Review of online income tax return (ITR) preparation service TaxYogi

TaxYogi is an online income tax return preparation service from InvestmentYogi.com. Here’s a review of the service.

The best way is to learn from someone’s experience – if someone who has used the service likes it, you can be fairly certain that you would like it too. If not, its time to move on!

So, here’s a review of the online income tax return preparation service TaxYogi.com – it is from an end-user perspective, so you would know exactly what to expect if you enroll!

The Process

When you go to TaxYogi.com, you are automatically redirected to http://www.investmentyogi.com/taxes/home.aspx. The website loads quite quickly.

Before you start, you have to register with the website. The registration process is simple, and no unnecessary information is asked for.

Once you log in, you are taken to a secure site (https) – you are assured that your vital financial information would not fall into wrong hands.

The information about your salary, house property, dividend income, housing loan (principal repayment and interest paid), etc is asked for in a simple, step-by-step manner.

At all times, the total income, tax liability, and any tax payable / refund due is displayed on the left column. This keeps changing as you keep entering the details.

In the end, all the information entered is displayed in the form of a summary – very useful for a quick overview.

Since I was just doing a review, I didn’t make the payment. So, I didn’t get to see the actual tax return. However, we can safely assume that it would be accurate, as the service TaxYogi comes from a reputed website InvestmentYogi.com.

Pricing and Payment Modes

The tax return preparation service is very reasonably priced at Rs. 149.

You have ample choice for the modes of payment. Here’s the list:

• Credit cards
• Debit cards
• Net banking (all major banks)
• Cash cards (like ITZ cash)
• Mobile payments

The Positives

Here are the things I liked about the service:

• You don’t have to specify which ITR form you have to file – depending on your information, the website chooses it for you.
• The option to e-file your returns is available.
• You can have multiple returns prepared with a single login. You can give custom name to each return.
• You don’t have to prepare the entire return in one go. You can enter some information and log off – it is saved for you under your login.
• You are guided through Form 16 while filling in salary details.
• There is a facility to enter multiple Form 16s. So, if you have changed your job during the year and have more than one Form 16, this is taken care of.
• If you have created your tax returns through TaxYogi for a previous year, your information can be easily carried forward from it.
• There are validations in many forms – this ensures that you can not fill incorrect data.

Here are some other benefits claimed by TaxYogi (I did not get a chance to verify these):

• Tax audit: As you prepare your return the system will tell you where all you could have saved taxes so that you can do better optimization for next year.
• Live chat facility with their executives.
• Prompt customer service through phone and email.

Areas of Improvement

Here are the things I believe can be improved upon:

• The service is available only for ITR1 and ITR2 (although it should be noted that this covers most salaried people).
• When you log off midway (after entering partial information), you have to start with the very first screen again. Although the data you entered earlier is present, you still have to “save and continue” in all the screens. Ideally, it should take you to the screen where you were just before logging off.

Issues Identified

Here are some things I observed which I believe are errors:

• I saved the tax return midway and logged off. When I logged back in, an extra return for AY 2008-2009 appeared automatically in my account.
• Although the deductions for Chapter VIA (primarily section 80C) were not over Rs. 1 Lakh for me, I was shown a warning to that effect.

Disclaimers

• All observations are as per the functioning of the service at the time of the review (as on 12th July, 2010)
• This is a paid review done at the request of TaxYogi.com. However, this has had no positive or negative influence on the review.

Other articles you might be interested in:

• Making ULIPs better – The problems, the corrective steps taken by IRDA and their implications for you
• Gentle reminder – Special discount on “My Financial Plan” online financial planning service
• Migrating to the “base rate” regime from BPLR – the impact on you and what you should do
• Becoming an entrepreneur – Leaving my job, working full time on my websites
• Investta.com – Online Community of Investors & Entrepreneurs
• RaagVamdatt.com’s financial planning service completes 1 year – Get a special anniversary discount
• Staying invested in the stock market – What does it mean?
• Revised draft of Direct Tax Code (DTC) released – The changes and how they impact you
• Review of online income tax return preparation service TaxMunshi from Paisaa.in
• SEBI asks mutual funds (MFs) to express dividend in Rupees, not as a percentage
• Mandatory 25 percent public shareholding / float for listed companies – How it impacts you
• Income Tax (IT) treatment of gratuity proceeds and calculation of exemption
• When should you start a Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) of a mutual fund (MF)?

Related Articles:

• No Related Articles.

Comments via Facebook

Facebook comments