The first page of the California return is a scannable form created for ease of use at the state office. The form is scanned on a special machine that can read the line numbers and values faster than a human can type them into the system.

The California TaxACT return is printing correctly even though it looks different from the return on the California website. The form on the website is not a scannable form and appears differently when printed. Per instructions from California, the scannable forms this year were required to have the preparer information and signatures placed at the bottom of page one of the return.

The TaxACT software has to be submitted and approved by the California Franchise Board each year before it can be released for use by the public. This ensures that a return printed with our software will be accepted by the state of California.