Tax Assistant includes Tax Return modules for all Self Assessment years from 1997 onwards. The programs can be used either in conjunction with TaxBase or as stand-alone modules for producing Tax Returns and supporting schedules.

All Supplementary Pages are included (Employment, Ministers of Religion, Share Schemes, Self-Employment, Lloyds Underwriters, Partnership, Land and Property, Foreign, Trusts, Capital Gains, Non-Residence and Pensions).

Comprehensive facilities are included for creating supporting schedules for items such as bank interest, dividends, pensions, chargeable event gains, reliefs, car benefit, capital allowances, property income and capital gains.

The programs implement the official tax calculations for Self Assessment, as defined by the HM Revenue & Customs.

Additional features include the creation of a summary of the contents of the tax return and an information request schedule for future years, based on entries made in the current year's return.

Filing By Internet (FBI) is supported through an optional data communications module called FBI Courier which transmits tax return data to HM Revenue & Customs and receives responses from HM Revenue & Customs using the Internet, thus providing a fully integrated FBI solution. The Tax Return and FBI Courier programs can be set up to provide a fully automatic, seamless interface with the HMRC Self Assessment computer system.

Client filing system File functions are included for creating new tax return files or creating tax return files based on those from the previous year. Other file functions include Open, Save, Close, Rename, Delete and Backup. Transferring client data from the previous year means that all data which does not, or is unlikely to change from year to year (e.g. name and address, shares held, relevant supplementary pages) is instantly copied from the previous year's Tax Return to create the "skeleton" of the current year's return, thus saving a large amount of data entry from year to year.

Import Client information stored in the TaxBase database, such as address, employment information, business details and pension contributions can be imported into the Tax Return with a few clicks of the mouse. Appropriate data can also be imported from Partnership Tax Returns into the Partnership Supplement and from the client database used by the Tax Assistant P11D program into the Employment Supplement. There is also a facility to import accounts data from accounts production software, spreadsheets and word processing documents directly on to the Self-employment supplement. The import functions are available using an industry standard format.

On-screen display of the Tax Return form The program includes a full-colour, on-screen display of the Tax Return form and the Supplementary Pages. Rapid navigation around the forms is possible using a variety of methods such as control keys, scroll bars and page selection buttons. If required, information can be entered directly into each Tax Return box as it would be on a paper return form.

Notepads with "point and click" icons Sprinkled around the on-screen Tax Return forms you will find many "notepad" icons. Simply "point and click" on any of these to reveal one of Tax Assistant's most powerful features, the Notepads. Each notepad icon is context sensitive. When you click on an icon a Notepad page appears which applies to that section of the Tax Return. There are Notepad pages for all sections of the Tax Return where background data is used to derive the information that appears on the tax forms. Total amounts are automatically calculated on the notepads and copied to the appropriate tax form boxes when you click on the OK button on a notepad. All information entered on the notepads can be printed out in the form of supporting schedules to accompany the return.

Calculators for special functions Several specialised on-screen "calculators" are incorporated into the Tax Return programs. These include: Capital allowances for calculation of capital allowances and balancing charges, based on the initial value brought forward, writing-down factors, proportion of private use, and sales. This calculator also deals with first year allowances. Business tax adjustments for calculation of basis period, adjustment to taxable profits, overlap relief and overlap profit carried forward. The calculations take account of multiple accounting periods, business commencement and cessation dates, changes of accounting date, and overlap profits brought forward. Car benefits for calculation of benefits arising from the use of company cars and fuel for private use. The calculations take into account changes of car, private contributions to capital and running costs, and apportionment for partial year use. Capital gains and losses for calculation of the gains and losses arising from the disposal of capital assets, including indexation allowance, reliefs and taper. The calculations also include automatic allocation of losses against gains for the current year's capital losses, income losses and losses brought forward from earlier years.

Tax Calculation for Self Assessment The HM Revenue & Customs Tax Calculation, as defined in the HMRC document SA151C, is performed automatically within the Tax Return program. You can enter auxiliary information, such as payments on account already made. You can preview and print a summary of the tax calculation and a detailed calculation showing how the calculation is performed, with reference to the box numbers in the SA151C. The tax calculation handles all variations of income, deductions and allowances, including special circumstances such as lump sum payments, chargeable event gains, top slicing relief, Gift Aid, Children's Tax Credit, non-residents exemption and student loan repayments. There is also a facility to produce the SA303 form to claim a reduction in payments on account, based on data in the tax return.

Printed reports of Tax Returns, supporting schedules and tax calculations. Tax Assistant produces high quality printed reports on laser printers. The substitute Tax Return produced by Tax Assistant is approved by HM Revenue & Customs for submission in place of the official Tax Return form. Schedule printouts have headers and footers containing the taxpayer's name and reference number, and the date. There are also facilities for printing a summary of the tax return and for producing an ‘information request’ schedule which can be used to obtain data from a client for the following year’s return. Tax Returns can also be produced in a form that can be sent to the client by email.

Filing By Internet The Tax Return programs include facilities for submitting Tax Returns using the Filing By Internet (FBI) system when used in conjunction with the FBI Courier program. Administration functions are included to log the FBI process and manage received HM Revenue & Customs responses.