TaxCalc 2009 Personal 6

The Inland Revenue's push towards online tax filing has spawned a clutch of third-party tax return tools and Acorah Software's TaxCalc Personal is our current favourite, allowing you to submit up to six tax returns.

TaxCalc offers a wider choice of forms than the Revenue's own web-based online service. As well as the standard individual, partnership and trust returns, TaxCalc adds a clutch of others, such as Lloyd's Underwriters, not available through the Revenue's service.

It's also more versatile. From TaxCalc's main home page you can import data from TaxCalc 2008 - a handy way to avoid re-entering static data, such as contact details and tax references.

TaxCalc's tax return window can be viewed in either a simple mode, which automatically hides irrelevant questions, or a Forms mode for more traditional direct entry.

The difference between them is presentational; you can instantly switch modes, with data undisturbed, and both benefit from a dashboard view that updates your estimated tax liability as you progress through your return. While the total will change rapidly as you work through returns, it's useful for a bit of 'what if' analysis.

One advantage that TaxCalc has over rivals such as Ftax or Andica Self-Assessment is the way you can compare 2008/09 data with 2007/08 - assuming you used TaxCalc last year.

If you hover the mouse over a comparison icon next to each tax return box, TaxCalc displays last year's value and shows the variance between them. You can drill down into more detail by clicking a Notepad icon next to it. This is a great way to catch potential omissions or errors.

As well as sound general taxation advice in the accompanying help file, each box on the return has an associated help file to explain its background; handy when dealing with new allowances such as the annual investment allowance. You can add your own working notes too.

You submit returns in TaxCalc through the Revenue's own gateway - a gateway that has proven troublesome in the past - but you can at least work offline the rest of the time. TaxCalc has also updated the results screen this year to more clearly indicate if your return has been successfully filed.

It's not a radical update, but it doesn't need to be. TaxCalc was already an excellent tool and this 2009 version ensures it stays on our A List. Its purchase price should be swiftly recouped in time-saved.

Author: Tom Gorham