Ftax Individual 2008

If the Ftax interface looks familiar, that's because this PDF-based tax return software is an almost identical copy of the official paper form. It not only holds the main SA100 form and supplementary pages, but also the Inland Revenue's calculation guide.

As you navigate the questions in the return using Acrobat's Bookmarks pane, a central homepage tracks your progress. Handily, when you open a supplementary page, Ftax checks that you have ticked the matching box in the main SA100 form and, if you haven't, offers to do so.

It also handles form-filling grunt-work. If you enter a pre-tax figure in one field, Ftax calculates the relevant tax and gross amount and enters them in adjacent fields.

We found Ftax's support excellent, and its online tutorials better than any other software tested here. What's more, submitted data goes through Legatio's server rather than direct to the Inland Revenue. That means that if the IR's site goes down, the Legatio server will keep trying to upload the return, notifying you of the result by email.

Ftax's reliance on PDF has drawbacks: there's no way to import data from other programs. And, since there's no wizard to help you enter data, Ftax is more suited to those familiar with the paper return.

Author: Tom Gorham