Tax Return: on Paper or Online?

Why file online?

• What are the advantages of filing online?

  • first of all, you have more time to file, until 15 July.
  • it is more user-friendly than completing the paper form. You work on a traditional tax return where you see clearly what you are doing. If you file on paper, you have to make a draft first and then copy the codes and numbers on the form that will be scanned.
  • Tax-on-web also shows you the codes you completed last year.
  • The online form is pre-completed with the information that the tax authorities have received from your employer, the pensions office, banks, etc. You just must check that the information is the same as they have given you.
  • Tax-on-web checks that you haven’t omitted any required information. E.g. if you take a deduction for your mortgage, the program will remind you to name the bank. When you make a mistake, the form will point it out but not all mistakes are errors, and it can be frustrating when you can’t move on. 
  • There is a wizard to help you complete your tax return correctly for mortgages. The deduction for mortgage payments is probably the most complicated part of filing a tax return
  • You can save interim versions and continue another day, or from another computer.
  • You don’t need to file all the justification documents that you normally file with your return. You can scan them and attach them as a PDF file, or you can keep them at home until the taxman asks for them.
  • An online return cannot go missing in the mail and it is also processed more quickly, and you receive your tax bill sooner.

Are there any disadvantages?

You do all the work and all the taxman needs to do is press the button to send you the bill. And how can you be sure that they are not rushing out the tax bills while holding on to reimbursements? There is no evidence to that. True, it is easier for the taxman, but scanning paper tax returns has already sped up the process. The taxman still has to check the figures. And so should you when you get the bill.

Moreover, once you file online, you don’t receive a tax return anymore, and seeing the brown envelope on your mantelpiece is a useful reminder for us procrastinators.

Your tax return:

• the Guide
• Tax filing in Corona Times
• Is this your first time?
• Couples and Children
• When do I need to file?
• on Paper or Online?
• Filing Online
• Filing on Paper
• The Taxman sends a Tax Proposal
• Help!?
• Checklist
• Box I – Contact Details and Bank Account
• Box II – Your Family Situation
• Box III – Real Estate
• Box IV – Earnings
• Box V – Pensions
• Cross Border Taxation
• Box VI – Maintenance Received
• Box VII – Investment Income
• Box VIII – Maintenance Paid and Losses from Previous Years
• Box IX – Mortgage Payments
• Box X – Other Tax Deductions
• Box XII – Paying your Taxes in Advance
• Capital Gains
• Box XIII – Overseas Accounts and Insurance Policies
• Box XIII – Trusts
• Stock Exchange Tax
• Tax on Securities Accounts
• Nowhere to hide
• The Tax Bill
• Appealing the Tax Bill