Patent ID: 8560409

Claim:
A computer-enabled method for improving compliance of a plurality of taxpayers subject to respective estimated tax obligations to a common taxing authority by use of periodic set-asides of funds sufficient to make required payments in accordance with terms of the obligations, the method comprising: using a computer-based system including a processor, database, at least one taxpayer interface, and data links to selected financial institutions controlling selected financial accounts for enrolling each of the taxpayers for tax payments to the common taxing authority by means of data messages; establishing and storing in memory for each of the estimated tax obligations a next available set-aside date and a due date for a next required payment; determining and storing in memory for each of the estimated tax obligations a payment amount for the next required payment; ascertaining and storing in memory for each of the taxpayers compliance preferences including a preferred set-aside period and an amount per period to be set aside; calculating and storing in memory for each of the estimated tax obligations a set-aside schedule as a function of the next available set-aside date, the due date, the payment amount, and the compliance preferences, the calculated set-aside schedule comprising a plurality of set-aside amounts and a plurality of corresponding set-aside dates, whereby a total of the set-aside amounts is at least equal to the payment amount; displaying to each taxpayer the set-aside schedule calculated for the estimated tax obligation applicable to the taxpayer; enabling each taxpayer to accept or adjust the applicable calculated set-aside schedule and, if adjusted, overwriting the stored set-aside schedule with the adjusted set-aside schedule; for each of the taxpayers, according to the applicable calculated set-aside schedule, transferring an amount of funds equal to the scheduled set-aside amount, on the scheduled set-aside date, by means of one or more data messages, from at least one individual source account associated with the taxpayer to a respective holding account, wherein set-aside amounts are accrued on behalf of the respective taxpayers until the due date; for each of the taxpayers, transferring the payment amount, on the due date, by means of one or more data messages, from the respective holding account to a receiving account of the taxing authority; and for each of the taxpayers, storing in memory a record of the transferred amount as a reduction to the holding account and a corresponding reduction to the taxpayer's individual estimated tax obligations.