In the following article, we have tested five control programs that make online tax assessment easier and provide you with ways to save more money and thus have more money.
Pre-filled tax declaration from 2017
Elster and some commercial online programs know the answer to almost every tax issue and support you in completing the annual tax return. The advantage of these online helpers is that they do not have to buy and install software, so they can be sure to always use the latest version.
Elster - the official financial management portal
The downside: sometimes the performance of the online control programs hurts, so you wait a while until the pages are loaded or the data is stored. In addition, the data on the Internet servers of the respective providers end up, thus avoiding your control. However, the services tested provide SSL for secure transfer from and to the private computer.
Wage tax-compact.com
From 2017, by the way, it will be even easier to settle his tax declaration online. As of the beginning of 2017, the financial administration wants to offer the "pre-filled tax return" (VaSt). Many data such as name and date of birth, address and religious affiliation are already entered into the tax form. Furthermore, the financial administration has many stored data from third parties, for example the health insurance, the pension insurance or your employer. All these data can be imported via the ElsterOnline portal, the ElsterFormular as well as the services of commercial providers.
WiSo Internet Sparbuch
In order to retrieve your own data stored in the financial administration, you must register and authenticate as a taxpayer at Elster. For registration in the ElsterOnline portal, you need your identification number or tax number, an e-mail address and optionally your new ID card. You enter your data and receive an activation ID for your Elster account by e-mail. You will receive an activation code by post. First, both together generate an electronic certificate, which is checked for each transaction. In the sense of the law, you can use your electronic signature to completely clear your tax declaration, since the certificate replaces your personal signature.
Help with control questions on the web
In addition to the great tools described in the article, there are a number of other resources on the web around tax.
The mother of all online tax programs is Elster, the official tax program of the tax offices. And no matter what software solution you capture your control data, they are always sent via the Elster interface of your control software.
Elster offers employees, retirees and retirees as well as entrepreneurs the possibility to create their tax declaration on the PC and to transmit it electronically to the tax office. There are two possibilities: You can download a software on your computer under the ElsterFormular menu item, fill the forms locally and send them to the tax office via the Internet. ElsterOnline, the service portal for financial management, offers the possibility to register and submit various tax returns and notifications online with an Internet browser.
If you are unsure when you are finished, a help will show you which data is required in the respective field. The help texts have become somewhat more comprehensible over the years, but they are not always sufficient for the tax-advisory auxiliaries of commercial products. Practical: The Elster software accepts various calculations when entering. If an error occurs, the plausibility check warns. However, the information you are supposed to clarify about the nature of the error is often very cryptic. Overall, Elster is mainly used for the transmission of tax data - it is not designed as a tool that reveals a thousand legal tax breaks. If the financial authority has generated the notification, you can also view it electronically via Elster and compare it with the explanatory data for deviations.
Lesetipp: Tips for your online tax return
Lohnsteuer-kompakt.de is the right software if you would like to state your income as an employee (investment N), from capital assets, retirement income or other income (investment SO - without private sales). As a married couple, you can choose whether you want to be assessed together or separately. You can also register income from self-employment or a business enterprise. However, freelancers can not create and transfer revenue receipts (EUR). Furthermore, no income from agriculture or forestry or foreign income can be registered.
It is recommended to start with the free version. The software explains in a concise and comprehensible manner - and sometimes also amusingly, what information is to be made. If you are unsure, click on the help button next to each field. The Pump: On the basis of your data, Lohnsteuer-kompakt.de provides tips on tax savings. Similar to a tax consultant, the software taps your life for further savings. Then you can have your tax savings calculated. You must then send the data to the tax office. In the basic version, the one-time costs 14.99 euros. Anyone who decides for the Deluxe version for 24.99 euros can later have his tax assessment checked for errors by the tax authorities.
Taxpayers'
The WiSo Internet Sparbuch is the online version of the WiSo tax booklet. It helps with income, turnover and trade tax, but also offers fields for income from agriculture and forestry or foreign income. In addition, the software supports the revenue surplus account that self-employed persons who earn more than 17,500 euros a year. In short, all types of revenue are the WiSo software. Thus the Wiso Internet Sparbuch offers much more options than wohnsteuer-kompakt.de. However, the long list threatens to slay the user. Here, the interview mode provides remedy. A question is used to determine which information is entered into the field, in addition, the software explains in a comprehen- sive manner which points are to be taken into account.
Once the interview is finished, you can view the results and search for other options. A calculator calculates the income tax so that you know with pay increases already times, which is to you. When data is transferred, various sources are accepted: in addition to WiSo products such as WiSo My money or the WiSo budget book, data can be imported via T-Online Banking or via StarMoney. In addition, the Internet scarf can read csv and xml files.
SmartSteuer.de
If you want to transfer the data to the tax office, the sum of 29.95 euros for dispatching the final tax declaration via the Internet is a plus. Overall, the WiSo Internet Sparbuch is a very powerful tool, but because of the many functions is confusing. The interview mode slightly reduces this.
The online tool from Steuerfuchs looks extremely sober, but the input masks are clearly structured. Via the interview mode, the software guides all important input fields, which must be filled in the tax declaration. The software processes the employee's salary and income, income as self-employed person or as a trader, income from leasing and leasing as well as income from retirement. In the case of data on agriculture and forestry or on foreign investments, Steuerfuchs.de must be appropriate. Also, the VAT declaration and the EUR investment for self-employed persons can not be created.
If you do not know if you are filling out one or the other field, the software provides help and calculates, for example, the mileage or the sum of the annual depreciation. It is confusing, however, that the interview overview disappears as soon as you click on the form fields. And the help information does not appear in a popup, but catapults the user to another level in the program - which initially irritates a bit. But whoever has become accustomed to the structure gets a useful result when the tax declarations are not too complex. The transfer of the data to the tax office is worth 14.95 euros.
Conclusion
You can try Smartsteuer.de with an anonymous user account. A tidy and clear interface leads in the interview mode through the tax identification. The explanations, which appear on the right margin, however, are quite technocratic. Schön: At the end of the interview, the software analyzes where taxpayer options might be hidden and makes targeted suggestions where savings could be made. If you want to transfer your tax return to the tax office, you will pay € 14.95.
With all online control programs you can quickly enter your data, the programs point to gaps that promise additional tax savings potential. Transmission takes place within seconds, and when the tax refusal is unsuccessful, sample letters help.
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