Tax files, TAX.PRI, SCD & THP

carljh

First of all, I am an Australian user of Quicken Canada as, like a lot of Aussie users had got sick of the total lack of support from Reckon, the local version of the program. We are all aware that to use the Canadian version we must make compromises, but my files transferred over very easily and have been using it for about 18 months with very few problems. 

I am addressing this message directly to Support as I know the Community are not going to be able to answer my query. My problem is that Australian tax codes from Reckon used to work if you replaced the Canadian TAX.PRI, SCD & THP files. However, since the update R40.28 build 27.1.40.28 this is no longer the case as, despite deleting the Canadian tax codes, these are now showing up instead of my local ones. 

I am aware that I had to do this swap after each update. I just need to know if this is to do with a change in programming or could it be a bug. If it is the former, then I know I will have to live with it and find another way to track my tax, but if it is a bug, can it be fixed?

Chris_QPW

EDITED since I went ahead finished creating the Canadian data file.

I don't think Quicken Support really monitors this forum as a way of submitting bug reports.  Maybe for some of the ones that affect a lot of people, but not just individual posts.  They mostly expect you to submit them by Contacting Support or using Help -> Submit a problem (with this last one were you won't get any feedback).
Contact Quicken Support

As for your problem, I have a feeling that you have been caught in believing that you can tweak Quicken's config files and that is "acceptable" to Quicken support/development when I'm sure they won't even consider it a bug if it doesn't work for you.  And in this case, I have a feeling you were caught by a "design change".

There is this announcement:
https://community.quicken.com/discussion/7912968/resolved-8-10-22-quicken-canada-sales-tax-code-list-no-longer-available-with-r40-23

Some change they made clearly affected this, breaking the tax codes for the Canadian users.  But notice also that it is marked resolved.  Probably around the same time it broke for you.

I don't have the Canadian version, but with my testing on the US version I think I know what happened.
They decided to move the data to somewhere else (mostly likely in a data file not editable by users).
I base the last part on the fact that I can remove all three of these files and see no problems in Quicken when I look at the tax lines in the category list or when I go to set a tax line for a given category in the dialogs.  I also first tried to change the files, and it didn't affect anything in Quicken.

And looking at this problem/change I suspect this is part of the developers working toward merging the US and Canadian code.  Those files represent files that overlap both the US and Canadian versions, but are different.  If one wants to be able to change between the two with a simple licensing check they can't have files like this that conflict, they have to have a way to switch them on the fly instead during the install.

No one else has reported this, but I seen this appear in the not distant past when creating a new data file:


This leads me to believe that there isn't a separate Canadian branch any more (the merging of the two branches is done).
And my guess of why I'm the only one that sees this is because at one time I was doing Canadian Quicken testing, and believe that as such my Quicken Id got attached to both a US and a Canadian account even thought the Canadian subscription has long expired.

If I continue to create the data file it has me log in again and I eventually get to this:


Selected OK, and then it took me to the Add Account, and look at the Spellings, and choices of account types, clearly I'm using the "Canadian version" even though nothing with the actual program.

Hmm, so it looks like I can do limited testing of the Canadian features.
And look a the tax line in Div Income, it is Canadian.


Yep, just how I remember it. Multiple currency lock on with the home currency of Canadian dollar, and no ability to change it like you can in the "US version".  And you can download the currency exchange rates, which you can't do in the "US version".

carljh

Thanks for that, Chris, wasn't expecting to get a solution, but it was worth a try and your explanation seems to answer my question.

Chris_QPW

carljh said:

Thanks for that, Chris, wasn't expecting to get a solution, but it was worth a try and your explanation seems to answer my question.

You might still submit it with Help -> Submit a problem.  Who knows maybe they will do something.