FDX Standards for U.S. Tax Information Reporting
Secure and convenient exchange of U.S. taxpayer data
Standards-based exchange of taxpayer data to simplify, streamline and reduce errors in the annual preparation of U.S. income tax returns.
Advantages of using FDX Standards for Exchange of Taxpayer Data
Eliminates need for manual data entry
Reduces the tedium and errors associated with manual data entry in the income tax return preparation experience.
Eliminates need for Optical Character Recognition (OCR)
OCR reliability is questionable. OCR requires proprietary solutions. You can replace digital-to-paper, paper-to-digital processes with processes that are digital from end-to-end.
Standards-based JSON files are superior to both CSV and TXF files
Proprietary CSV files require custom programming to process. Documentation and support of the TXF standard has dwindled and has now been fully-replaced by new standards.
For many taxpayers, income tax preparation can be reduced to 3 steps.
(1) Collect digital tax data, (2) import into tax software, and (3) review the results.
FDX defines four different mechanisms to support taxpayer collection and exchange of their tax data. See the following tabs for further information:
- API – Tax software pulls in the data directly
- Embedded PDF – Read tax data from digital PDF files without OCR
- QR Codes – Scan tax data from codes on printed or digital tax forms
- FDX Download – Manual exchange of data in standard FDX-defined JSON files
For extensive technical details, example payloads and sample code, check out site Tax Data Exchange - Overview.