HowardSoft
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P.O. Box 8432
La Jolla, CA 92038-8432
phone: (858) 454-0121
e-mail: support@howardsoft.com
CHECK WEB FOR UPDATES website
(a restricted website for those who have already installed a CURRENT edition of Tax Preparer)

Contents Downloads e-file Alerts Bulletins Manuals 2023 Editions Public Website

Updates for 2024 Editions of Tax Preparer
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Get ready for the 2025 filing season!

Tax Preparer 1040 now available! Release 2025.01 is now available. If you already ordered the software for the 2025 filing season, you should have received an email containing your private link to the new software. But if you haven't yet ordered, you can do so now by clicking the starburst to the left, and your private link will be sent to you thereafter.


With tax forms growing longer and more complex every year (after flirting with simplicity just a few years ago), and the uncertainty of last-minute tax changes, the next tax season could have unexpected changes. But you'll be ready for anything ... if you order your Tax Preparer update now!


With tax laws built-in and e-file options for professionals, Tax Preparer is still the best deal in accurate, fully-automated, professional tax software.

Still available:
Tax Preparer 1040 Release 2024.01f
California Supplement 540 Release 2024.01
Partnership Edition 1065 Release 2024.01

If you have already installed a prior release of Tax Preparer 1040, California Supplement 540, or Partnership Edition 1065 for the 2024 filing season, you can update it to these final releases of the 2024 filing season by clicking here:

CLICK HERE
for on-line updates

If you haven't yet ordered, click the above starburst for quick, secure, on-line ordering.

TIPS on moving Tax Preparer to a new computer or upgrading an old one.

Moving to a new computer? If you bought a new computer and want to copy your prior-year data to that computer for translation, see the last few pages of Chapter 14 of the new User's Guide (pages 14-13 through 14-18). It provides useful information and tips on moving Tax Preparer data from one computer to another, backed by examples for four common scenarios.

NEW: Upgrading old computer to Windows 10? If you upgrade an existing computer to Windows 10, you may encounter printing or start-up problems:

  •   Printing: You may have to update the driver for your printer if graphic forms in Tax Preparer do not print properly. While the Windows 10 upgrade automatically installs the required new drivers for most popular printers of recent vintage, it does not update drivers for older or less popular printers, many of which did not yet have Windows 10 drivers available when Windows 10 was first released. You may therefore have to install a new driver from the website for the manufacturer of the printer, if available.
  •   Start-up (32-bit only): Tax Preparer may not start because of a change in settings that Microsoft's upgrade to Windows 10 imposes automatically for 32-bit versions of Windows 10. To change the settings back to the ones required by Tax Preparer, see Customer Service Memo CSTP1503. (No such problem exists for 64-bit versions of Windows 10, which are generally installed when you upgrade a 64-bit computer to Windows 10.)

Additional help. Some people have had perplexing problems this year for which there were not immediate solutions. These include failure of the installation programs, failure of Tax Preparer to start, inability to access tax data, and inability for e-file transmission software to find e-file output to transmit. All of the problems are caused by either aggressive anti-virus software or non-standard computer setups. However, convenient solutions for all problems are available and are described in two memos on our Bulletins page:

  •   CSTP1501: How to ensure proper installation and updating of Tax Preparer.
  •   CSTP1502: How to avert inability to run Tax Preparer's start-up .vbs file.

32-bit and 64-bit compatibility!

Since shortly before the 2015 filing season, Tax Preparer has been compatible with all versions of Windows 8, 8.1, and 10, including both 32-bit and 64-bit versions, and all other Windows versions as far back as Windows XP, whether 32-bit or 64-bit. Although greatly modified for 64-bit Windows, the familiar look and feel of Tax Preparer remains the same. You will have no problem installing or running our software on a new Windows 8, 8.1, or 10 computer, most of which are preloaded with a 64-bit version of Windows. However, Windows 10 may require an updated print driver or, for 32-bit versions, a change in default settings as detailed in Customer Service Memo CSTP1503. (Prior to this time, in order to use Tax Preparer on a 64-bit machine you had to install additional software that created a virtual 32-bit machine and then install Tax Preparer within that virtual machine, which could sometimes be difficult and costly.)

TIPS for paid preparers: Don't forget the mandatory annual registration of your PTIN. You must register with the IRS to practice in 2019 as a paid preparer. REMEMBER, you must renew your PTIN annually each year you want to prepare returns for clients. And don't forget about mandatory e-file. (See our 2011 HowardNews for information on both mandatory registration and mandatory e-file.) You are now required to e-file your clients' returns except for returns that cannot be handled by your e-file software or returns that your clients do not want to be e-filed. However, even if you find that you are not required to e-file many of your returns, there are plenty of reasons for adding e-file to your practice anyway. Read Why e-file? on our home page for details.

ON-LINE UPDATES for 2024 Edition

These on-line updates can be used only by those who have already installed a prior release of the same program for the same filing season. (For the last on-line updates for the prior tax season, click the 2023 EDITIONS button near the top of this page.)

Tax Preparer
(Form 1040)

CLICK HERE
for updates

Release 2024.01f now available.

(Updated 4/14/2024.)

