Hi All,

Many screen reading support lists have had discussions about the
difficulties of using TurboTax with a screen reader.  I thought I'd share
my experiences with the new TurboTax Online and at least one screen reader,
that being Jaws for Windows (JFW).

The good news is that I was able to successfully complete and file my tax
return using a web browser and screen reader.  The bad news is that the
process was not with out some difficulties and it isn't the easiest of
tasks.  You will definitely need one of the graphical browsers as the site
uses JavaScript and requires that you be able to visit secure URLs.

I accessed the site using JFW 3.83, JFW 2.29 and Internet Explorer 3.02.  I
did not try any version of Netscape as I've always found the process of
completing complex forms with that browser a challenge that far too often
doesn't bare fruit.

Truth be told the biggest annoyance and problem I encountered is something
I attribute to JFW, not the TurboTax web site.  It seems that in some ways
JFW 3.x has been a step backward when using Internet Explorer 3.02 with
sites that use JavaScript links, something the TurboTax site does
extensively.  JFW 3.x seems to read the underlying URL and not the word
associated with the Javascript.  The result is that you end up hearing all
sorts of shortcut links with parameters that make no sense instead of
linking words.  This was and is not the case with JFW 2.x.  As an example,
using JFW 3.x I heard something like, "shortcut to JavaScript parem equals
345."  Tabbing to the exact same link with JFW 2.x loaded I heard the
words, "I have another w2."

This situation is not a problem of inaccessible web design, such as a site
failing to provide alt-text for graphical links.  This is a case of JFW
interacting differently with Internet Explorer and the only solution I've
discovered is to use an older version of JFW when the problem gets too
frustrating.

Another alternative is to review the screen with the Jaws cursor and use
the Left Mouse Click key to click on the links you want.  The advantage of
this is that you eliminate the problem of JFW not reading linked words when
JavaScript is used.  But on sites where you will be doing extensive data
entry, and you definitely will when using TurboTax, you have the problem
that you need to get into multiple edit boxes so you really must tab from
link to link.  Of course it would also help if JFW 3.x reported the mouse
pointer shape as you were reading with the Jaws cursor.

The onscreen layout of TurboTax is primarily two columns.  In most cases it
wasn't two difficult to figure out what was happening as I paged through
various screens with the PC cursor on.  Often places for entering
information were on the left and links for more details about a given data
type on the right.  When reviewing the screen with the Jaws cursor the
control-down arrow reading option separated the columns the majority of the
time.  It would be nice if either Internet Explorer had a way to
decolumnize pages (something akin to the Lynx web browser's page display)
or if JFW could do some sort of column separation without forcing the user
to manually review the screen.

As you move through the various TurboTax screens, you'll encounter the
standard Edit boxes, Check boxes, Combo boxes and other Windows controls.
In most cases JFW seemed to read the correct prompts for these boxes and
the few occasions where it didn't, a quick Route Jaws to Pc and screen
exploration made it possible to determine what was to be entered.  The
biggest thing I noticed was that most TurboTax screens didn't have anything
like an Ok or Submit button.  Instead you typically selected a text link
like the previously mentioned, "I have another W2" to move to the next part
of the interview process.

Most of the TurboTax web pages had a standard layout with the form entries
near the top and then links to go to other parts of the tax preparation
process at the bottom.  Most pages where several screens long.

When you've completed the tax preparation process, you are given choices to
electronically file or print out a paper copy of the tax return and mail it
to the IRS.  The paperwork you print out requires the Adobe Acrobat
software and the only way you can read what you are printing is with the
Acrobat Accessibility Plugin or by some method of reading the actual
printed page such as using an OCR program  or an Optacon.  You will of
course have to have some method of reading the printed tax forms like your
W2 and such to input information into the program.

The nice thing is that TurboTax online allows you to try before you buy.
The $9.95 charge isn't assessed until it comes time to print and file your
tax return.  California residents, which I'm not, have the additional
option of filing a state return for an extra $4.95.  I'm assuming this part
of the online tax filing process works the same as the federal process.

In general I'd say that TurboTax is about par for the course in terms of
navigating the web site with a screen reader.  It is definitely doable,
will take a bit of effort but at least in my experience I didn't encounter
any barrier that made it impossible for me to complete the tax preparation
process.  You can try it for yourself at:

http://www.turbotax.com

Kelly