Tax Software Non Resident Guide 2021
In this non resident guide to tax software we’ve taken a look at the best software currently on the market.
No matter whether you run a small business or just want help with your tax return we’ve got you covered.
There are numerous options available right now, but we think we’ve chosen the best ones that are fully compatible with HMRC’s Making Tax Digital campaign.
Of course which software package you go with will depend on your current situation. Anybody who just needs help with their tax return will struggle to beat GoSimpleTax.
On the other hand if you run a small business Sage Business Cloud Accounting might just be the right option for you. But, if you plan to scale or already have more than ten employees Zoho Books could make more sense.
Let’s get into it.
GoSimpleTax – the self assessment specialists
Most expats just need a simple way to file their tax returns and for that it is difficult to beat our first option.
GoSimpleTax takes the pain away from completing your tax return.
It guides you through the process of filing your return. It prevents you from making errors, and as a bonus provides you with tax saving tips that could save money.
Not to mention the fact it even submits your return directly to HMRC for you hassle free.
What used to be a stressful day of tortuous HMRC form filling can become a relatively pleasant half an hour.
Back in the day, expats could use HMRC’s online platform to get the job done, but for whatever reason, that is no longer an option for non UK residents.
To be honest, that system wasn’t much of an improvement on their paper edition so it’s probably no bad thing we can’t use it anymore.
The only good thing about it was that it was free. And whilst the same can’t be said about GoSimpleTax, prices aren’t high.
Annual subscriptions start at £54.99, and you can try the software for free here.
GoSimpleTax is an excellent choice for filing tax returns, but if you need a little more from your software because you run a business for example, you might want to take a look at what Sage has to offer.
Sage Business Cloud Accounting
Sage is one of the biggest names in the business. Anybody whose worked in an office has probably heard of them. They have all kinds of products available, but the ones we are interested are their Accounting packages that cater to business.
This software simplifies bookkeeping and financial management, enables you to generate accurate reports on time, pay your taxes, helps you to make business decisions and has the option for full payroll services.
There are three options depending on what you need from your accounting software: Start, Standard and Plus.
Start priced at £14/month gives you all the basics you need as an individual to deal with your taxes. It lets you create and send invoices, track what you’re owed, calculate and submit VAT and enables you to check that your accounting records tally up with your bank account.
Standard priced at £28/month is filled with additional features with a focus on small business and Plus priced at £36/month adds even more features like invoicing in multiple currencies and inventory management.
Right now you can get get 3 months free.
Sage Accounting works across all platforms and come with 24 hour support.
Whilst Sage, tends to be the go to for small business, there is a cheaper alternative out there that has other benefits.
Zoho Books
Zoho books is becoming an ever more popular choice for expats running businesses.
You can try the software for free, but officially prices start at just $10 (£7.80) a month, but that doesn’t mean you don’t get a complete software package. In fact, Zoho Books does a lot of the same things as Sage. And to be honest, oftentimes users find it more intuitive to use and far more scalable.
Sage is good for small businesses of less than 10 employees, but for anything larger Zoho books starts to come into its own.
That’s because Zoho Books makes it easy to expand operations and it has unrivaled support.
But just before you ditch Sage altogether and sign up, it’s worth pointing out that there are some disadvantages you need to be aware of.
First and foremost, whereas Sage has great third-party integration, Zoho does not. In all likelihood you will be limited to Zoho’s own software. In many cases that will do the job, but not always. If you need integration be sure to check with Zoho before you pull the trigger.
Perhaps the biggest gripe most users have is the lack of payroll support. With Sage this is an optional extra for all packages that is easy to implement for a small additional monthly fee, but this isn’t the case with Zoho.
That said, if you don’t need good third party integration or payroll support Zoho Books is a great option, particularly for businesses that intend to scale above 10 employees.
The bottom line
So there you have it, whether you run a small business or just want to file a tax return, there’s a software package for that.
And make no mistake, once you start using software to deal with your tax and accounting, you take a big step towards simplifying that area of your life.
