Product Reviews

If you are self-employed or a high earner then the arrival of your self assessment tax form will be as welcome as dawn is to a vampire. Just how much tax will you have to pay this year and has the tax man actually got it right?

Well, using Which? TaxCalc you will soon know the answer to both these questions. Not only does this slick software calculate your tax liability for you, but you can play 'what if?' games to your heart's content. Like 'what if I don't accept that company car, but go for a pay rise instead?' Plus there's also answers to questions like 'am I eligible for Working Families Tax Credits at this income rate?'

TaxCalc is well laid out, with the main screen items organised into a navigation tree,

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plus a central question and answer section. The navigator allows you to jump to any point on the software tax return or if you're a novice, just run through the questions one at a time.

Although TaxCalc can't act as your tax adviser, it does provide plenty of on-screen tips and Inland Revenue help sheets.

You needn't worry about fiddling through the form on- screen though, as TaxCalc asks you step-by-step for all the necessary information and enters it into the correct places for you. But it's not until the end that the really neat stuff happens and TaxCalc calculates your tax liability in a full report as per the IR workings sheet, plus complete workings out over several pages. One or two tax saving tips will pop-up if something obvious is wrong - say, you entered a spouse's details but haven't claimed any allowances for them.

If all is well, the actual tax return form can then be printed in full colour, signed and sent off to the Inland Revenue (there is no need to copy the details on to the form sent by the IR). Or even better, you can lodge the form electronically across the Internet.

Using Which? TaxCalc 2001 is much better than completing the forms by hand. You can edit mistakes and try out 'what if' scenarios and know exactly what you are going to pay. Well worth £22.