For comparison, as an example of how other developed/developing countries do it:
I’m a South African citizen, I get an SMS that a pre-filled-in tax return is available online.
I can then log in to their online portal and accept it or amend it and submit it electronically.
Currently I can usually just accept and submit it.
Some years I might need to add or tweak income and expenses, but broadly speaking they are pretty correct.
They have all the income and benefit details from standard corporate employers, expense and contribution info from medical aids (something like medical insurance, but a bit more sane as far as I can tell), investment and banking contributions from financial service providers, etc.
You can opt for extra deductions which require extra paperwork from your side. And they don’t always have income info from side hustles or correct expense info from “unusual” arrangements between you and your spouse. Sometimes your $BIGCORP’s finance department can declare your benefits incorrectly which needs fixing.
But for most middle-class income earners I suspect they can just log in and click accept.
You can pay money and use a tax consultant to see if they can navigate the current rules for a better result, but unless you have a complicated setup you don’t need to.
I’m a South African citizen, I get an SMS that a pre-filled-in tax return is available online.
I can then log in to their online portal and accept it or amend it and submit it electronically.
Currently I can usually just accept and submit it.
Some years I might need to add or tweak income and expenses, but broadly speaking they are pretty correct.
They have all the income and benefit details from standard corporate employers, expense and contribution info from medical aids (something like medical insurance, but a bit more sane as far as I can tell), investment and banking contributions from financial service providers, etc.
You can opt for extra deductions which require extra paperwork from your side. And they don’t always have income info from side hustles or correct expense info from “unusual” arrangements between you and your spouse. Sometimes your $BIGCORP’s finance department can declare your benefits incorrectly which needs fixing.
But for most middle-class income earners I suspect they can just log in and click accept.
You can pay money and use a tax consultant to see if they can navigate the current rules for a better result, but unless you have a complicated setup you don’t need to.