A1; CA2413490A1; GB2382191A; GB0302017D0

Description

PREPAID INTERACTIVE ONLINE INCOME TAX PREPARATION METHOD

Field of the Invention

The invention generally relates to a method for securing prepaid services from an Internet website. More particularly, the present invention provides an automated, interactive method for the provision of online income tax form document preparation services using a prepaid card.

Background of the Invention The advent of the Internet has resulted in a variety of online services; i.e., services accessed and completed via one or more websites on the Internet. These online services include the preparation of tax-related documents such as those related to required filings by various government entities.

Typically, a provider of such website service and product (hereafter, provider) requires payment in the form of a credit or debit card, and the purchaser must provide the card number via the Internet. Upon verification and acceptance of the payment information, the provider renders the requested services or products. Alternatively, the provider collects a significant amount of personal information; e.g., mailing address, from the purchaser, then mails a bill for the services provided. The purchaser submits payment in the form of a personal check, credit or debit card account number, or the like upon receipt of the bill, and receives the requested service or product only after settlement of the bill.

While the current methods for the provision of online services via an automated billing transaction provide an improvement over cumbersome, paper-based methods, current methods are subject to some inherent deficiencies. Many prospective clients are aware that transmittal of their financial information via the Internet puts that information at risk of interception and theft of the same for fraudulent purposes. For this reason, the prospective purchasers of services decline to enter into such transactions, resulting in a low market demand for providers of such services and lost opportunities for a purchaser to obtain these services. Second, billing and payment by traditional means results in a protracted time period before the transaction completes, due to the time required for the provider of services to generate and mail the bill, the time required for the purchaser to receive the bill, and the time required for the provider to receive and post payment from the purchaser. For persons requiring a virtually instantaneous transaction, these delays are unacceptable.

Third, the provider must forego payment for an extended period of a time for the same reasons articulated in the previous paragraph. Alternatively, the purchaser must forego receipt of the services, if the provider demands payment in advance of the services.

The global online market, then, needs a model for the provision and payment of online services, whereby the purchaser of services procures services via a secure, automated payment means, thus enabling sales of the online services; eliminating cumbersome manual billing processes; and safeguarding the payment information associated with the purchase of the online services.

Summary of the Invention

The present invention addresses the shortcomings of the current art with a method that provides tax preparation services from an Internet website via secure payment means. Further, the method of the present invention affords traditional retail merchants an opportunity to participate as a third party in an e- commerce transaction.

Preferably, the method includes the steps of selling prepaid cards having a unique code associated therewith; providing access to a website on which the service is provided; and providing the code of the prepaid card to the website to obtain the service.

In the first step, a retail supplier of goods (hereafter, retailer) or other source offers for sale a medium associated with a code, for example, a unique identifier. Typically, the medium comprises a card encoded or printed with the code (hereafter, a prepaid card), and packaged in such a way so as to prevent unauthorized access to the unique identifier. A person purchases the prepaid card, thus gaining access to the code.

In the second step, the person possessing the code utilizes a personal computer (PC) or other device to access a website having a server supporting a tax preparation application program. The person (hereafter, the purchaser), via the PC, establishes a communication link with the website, typically, via the Internet. The communication link includes any hardware device, software component, or combination thereof necessary to accomplish the communication function; e.g., a cable modem, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) technology, satellite, or microwave.

Once the purchaser establishes a communication link with the website, the server associated with the website prompts the purchaser for the code. The purchaser enters the code via the PC, whereafter the PC transfers the code via the communication link to the website server. In the final step, the website server receives the code, verifies services associated therewith, and establishes an interactive dialog with the purchaser to obtain the information necessary to complete the tax return. The completed return may then be transmitted to the purchaser and printed, transmitted directly to the government authority requiring the return, or both. The foregoing examples represent several of the embodiments of the present invention; however, an artisan of ordinary skill recognizes that the examples in no way limit the scope of the invention disclosed herein. Brief Description of the Drawings FIG. 1 illustrates a flow diagram of the process steps of a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a first web page including fields for entry of the unique identifier; and

FIG. 3 illustrates a second web page including a field for entry of a password. Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment

The preferred embodiment of the present invention provides an interactive model for the payment and provision of online income tax form document preparation services via a prepaid card. Of primary importance, the model provides a secure, payment means that permits purchasers of the services to complete the entire transaction without disclosure of sensitive credit account or debit account information.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like numbers are used to denote like items throughout, Fig. 1 shows the primary process steps of the preferred embodiment. Initially, a conventional computer software retailer offers for sale a prepaid card for tax document preparation services 20. Alternatively, any source offers the prepaid card for sale, including convenience stores, gas stations, pharmacies, mass merchandisers, variety stores, or the like.

