Release 2026.01b now available.
Initial installation for the year must be from the first COMPLETE program we provide you for the current tax season.
Once you have completed the installation, you can use on-line updates shown on this page for subsequent changes throughout the tax season.
|
TIP: Before executing downloads from this page, exit Tax Preparer by closing the
Tax Preparer Control Panel.
If you do not, you will encounter an error message indicating that HSPrnTax.EXE is being used by another process,
and the update will not be completed.
|
The downloads on this page are only for Tax Preparer for Form 1040 returns.
Downloads for the Partnership Edition for Form 1065 returns are found on the
Partnership Downloads page.
Downloads for the California Supplement for Form 540 returns are found on the
California Downloads page.
e-file information. (Standard and Premium Levels only) If you purchased e-file
transmission software for the current filing season, you should receive a disk from PDP Tax Service
customized for compatibility with Tax Preparer.
You can install that software any time after you install the current edition of Tax Preparer.
Current Tax Preparer downloads.
In order to use these downloads, you must have already installed
the complete program for the 2026 edition of the Form 1040 software, such as release 2026.01.
Just go to the level you installed and click the link. Your prior installation will then be updated to the latest release.
Economy Level.
To update the Economy Level to release e2026.01b, click the following link:
Update Tax Preparer 2026 Edition Economy (e2026.01b).
(7,696 KB) (revised 2/16/2026)
Standard Level.
To update the Standard Level to release s2026.01b, click the following link:
Update Tax Preparer 2026 Edition Standard (s2026.01b).
(23,350 KB) (revised 2/16/2026)
Premium Level.
To update the Premium Level to release p2026.01b, click the following link:
Update Tax Preparer 2026 Edition Premium (p2026.01b).
(23,403 KB) (revised 2/16/2026)
(updated 2/16/2026)
Release 2026.01b differs from Release 2026.01a as follows:
- Forms added to all versions of Tax Preparer 1040:
- Schedule EIC added for claiming the Earned Income Credit. The schedule is automatically created
and computed when deemed to give a credit, based on data from your Form 1040 and elsewhere in your tax data. For nearly all taxpayers,
no manual entries are required.
- Form 4684 added for claiming a deduction for losses from Casualties and Thefts.
- Form 4868 added for filing an Application for Extension of Time to File your return, which provides
an automatic 6-month extension.
- Forms added to Premium Level software ONLY:
- Form 2120 added for filing a Multiple Support Declaration.
- Form 2350 added for filing an Application for Extension of Time to File for taxpayers abroad who need more time
to qualify for the foreign earned income exclusion and/or foreign housing exclusion or deduction.
- Form 2555 added for claiming an exclusion or deduction for Foreign Earned Income, including a housing exclusion
or deduction.
- Form 4972 added for figuring a favorable Tax on Lump-Sum Distributions for a total distribution from an employer's
qualified plan.
- Form 6781 added for reporting Gains and Losses from Section 1256 Contracts and Straddles.
- Form 8332 added for the Release or Revocation of Release for Claim to Exemption for Child by Custodial Parent.
- Form 8396 added for claiming a Mortgage Interest Credit for taxpayers who were issued a Mortgage Interest Certificate
by a state or local government unit or agency.
- Form 8815 added for claiming an Exclusion of Interest From Series EE and I U.S. Savings Bonds Issued After 1989.
- Form 8853 added for figuring deductions for contributions, and taxable income and additional tax for distributions for
Archer MSAs and Long-Term Care Contracts.
- Newly released or revised IRS publications, forms, and instructions are added (Standard and Premium Levels only) for easy
access from the floating Tax Preparer Control Panel, including IRS Publications 334, 526, 721, and 969;
a revised IRS Form 1040-ES with its instructions; and instructions for Form 4562.
Release 2026.01a differs from Release 2026.01 as follows:
- Schedule 1-A added to all levels for figuring Additional Deductions introduced by the big 2025 tax bill,
which are titled broadly No Tax on Tips, No Tax on Overtime, No Tax on Car Loan Interest, and Enhanced Deduction for Seniors.
The titles are somewhat misleading because of the conditions that must be met and the limitations for each. For example, those who file
with the Married Filing Separately status cannot claim any of these deductions except for the car loan deduction. And the only part of overtime
pay that can be deducted is the part of the pay that is added to the regular pay, which can be no larger than 50% of the regular pay.
And all of the deductions have dollar limits as well as phaseouts as income increases. This new schedule is automatically created and computed
for seniors at least 65 years old with the required SSNs, with no entries required by the preparer. It is also automatically created and computed
for taxpayers who file Form 4137 (for reporting unreported tip income), but additional entries can increase the deduction.
- Form 1310 added (Premium Level only) for Claiming Refund Due a Deceased Taxpayer.
- Form 2848 added (Premium Level only) for reporting Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative.
- Form 4137 added (Premium Level only) for computing Social Security and Medicare Tax on Unreported Tip Income.
As mentioned above, it can lead to an automatic deduction via Schedule 1-A as well.
- Form 6198 added (Standard and Premium Levels only) for figuring At-Risk Limitations.
- Form 8829 added to all levels for figuring Expenses for Business Use of Your Home in conjunction with Schedule C.
- Translate omissions corrected. The translate feature for starting a return by translating a prior-year return did not
perform all of its traditional features in release 2026.01. The most obvious symptom of the problem was the failure to advance the ages
of taxpayers by one year when the prior-year return still had its tax year set to 2024 (as it would be the the proir-year return as filed with the IRS).
There are more subtle symptoms as well, including retaining prior-year forms that would normally apply only for one year, such as Form 3903 for claiming
a deduction for moving expenses. All of these problems are corrected in release 2026.01a, However, for a return already translated with release 2026.01,
your must either (a) translate the return anew, or (b) advance the ages of taxpayer and spouse manually and remove (with our file manager) forms that are
not applicable for tax year 2025.
- Newly released IRS publications, forms, and instructions are added (Standard and Premium Levels only) for easy
access from the floating Tax Preparer Control Panel, including IRS Publications 501, 510, 514, 530, 544, 547, 554, 559, 584, 939, and 970;
IRS Form 1040-ES with its instructions; and instructions for Forms 6765 and 8960.
|
