Patent ID: 7860763

Claim:
A computer-implemented method of generating a new tax return for a taxpayer, the method comprising: extracting, by a proactive tax preparation system (PTPS) stored in a memory and executing on a processor, identification information about the taxpayer and an identity of a payroll provider from a previous tax return, wherein the identification information comprises an age group of the taxpayer; determining, by the PTPS, a likelihood of the payroll provider remaining the same since the previous tax return, wherein determining the likelihood is based on a multiple-regression analysis of a plurality of tax returns from a plurality of taxpayers over a multi-year period, and wherein the likelihood of the payroll provider remaining the same since the previous tax return is further based on at least one selected from a group consisting of the age group of the taxpayer, a marital status of the taxpayer, and an employment status of the taxpayer; requesting, automatically by the PTPS and without intervention of the taxpayer, tax data for the new tax return from the payroll provider based on the likelihood of the payroll provider remaining the same; and generating, automatically by the PTPS, the new tax return including the identification information and the tax data.