CA-assisted tax filing
If you are not computer savvy, most
of these portals offer expert assisted
tax filing service for a price. “Clients
can upload their tax documents or
send them to our support email.
Our team will help to complete
the filing based on the customer’s
requirements, who can constantly
chat with our CAs using the account
dashboard,” says Suneel Dasari,
CEO, EZtax.in.
Once you register for any of these
services, an expert is assigned to
communicate over phone, email and
chat. “Some of the high-end assisted
packages provide full-year dedicated
CAs,” says Sudhir Kaushik, co-
founder and CFO, TaxSpanner.com.
Vertika Kedia, co-founder,
Tax2win.in, says that the platform’s
eCA service is personalised and
meticulous. “The CA reviews
your documents and calls you to
understand your income, investment
and deductions to help you get
maximum refunds. The documents
are checked for accuracy and
completeness,” she says. Everything
is done to maximise deductions
and earn TDS benefits. A detailed
summary of income tax return is
sent to the customer for approval
before filing.
Expert advice
The portals offer expert advice on
how to minimise your tax outgo
and make the most of available
deductions. “We do in-depth
analysis of each client’s case after
holding a discussion with the
client to understand where we
can save tax,” says Kedia. These
websites provide comprehensive tax
consultation services and in-built tax
optimisers. Cleartax.in, for example,
offers a dedicated ‘Ask an Expert’
plan where an expert will answer
queries, assess cases and provide
guidance on the proper course of
action. EZtax offers a tax optimiser
plan with a dedicated full-year
access to chartered accountants.
E-Filing Options
I-T filing
portal
Self e-fil- CA-assisted
ing charge packages
(`)
(`)*
Foreign
income
solutions (`)
Cleartax.in Free 799-2,199 3,599
Tax2win.in Free 399- 1,749 2,499
Allindiaitr.com 199 499-1,499 1,999
Taxspanner.com 249 499-2,999 2,999
*Plans range from basic plan to those with mutiple Form 16s, income from property and capital gains
While most of these portals do
not offer investing in tax saving
instruments through their website,
ClearTax has extended this service
too. “On ClearTax Save, you can
invest in tax-saving mutual funds
with zero investment fees. It is a
paperless process and takes the
investor only seven minutes to
pick a fund and invest. Our experts
ensure that we offer handpicked,
best performing funds,” says Archit
Gupta, founder and CEO, ClearTax. content. You can also file your
return on-the-go without losing any
of the versatility that is available
on a full-fledged website,” says
Vikas Dahiya, founder and CEO,
All India ITR. These portals also
ensure that your data is safe from
security breaches. “Our site provides
uncompromising security including
256-bit encryption, privacy filing
concept and end-point encryption,”
says Dasari.
Go online One should decide on using a tax
filing website/app depending on the
complexity of the returns. “Someone
with only a salary income with
capital gains can use a web-portal
for filing. In case there is income
from property or business that
involves knowledge of treatment
of income/loss setting off from
previous years, it’s better to use
the CA-assisted option, or let a CA
do the entire process,” says Nehal
Merchant, partner, Venn Wealth, a
financial advisory firm.
These portals offer assistance for
your doubts through chat, emails
and toll-free numbers. “Our team
is well equipped to handle queries.
During the tax filing season, we scale
up our support capabilities.” says
Gupta. “When tax filing peaks, we
update helpful tips every hour and
provide free live chat facility,”
says Kedia.
Traditionally, CAs came to the
rescue of taxpayers. Now e-filing
is catching up. “With increasing
penetration of the Internet and
convenience reasons, tax filing
portals are gaining popularity,”
says chartered accountant Nikhil
Jain of Nikhil L Jain & Co. These
portals offer convenient services
at every step—preparation, filing,
assessment, scrutiny, liaison,
rectification, and refund. Also, the
user interface of these websites and
apps makes the filing process easy.
“ClearTax is intuitively designed for
first-time taxpayers to file returns
without any external help. Also,
when you file return the next year,
your personal details like permanent
address and contact number get
auto-filled,” says Gupta.
Many of these portals also have
apps. “The app is quicker, easier to
navigate, with lesser but specific
Which one for you?
[email protected]
www.outlookmoney.com February 2018 Outlook Money
35