Functionality to quickly determine tax savings from IRA contributions

[curt1]

It would save a great deal of time if Proseries had the functionality to quickly/easily determine the max IRA/Roth/SEP contributions a taxpayer could make AND show the corresponding tax savings (fed and states) at various contribution levels.  I'm sure the current manual process using worksheets could be automated which would provide a time savings for preparers and a monetary savings for happy taxpayers.

My clients love when I can tell them a $X IRA contribution will save you $Y in taxes this year.  Calculating the $Y takes a few minutes going back and forth between the returns and jotting down the savings somewhere like in the comments field.

[BobKamman]

Clients who make IRA contributions because it adds to their refunds, rather than because they believe in saving for retirement, are likely to be the ones who make IRA withdrawals in the next couple years to buy a car or boat, even if it means paying the 10% penalty.  (Usually, they think the 20% tax withheld will cover all of the cost.)  Better to take advantage of their financial illiteracy by wasting five minutes on the little game they like to watch you play, and then charge them another $50 for doing it.  

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the idea. We are changing the status to "Open for voting" since it is no longer considered "New". If you have any questions on the life cycle of an idea, check out our Idea Getting Started Guide for more information.