                            AM-TAX PROFESSIONAL 1040
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This version of AM-TAX PROFESSIONAL 1040 reflects tax laws in effect on
December 26, 1995.  There is a chance that the 1996 tax bill currently
pending in Congress may make significant tax changes retroactive to
1995.  Among the issues being discussed are a lower tax on long-term
capital gains; allowing a loss on the sale of a main home to offset
other capital gains; and a new tax credit for certain taxpayers with
children under age 18.

If any or all of these changes become law AND IMPACT the 1995 tax forms,
an updated version of AM-TAX PROFESSIONAL 1040 will be released in early
February and shipped to you automatically.  Please, do not contact us
if and when Congress and the President reach an agreement on the new
tax bill.  We'll be appraised of the situation and will modify AM-Tax if
necessary.

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Software operation has been updated in several areas.  Major
enhancements made to AM-Tax for 1995 are documented in Section 2 of the
user manual.  However, there have been a number of changes to the tax
program since the manual was printed in late October.

 1. The 1995 Pro 1040 program requires 518K of available, conventional
memory to run.  (The manual says 520K.)  If you run CHKDSK to determine
the amount of memory available, DOS must report back at least "530,432
bytes free".  (1K = 1024 bytes)

 2. Form 8888 (Direct Deposit Request) has been added.  This is a new
form that allows taxpayers to request that any refund be deposited
directly into a specified bank account rather than having the IRS issue
a check.  Funds are available sooner.  Direct deposit, which was
formerly available only to taxpayers filing electronically or with Form
1040PC, is now available with conventional, mailed returns as well.

 3. Form 8615 (Tax on Child Under Age 14) is added automatically to any
tax return with interest and dividend income over $1,300 and the
taxpayer is under age 14.  An audit message warns the preparer if
information from the parent's return has not been entered on Form 8615.

 4. Form 9465 (Installment Agreement Request) has been added to the
1995 program.

 5. If a single taxpayer forgets to enter his or her date of birth and
all other conditions indicate that the return might qualify for the EIC,
an audit message reports that we need to know the taxpayer's age.

 6. Dependents must have a social security number unless the child was
born in November or December of 1995.  In that case, enter 11/95 or 12/95
in the dependent SSN column.  However, a tax return cannot be electron-
ically filed unless the dependent has a valid social security number.

 7. Schedule SE is deleted automatically if no tax is calculated.  A
checkbox can be marked on the SE screen, however, indicating that the
schedule should be printed even if zero.

 8. Form 2441 calcs have been updated to consider married, filing
separate conditions.  Additional input is requested for MFS returns.

 9. Form 5329 is no longer added automatically.  If a 1099-R indicates
an early distribution (box 7 is '1') and the taxpayer is under 59 1/2,
then the 10% penalty is computed on 1040, line 51 and "NO" prints next
to that line.  This conforms to IRS instructions.  If the preparer
chooses to call up 5329, then the calculations are done on that form and
the 5329 prints.

10. Form 2210 penalty calculations are more precise.  A new worksheet
now determines the number of days late for each individual payment
and usually results in a lower overall penalty for the taxpayer.

11. The F6 key toggles as the cursor moves from field to field.  When a
supporting form is available, F6=SUPP is shown at the bottom of the
screen.  When a supporting form is not available, F6=blank.  When a
"pick from list" is available, F6=LIST.

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 CHANGES SINCE THE EARLY BIRD PROGRAM WAS RELEASED IN DECEMBER

 1. The early version of Form 8615 (Tax Calculation for Child Under Age
 14) used $1,200 as the base level.  Form 8615 was released on December
 18 by the IRS with $1,300 as the new base level.  Program calculations
 have been changed in the final edition to use $1,300.  If you prepared
 any return with the early bird program that contained Form 8615, reload
 and resave that return with the final program to correct the
 calculation.

 2. AM-Tax automatically assigned a document control number in the early
 edition of Form 8453.  This has been removed because of potential
 problems.  The DCN is now assigned like last year, during the
 transmission step and must be entered on Form 8453 either before or
 after printing the form.

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 HINTS ON PRINTER DRIVERS:

 You'll notice many changes to the Print Menu and the AM-Tax printing
 capabilities. We recommend that you test your printer by printing an
 official form with this early bird version.

 There are now over 400 printer drivers provided with AM-Tax.  This
 covers the most popular printers, but certainly won't list all possible
 printers.  If your printer is not included specifically by name in the
 driver list, that does not mean that you won't be able to print with
 AM-Tax.  Merely select a printer type that closely approximates the
 printer model that you are using.

 Most dot-matrix printers can emulate an Epson FX-80 or LQ-500 printer.
 Select one of those if your dot-matrix printer isn't listed.

 Most InkJet printers can emulate a Hewlett-Packard Deskjet 500.
 Select that printer if your InkJet isn't listed.

 Most laser printers emulate a Hewlett-Packard Laserjet II.  Select
 that printer driver if your laser printer isn't listed.

 Or, refer to your printer documentation for the printer type that
 it most closely emulates.

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 GRAPHIC PRINTING ON NON-LASER PRINTERS:

 *************************************************************************
 * The graphic printing of a tax form on a non-laser printer is a         *
 * complex and intricate process.  We've tested it on many printers and   *
 * systems, but it is certainly possible that AM-Tax will not be able to  *
 * print an official-looking tax return on every printer or under every   *
 * computer configuration.                                                *
 *                                                                        *
 * If your system aborts during the printing process or if there are      *
 * errors in the printed form, then do the following:                     *
 *                                                                        *
 * 1. Go to the "Print Menu" and select "Set Print Format".  Change       *
 *    the print format codes from '3' (official) to '1' (approved         *
 *    substitute).                                                        *
 *                                                                        *
 * 2. Reprint the tax return in the typed-out style, which is also        *
 *    approved for filing.                                                *
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 Form 1040A and Schedules 1, 2 and 3 are bar-coded this year in
 anticipation of being scanned (rather than keypunched) at the IRS
 service centers.

 An "official-looking" version of Form 1040A can now be printed by
 AM-Tax on virtually any computer printer - even non-laser printers.
 The IRS has reviewed and approved the printed 1040A as a suitable
 substitute for the original.

 The "typed-out" version of Form 1040A and Schedules 1, 2 and 3 do not
 print with a bar-code because of the simpler printing techniques used.
 The IRS has reviewed and approved the non-bar-coded version of these
 forms for one more year.  Contrary to information in Section 9 of the
 manual, Form 1040A and its attaching schedules are approved for filing
 in the typed-out style.

 If a printed form says "Not Approved for Filing" at the bottom, then
 do not file it.  Otherwise, the printed form is suitable for filing.

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