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Anonymous
March 14, 2017
Answered

Fillable pdf CO tax form 104 won't save my data

  • March 14, 2017
  • 3 replies
  • 4004 views

The Colorado state tax form 104 is a fillable pdf form, and it allows me to enter data, but it won't save it. The save button brings up the save dialog, allows me to select a folder and filename, and appears to work. But then, after closing the form and reopening it, the form is blank again. I receive no warnings or errors. All my data is just gone when I reopen the file.

Also, the vertical scrollbar is missing, and no option will bring it back, even setting "Touch Mode" to "Never" which usually does the trick.

The forms can be found on the official Colorado Department of Revenue site here:  https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/tax/individual-income-tax-instructions-and-forms​

The problem happens with ​​both the 104FormOnly.pdf and 104Book.pdf.  I'm using Windows 10, with the latest version of Acrobat Reader DC, 2015.023.20070.

This problem does NOT happen with the federal f1040.pdf and f1040sa.pdf forms. I'm able to fill those forms and save them. And the vertical scrollbar is there.

Please tell me what is wrong with these CO tax forms. It's driving me crazy! Is it some option I need to set on my side, or is the Colorado government providing faulty forms?

And if Acrobat Reader is not going to actually preserve the data when I save the form, why doesn't it give me a warning message or something?

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer George_Johnson

    The problem is they're using JavaScript within the document to reset the form when it is opened. This clears the fields of the data you entered and saved. You can disable JavaScript in Acrobat/Reader (Edit > Preference > JavaScript) and you won't have this problem with these forms.

    Consider complaining to the tax agency about this. A long time ago there was a good reason for doing this, but it was over a decade ago, before Acrobat/Reader 7.

    3 replies

    J
    Jimparkercpa
    Participant
    July 8, 2020

    Thank you so Much!  This worked great.

    D
    defaultwv1l2isid922
    Participant
    June 9, 2021

    A year later, still not fixed. It obviously could be, no problem with Federal forms. So much for all the time I spent. Guessing some tech guy in the Dept. of Revenue would make them saveable without workarounds in about 10 minutes, but NOOOOOOO !! Grrrr.

    owenc11
    owenc11
    Participant
    April 4, 2018

    This problem continues for the 2017 tax year. There's an additional wrinkle that I can't figure out: having gone to Edit - Preferences - Java Script and unticked the box that enabled JavaScript, I still couldn't get the document to *print* with my information. So I was again forced to enter all the data by hand on the printout I made, to send in by snailmail. (I have learned by bitter experience not to e-file, since that led me last year and maybe the year before to an endless rigamarole with electronic signature. Plus, with e-filing, it's hard to avoid extra charges for electronic *payment.*) This was all a lot easier a few years ago: I expect that the tax-preparers have cultivated some kind of  relationship with the Dept. of  Revenue designed to keep people, even with simple returns to file, coming to them. The federal  IRS has certainly never made it easy to file online, except if you buy software or services.

    R
    RY80439
    Participant
    March 8, 2020

    Same issue with the 2019 tax year.

    Bernd Alheit
    Community Expert
    Bernd AlheitCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    June 12, 2020

    Remove the actions at the pages:

    Disable of Javascript is not enough.

    G
    George_JohnsonCorrect answer
    Inspiring
    March 15, 2017

    The problem is they're using JavaScript within the document to reset the form when it is opened. This clears the fields of the data you entered and saved. You can disable JavaScript in Acrobat/Reader (Edit > Preference > JavaScript) and you won't have this problem with these forms.

    Consider complaining to the tax agency about this. A long time ago there was a good reason for doing this, but it was over a decade ago, before Acrobat/Reader 7.

      A
      Anonymous
      March 16, 2017

      Thanks! That solved the problem of saving the data. But the scrollbar is still missing. Any ideas about that?

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