FormSource: Defining the Query Criteria

  1. To create a new Query, select the Define Query tab (or on the Saved Queries tab, click the Create Query button) to enter the criteria for your query.
  2. To review or change a saved query, highlight the query name on the Saved Queries tab and select the Edit Query button. The Define Query screen appears.

  3. First, select the Form Type, Form, and Field Name, which you want to include in the query. The Form Type includes all the areas you can query from in the tax application. The Form and Field drop-down lists display the applicable items available based on your Form Type selection and the Return Type selection you made on the Saved Queries tab.

    See FormSource: Creating Queries for help in using the drop-down lists (Form Type, Form, and Field) to define the query criteria.
  4. For prior year and current year queries, right-click any field in the tax application to find this information.
    1. Open a prior year or current year tax return and navigate to the field on the applicable Organizer, tax form, or workpaper screen that you know has the data you want to include in your query.
    2. Right-click the field to view the Form Type, Form Name, and Field Name.

      The system is unable to query personally identifiable information. Examples are Social Security numbers and employer identification numbers.

      For example, to see the FormSource information for Form 1040, Page 1, line 15, right-click the field, and select Data Dictionary on the right-click menu.

      You will see the Form Type, Form Name, and Field Name for the selected field.

  5. Click back to the FormSource window and make the selections in the Form Type, Form, and Field drop-down lists on the Define Query tab.

    In this example, select Federal Tax Form in the Form Type drop-down list, FORM 1040 on the Form list, and TAXINCOME on the Field list.

  6. Next, select a Condition to set the parameters of the field to be queried:

    ConditionDescription
    <less than
    >greater than
    <=less than or equal to
    >=greater than or equal to
    =equal to
    < >not equal to


    Use the Value field to enter the specific alphanumeric or numeric data to be queried.

    To query for simple field existence, the condition would be not equal to (<>) and the value would be blank. For example, to find all 1040 returns with any amount on Form 1040, line 1, the criterion is 1040| T| FORM 1040| WAGES| <>|""|.


    If you have a tax return that includes the data you would like to query, then open the return and copy data and paste it into Define Query or Define Report tabs in FormSource.



    You cannot generate a query using partial strings of words within a field. You can search only for exact matches. No wild card values exist. For example, if you create a query in which you ask for all tax returns where the taxpayers’ occupation is teacher, only returns that use the exact term teacher appear. Any taxpayers with the occupation junior high school teacher would not be identified.
  7. Click Add to insert the completed criterion into the query. It will then appear in the Selection Criteria box.
  8. To delete a criterion, select the line to be deleted and click DEL.
  9. To add additional criteria, follow the steps above again and click And or Or to determine if both criteria must be met or if only one of the criterion must be met in order to show the return in the result set. Use And if both criteria must be met. Use Or if only one criterion must be met.
  10. To group criterion together within parentheses, select the criteria and then click ( or ). Using parentheses eliminates the need to repeat criteria. For example, if you would like to find all 1040 returns that have AGI greater than $100,000 and dividends greater than $1,000 or interest less than $1,000, create a query with the following criteria:

    1040|T|Form 1040|AGI|>|100000| AND

    (

    1040|T|Form 1040|Dividend|>|1000| OR

    1040|T|Form 1040|Interest|<|1000|

    )

    Only one set of parentheses is allowed in each query.

  11. To remove an And/Or criterion, select the criterion, and click the And/Or button.

    To change the order of the criterion, highlight a line and click either the Up or Down button. Continue until the fields are in the order that you want.

    After you add a criterion, you can edit it by selecting the field you want to edit and then clicking the drop-down list to select your new choice.

    The field you select for a query criterion will also appear on the Define Report tab. If you do not want a field to appear on the Define Report tab, clear the Include Field in Report check box before you add the criterion. You can also delete a selected field on the Define Report tab.

 

 

 

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Last Modified: 06/11/2020

Last System Build: 02/03/2022

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