Method and system to determine state income tax liability

1. A system for preparing a tax filing, the comprising:

a processor, a first memory comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium, and a second memory comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium;

a data collector module, comprising a set of executable code stored in the first memory and when executed by the processor configured to:

obtain from a first database information associated with an account, and

obtain from a second database a selection of one or more jurisdictions; and

an optimizer module, comprising a set of executable code stored in a second memory and when executed by the processor configured to automatically determine a suggested special apportionment method for each jurisdiction to generate by a computer a signal comprising a suggested combination of special apportionment methods for the account to be used for preparing a tax or information return or other tax filing, the optimizer module adapted to return a hashtable and a vector object, the hashtable comprising a set of summary statistics, the vector object comprising one or more of salesBestMethod, propertyBestMethod, payrollBestMethod, userFactorBestMethod, savings, and totalSavings, and wherein special apportionment methods associated with flow-through entities are performed at the flow-through entity level; and

a graphical user interface comprising a set of user interface elements adapted to receive a user input and generate a signal representing a jurisdiction based special apportionment method for the account to be used for preparing the tax or information return or other tax filing.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the suggested combination of special apportionment methods is associated with the lowest taxable amount from one or more taxable amounts generated utilizing one or more other combinations of special apportionment methods.

3. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a display module to generate presentation information for viewing by a user, utilizing the suggested combination of special apportionment methods, the presentation information comprising a taxable amount associated with a jurisdiction from the one or more jurisdictions.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the information associated with the account comprises account name, industry, factor, and value.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the account is from a plurality of accounts associated with an industry.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the optimizer is to determine the suggested special apportionment method for each jurisdiction for each year from a plurality of years.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the data collector is to obtain a selection of one or more parameters for each jurisdiction from the one or more jurisdictions, and wherein the optimizer is to determine the suggested special apportionment method for each jurisdiction utilizing the selection of the one or more parameters.

8. The system of claim 7 , wherein a parameter from the selection of the one or more parameters comprises an exclusion parameter.

9. The system of claim 7 , wherein:

an account is from a plurality of accounts; and

a parameter from the selection of the one or more parameters is to indicate that the suggested combination of special apportionment methods is to be consistent across accounts from the plurality of accounts.

10. The system of claim 7 , wherein a parameter from the selection of the one or more parameters is to indicate that the suggested combination of special apportionment methods is to be consistent across all years associated with the account.