The prepaid card typically comprises a small card capable, for example, of being carried in a wallet, purse, or pocket. The prepaid card includes or is associated with a code such as a serial number, a unique identifier, or a combination of both. The prepaid card embodies the code in a variety of formats, including those formats visible to humans and computer-readable formats such as those found in CD-ROM diskettes or magnetic stripes. One skilled in the art recognizes that protective wrapping or packaging typically accompanies the prepaid cards when offered for sale to prevent those unauthorized access to the code. Additionally, in various embodiments, the protective wrapping or packaging incorporates design criteria intended to gamer sales; e.g., colorful, opaque packaging with unique designs. Further, various embodiments include one or more blank tax forms to be printed and filed at a later time.

In the second step, a person (hereafter, the purchaser) purchases the prepaid card 22 from a merchant. The purchase may be consummated via any means, including cash, credit, and debit transactions. Upon payment of the purchase price, the purchaser receives the prepaid card. Next, the purchaser or holder of the prepaid card (hereafter, the customer) utilizes a personal computer (PC) or other device to access a website associated with the offering of tax preparation services 24 via a communications link. Access devices include Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), web access phones, or any other device capable of communicating with the website. The website itself includes any hardware, software, or networking device necessary to carry out the functions associated with its service or product offering. Typically, the website includes a server having a computer processor, memory, a database, and input means. The communications link generally include private and public networks, and typically comprises the Internet.

After accessing the website, the customer sends the code to the website via the Internet. Generally, the customer utilizes an input device such as a keyboard, mouse, scanner, card reader, phone, or other device associated with the access device to accomplish this task. For example, the customer views a web page (hereinafter described) from the website with browser software, and locates a field for entry of the code. The customer then visually checks the prepaid card for the code, and enters the same via a keyboard attached to the PC. The customer completes this step by transmitting the entry to the website. The website and its associated server receive the code 28, whereafter the software of the website verifies the received code 30 by comparing to data previously stored in the database associated with the website.

Once verified, the server provides a product or service associated with the received code 32. Generally, the server and software search the database and retrieve information related to the code to provide the product or service, generally, a form and the processing thereof for purposes of preparing an income tax return. The server and its associated software initiates an online dialog session as part of the service, providing one or more web pages to the customer where each web page depicts various tax document templates with fields .or asks questions that the customer answers. The customer views the web pages with browser software, answers the questions or fills in appropriate fields with text entry, pull down choices, or other means, and submits each form to the server for processing.

Upon completion of the processing 34, the customer can enter a new code to start a second process 24, enter the same code to modify the documentation generated in the previous process 24, or indicate that the transaction is complete 36.

The customer then reviews the electronic documents, prints the documents, files the documents by telephone, files the documents by computer (typically via the Internet), or a combination of the preceding. In various embodiments, the web server or the customer files the documents with various tax form recipients, including government entities such as Revenue Canada.

Turning now to Fig. 2, there is shown a screen shot exemplifying a first web page for entry of the code from the prepaid card. It is contemplated that the customer views the web page via browser software on the PC. In the first web page there is shown an area 38 for title, text, messages, icons, or other material. The customer chooses between a first button 40 to start a new file for free and a second button 42 to start a new file with a prepaid card. If the customer selects the second button, then the customer utilizes an input device such as a keyboard to enter the code from the prepaid card. In this example, the code comprises a serial number and a code, which the customer enters into serial number text 44 and code text 46 fields, respectively.

Upon entry of the code, the server associated with the website processes the entry and validates the number. One skilled in the art recognizes that the validation process contemplates various implementations including, for example, invoking software to search the database associated with the website; locate information associated with the entered code, retrieve the located information; and process the entry according to instructions contained in the retrieved information, and provides the online documents, instructions, or other materials corresponding to the service purchased with the prepaid card. In other embodiments, the customer prints the completed information on the blank, preprinted forms supplied with the prepaid card package at time of purchase.

