What’s New in ProConnect Tax Online for Tax Year 2018

Intuit® ProConnect™ Tax Online is ready for the new year with key tax reform updates, new features, and a refreshed look and feel. We’ve been listening to your feedback and working hard over the past many months to get the product ready for this upcoming tax season.

ProConnect Tax Online is cloud-based, and as such, some of the new features below were already released and ready for you to use during extension season. There are also a few new updates that will be coming soon as we expect to make additional releases over the coming months.

Features Available in November

Refreshed Interface: This year, we invested in our underlying technology with the aim of helping us deliver value to customers faster. As a part of this effort, we have made improvements to the interface of ProConnect Tax Online to make the tax preparation process smarter, faster and simpler. Key changes include:

• Refreshed color scheme for the main navigations.
• Focused navigation, so instead of scrolling to find the forms you need, you can access each focused section using a tax topic menu.
• Improved and more prominent search capabilities.
• The ability to switch to a grid view in certain areas for faster data entry.
• Conditional inputs, so relevant data that’s specific for your client and their return is visible.

Document Management: Intuit Link has been updated and now includes the ability to manage documents. This functionality is embedded inside the client list in ProConnect Tax Online and includes the ability to:

• See, on a single screen, all documents including those uploaded by the firm and those provided by clients through the secure Link portal.
• Organize documents into folders.
• Assign document types (for example, W-2, 1099, etc.).
• Download documents to desktop.
• Preview documents in your browser.
• Save client files shared through Link for later use.

Tax Planner: Help your clients plan for the future and create tax plans that compare tax implications across multiple years and scenarios. Accountants can create a plan that compares up to three cases across three years for a total of nine comparisons. These tax plans can also be printed and shared with clients.

Tax Reform Updates: ProConnect Tax Online is updated with all tax reform changes, including updated tax calculations.

• Updated Forms and Tax Calculations: All tax calculations have all been updated to reflect the new tax code.
• Updated Tax Reform Impact Summary: This feature was introduced for tax year 2017 and has been updated for tax year 2018. The summary sheet is printable and will be specific to each client’s situation, so you can easily show them a comparison and explain the impact of the 2018 law changes that are relevant to them.
• 1040 Optimization: ProConnect Tax Online reflects the new postcard-sized return and six additional schedules. With the refreshed interface, the schedules are broken out into a separate screens.

More general information on tax reform can be found in the Tax Reform Resource Center.

Link Improvements: We’ve made tremendous progress on updating Link this year to ensure it’s ready for season. Most Link capabilities are now available directly within the tax return. Within the Link panel inside the tax return, you can now:

• View requests and status of requests.
• Request additional documents.
• Leave comments.
• Answer questions.
• Upload documents.
• Edit and add new items to client checklist.

More Forms Supported for E-file: We’ve added 57 new e-file capabilities for returns, extensions, estimates and amended returns. Learn more.

New Updates Coming Soon

Trial Balance Improvements: QuickBooks® Online Accountant will have a refreshed trial balance experience. The new experience will provide you with the ability do trial balance by viewing a balance sheet and profit & loss report. Anytime you need to make changes, you can jump directly to that place in the books to make relevant adjustments.

Tax Reform Diagnostics: Get alerts on tax-reform-driven changes in context, while preparing a client’s return.

Data Conversion Improvements: The updated data conversion process will be more guided to help prevent the creation of duplicate clients. When a data conversion process is started, the system will show clients that currently do not have an Employer Identification Number (EIN) or Social Security number (SSN). There will be an opportunity to fill this out to ensure new clients being converted do not have the same EIN or SSN.