Partnership Edition
(Form 1065)

2024.01 is the latest release.
No update required

Release 2024.01 now available.

(Updated 5/5/2024.)

California Supplement
(Form 540)

2024.01 is the latest release.
No update required.

Release 2024.01 now available.

(Updated 3/10/2024.)

Manuals
(Tax Forms Guides and User's Guide)

CLICK HERE
for manuals

The latest on-screen manuals are also included with all updates.
s

IMPORTANT NEWS

1/27/2025 Release 2025.01 of Tax Preparer 1040 now available.

Our release coincides with the opening of the tax season by the IRS. Today is the first day that the IRS will accept tax returns for tax year 2024 and will start processing them. If you ordered our software for preparing federal Form 1040 tax returns, you should have received an email with a private link to your download. Be sure to let us know if you haven't received it, and we'll resend it immediately.

5/5/2024 Release 2024.01 of Partnership Edition 1065 now available.

If you ordered our software for preparing federal Form 1065 tax returns, you should have received an email with a link to your download. Be sure to let us know if you haven't received it, and we'll resend it immediately.

4/14/2024 Release 2024.01f of Tax Preparer 1040 now available.

This release revises Forms 1040, 1116, 5695, 8283, 8379, 8582, 8606, 8615, and 8959 to add more automation, improve on-screen clarity, correct on-screen line references, and make a few minor corrections; updates our Tax Forms Guide for all but a few forms not yet installed; and adds a number of IRS publications released by the IRS since our last release. To get the new update and more details on the changes, go to the Downloads Page.

3/11/2024 Release 2024.01e of Tax Preparer 1040 now available.

This release revises Form 8889 and the Dependents Worksheet, further updates our Tax Forms Guide, and adds a number of IRS publications released by the IRS since our last release. To get the new update and more details on the changes, go to the Downloads Page.

3/10/2024 Release 2024.01 of California Supplement 540 now available.

If you ordered our software for preparing California Form 540 tax returns, you should have received an email with a link to your download. Be sure to let us know if you haven't received it, and we'll resend it immediately.

2/26/2024 Release 2024.01d of Tax Preparer 1040 now available.

This release adds Forms 1116, 2350, 2555, 4137, 4255, 8379, and 8824, averts an e-file rejection for returns with Form W-2G, adds IRS publications released by the IRS since our last release, and adds inadvertently omitted IRS forms and instructions. To get the new update and more details on the changes, go to the Downloads Page.

2/19/2024 Release 2024.01c of Tax Preparer 1040 now available.

This release adds Forms 2210, 2210-F, 4136, 4684, 5405, 6781, 8396, and 1040X, and adds IRS forms, instructions, and publications released by the IRS since our last release. To get the new update and more details on the changes, go to the Downloads Page.

2/12/2024 Release 2024.01b of Tax Preparer 1040 now available.

This release adds Forms 2106, 5329, 8606, 8853, and 8889, fully activates e-file for those who ordered e-file transmission software, and adds IRS forms, instructions, and publications released by the IRS since our last release. To get the new update and more details on the changes, go to the Downloads Page.

2/6/2024 Release 2024.01a of Tax Preparer 1040 now available.

This release adds Form 4562, 8283, and 8839 3468; revises Form 1040, Schedule H, and Forms 5695, 8582, and 8867: and adds IRS forms, instructions, and publications released by the IRS after our first release of the tax season. To get the new update and more details on the changes, go to the Downloads Page.

1/30/2024 Release 2024.01 of Tax Preparer 1040 now available.

If you ordered Tax preparer 1040 for the current filing season, you should have received an email with a link to your download. Be sure to let us know if you haven't received it, and we'll resend it immediately.

1/8/2024 IRS to open the tax season on January 29, 2024.

January 29 is the first day the IRS will accept Form 1040 tax returns for processing. Paper returns sent to the IRS before this date will be held until January 29 before they will be processed. e-file returns will be rejected if reveived before this date.

Prior releases. For details on prior-year changes throughout the tax season, see Changes in Recent Releases for the respective software:

What are the changes?

Because of the convenience of the web, we issue new releases frequently, even when most of the changes are relatively insignificant. Changes are highlighted in the bottom half of the respective download pages. However, if you want more detail about the most significant changes, there are two other places to look:

  •   E-FILE ALERTS. Changes that are of consequence ONLY to e-file returns are documented here. The changes typically avert specific Reject Codes for the e-file return, so if your return is rejected, check this list first to see if you need to update your software and take particular steps to repair your data.
  •   BULLETINS. Changes that are significant for both paper and e-file returns are documented here. Technical Change Notices are issued for each significant change, including the steps you may have to take to repair a return prepared with an earlier release.

Changes that are not documented on either of these pages are less serious in nature, including rewording on some on-screen lines to make entries more understandable, correction of spelling errors, correction of line number references on printouts, and technical changes that have no affect on calculations.

IMPORTANT TIP: After you translate a prior-year return to the current-year format, be sure to VIEW ALL TRANSLATED WORKSHEETS to ensure that the worksheets are recalculated under their new format, and to verify that all entries are proper for the current return. This step is especially necessary this year because of major changes in several worksheets.

This website last updated January 27, 2025.