Just been doing my tax return online. I see they've completely changed
the way it works.

Does anyone think it's an improvement from the previous version?

I had lots of questions I didn't know how to answer - did you give to
charity? - well, yes but via GAYE but only if you answer it yes and then
go to the page that lets you put in the number do you find that the
notes say don't enter GAYE. (Actually I do have one very small donation
outsite of GAYE that I've never bothered to declare before so I still
had something to put in the box)

"Your tax code appears to contain an adjustment for underpaid tax". The
amount is 0.00. Is this correct? Yes/No.

This is a compulsory question, you can't ignore it. But I didn't have
underpaid tax - I got a fairly large refund last year. And even if I had
had an adjustment, how am I supposed to know what magic is used to
calculate my tax code. So I just answered yes (otherwise you have to put
in a correct figure). I then got the same question again - so I answered
yes again. Then it seemed to be happy.

I also used the "back" button on the second question - that was a
mistake. (That's the back button on the page, not the back button on the
browser). Then I couldn't use the next button any more - kept telling me
I had multiple browsers open. Had to go back to the menus and start
again (didn't lose any information).

And you don't get a nice PDF equivalent of the tax return any more. But
even though it's now supposed to be a "lightweight" version, it still
prints out to ten pages, (compared to 15 last year) and almost
everything on those ten pages is "Not Entered".

I also don't like the way you just put in the net amount for interest
etc and then it calculates the gross amount and the tax. Made it
difficult to match the repayment due with my spreadsheet. Assuming I've
done the calculations correctly, I'm going to get 1.22GBP extra in
refund than I would have done last year :-) But I'd rather have given
the tax man that extra 1.22 and saved a hour trying to work out what
figure I'd entered incorrectly into the form.

But maybe others think it's an improvement? Maybe it was just that I'd
got used to what numbers were expected in which boxes in the old online
system.

Tim.

-- 
God said, "div D = rho, div B = 0, curl E = - @B/@t, curl H = J + @D/@t," 
and there was light.

  http://www.woodall.me.uk/    http://www.locofungus.btinternet.co.uk/

Tim Woodall wrote:
> Just been doing my tax return online. I see they've completely changed
> the way it works.
> 
> Does anyone think it's an improvement from the previous version?
> 
> "Your tax code appears to contain an adjustment for underpaid tax". The
> amount is 0.00. Is this correct? Yes/No.
> 
> This is a compulsory question, you can't ignore it. But I didn't have
> underpaid tax - I got a fairly large refund last year. And even if I had
> had an adjustment, how am I supposed to know what magic is used to
> calculate my tax code. So I just answered yes (otherwise you have to put
> in a correct figure). I then got the same question again - so I answered
> yes again. Then it seemed to be happy.

Same here - not very good.

> And you don't get a nice PDF equivalent of the tax return any more. But
> even though it's now supposed to be a "lightweight" version, it still
> prints out to ten pages, (compared to 15 last year) and almost
> everything on those ten pages is "Not Entered".

Yes. Not sure it is an improvement.

> 
> I also don't like the way you just put in the net amount for interest
> etc and then it calculates the gross amount and the tax. 

I thought that the old one did that as well.

Got there in the end but not sure it is better.