In another embodiment, the customer elects to save a copy of the prepared tax-related documents (hereafter, the tax file). The server saves an encrypted electronic copy of the tax file on a medium, e.g., the database, and permits retrieval of the same upon receipt and verification of the code or customer-provided password associated with that specific tax file. For example, the customer completes a tax file according to the method of the present invention, and elects to save the file with the service provider. One year later, the customer accesses the website via an Internet connection, supplies the correct password (as hereinafter described), requests retrieval of the tax file, reviews the retrieved tax file online, and prints the same for convenience. The printed document then serves as a basis for the preparation and filing of subsequent tax documents.

Turning now to Fig. 3, there is shown the second web page illustrating an screen interface that permits entry of the code or a customer-supplied password to retrieve tax documents previously stored by the provider of services, as previously described. In the Fig. 3, there is shown an illustration of a screen shot depicting a second web page that includes a text entry field for a password. In the second web page, there is shown a title and information area 48. A third button 50, if selected by the customer, invokes software related to starting a new file. A fourth button 52, if selected by the customer, starts a retrieval process and prompts the customer to provide identifying information that permits the software to retrieve the correct tax file. In this example, software prompts for entry of either a tax file name into the tax file name field 54 or entry of a customer-supplied password in the password field 56. Upon entry of a tax file name or a password, the system associated with the website searches its records for a match, and produces the same, if available. Various embodiments provide various additional features. For example, and again referencing Fig. 3, there is shown a menu bar 58 with various pull down menu choices File 60, My Profile 62, Tl Tax Forms 64, T- Slip Entry Forms 66, Review and Help 68. Additional features include the buttons labeled Save 70, Forms Index 72, Print 74, and Calendar 76.

The pull down menu choice File 60 permits various file-related and storage-related activities, while the My Profile 62 choice permits entry of new or amended information pertaining to the customer, and displays the same upon demand. The Tl Tax Forms 64 choice presents various online template documents and information associated with Tl tax forms. Similarly, the T-Slip Entry Forms 66 choice presents various online template documents and information associated with T-Slips. The Review and Help 68 choice provides various previously-file documents for review, as well as informative information regarding tax form preparation and the website itself.

The additional feature Save 70 permits the customer to save the current document displayed on the screen to a file, while the Forms Index 72 feature displays a list of forms and associated form numbers and titles. The Print 74 feature sends a designated document, form, or screen to a printing or display device, and the Calendar 76 function provides scheduling and calendar information.

The foregoing examples represent several of the embodiments of the present invention; however, one skilled in the art will recognize that the invention described herein may be implemented in a variety of ways. We claim:

Claims

1. A method of providing a tax return preparation service for an entity, comprising: selling the entity a unique code; establishing communication between the entity and a server-based web site on a public computer network; providing said unique code to the web site over said network; creating an interactive dialogue between the entity and the web site over the network to provide the web site with information necessary to prepare a tax return for the entity; completing the tax return for the entity; and providing the completed tax return to the associated government agency requiring the tax return.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said server contains an application program for tax return preparation and the step of completing the tax return for the entity is performed by the server without human intervention.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the step of providing the completed tax return to the associated government agency requiring the tax return is performed by said server communicating with the associated government agency over said public computer network.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein said server provides a copy of the completed tax return to the entity over the public computer network.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of selling the entity a unique code is performed by a retail establishment selling the entity a card bearing the unique code.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the entity utilizes a personal computer to establish communication between the entity and a server-based web site on a public computer network.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein a printer is associated with said computer and a copy of the tax return is printed by the computer.

8. A method of providing a tax return preparation service for an entity, comprising: the entity purchasing a card bearing a unique code at a retail establishment; the entity using a personal computer to establish communication with a server-based web site using a public computer network; the entity providing said unique code to the web server over said network; the server establishing an interactive dialogue between the entity and the web site over the network to inform the entity of the information required to complete the tax return and the entity providing such information to the server over the public network; the server utilizing an application program to complete the tax return for the entity in an automated manner; and the server providing the completed tax return to the associated government agency requiring the tax return over the computer network and providing a copy ,of the tax return to the user's personal computer.