THE NUMBER of self-employed people using the Revenue Commissioner’s online system to file their income tax returns increased by almost 10 per cent this year as filers took advantage of the extended online deadline.

However, the overall level of tax paid online has declined by almost 30 per cent from last year.

In the current tight credit environment, time matters and, by filing online, personal taxpayers availed of two extra weeks to settle their tax bills.

The deadline for filing income tax returns in the traditional manner is October 31st, but those availing of ROS (Revenue’s online service) had until midnight on Monday to file their returns.

This year, more than 300,000 returns were filed online, according to the Revenue – an increase in excess of 8.6 per cent over last year.

The number of personal taxpayers making their payments online also increased – by 5.4 per cent to 104,465.

However, total online payment of tax for the year fell by 28.5 per cent to € 1.63 billion, indicating reduced earnings for self-employed people during 2007.

Paul Dillon, a tax director with Baker Tilly Ryan Glennon, has noticed that the majority of his firm’s clients are now availing of the later deadline accorded to online filings. with most clients not filing until the last minute. This is to benefit from the two weeks of extra cash flow.

According to the Revenue, almost one-sixth of online returns were made on the last day, with a record 42,760 returns successfully filed on Monday, up by 15.5 per cent from 37,000 the previous year.

Ciaran Medlar, a partner with BDO Simpson Xavier, says that while most people will have met Monday’s filing deadline in order to be tax-compliant, not all will have paid their tax liabilities.

He says many would have waited until the last minute to file while they sought out the funds to cover their tax bill.

Unlike previous years, those looking for bank financing to cover their liabilities will have found that it is not as readily available.

For those who are unable to pay their full tax liabilities, Mr Medlar recommends that they contact the Revenue to negotiate some sort of staged payment rather than wait for the tax authorities to come after them.

Overall, indications suggest that more than 76 per cent of timely filers used the electronic route, up from 74 per cent last year.