Paper or electronic submission
- Author
- CRYPTO PORT Editorial
- Published
- Updated
- Reading time
- 5 min
In short
A return can be submitted on paper or electronically. The two differ in what you have to prepare and in the steps involved, and in some cases in the treatment that applies. Which suits you depends on your situation — check the differences on the National Tax Agency and e-Tax pages, and ask a tax accountant if the choice matters to you.
Key points
- Paper means delivering or posting; electronic means transmitting through e-Tax
- Electronic filing removes the need to attach certain documents
- The method of submission can affect which treatment applies
- Either way, you still keep the material that supports the calculation
Definition
The difference between submitting a return as a paper document and transmitting it electronically through e-Tax.
Paper submission means printing the return and delivering it to the tax office, posting it, or using an out-of-hours drop box. If you are not comfortable working on screen, or the identity verification setup will not be ready in time, this is a realistic choice. When posting, use a method that evidences the date of dispatch and check the guidance on how a stamped copy comes back to you.
Electronic submission means transmitting through e-Tax. It is not tied to office hours and can be completed from home, and it removes the need to attach certain documents. It does require an identity verification method arranged in advance, and that setup can take days.
What is worth knowing is that the choice is not always purely a matter of convenience: under some rules, the treatment that applies can depend on how the return was submitted. If that could be relevant to you, establish the difference before choosing. Read the National Tax Agency's guidance and ask a tax accountant whether it applies in your case.
From the crypto side, though, neither choice changes the real work. Collecting history, calculating and checking are identical either way; the submission method only matters at the very last step, and everything before it takes far more time. Delaying the calculation while you weigh up submission methods gets the priorities backwards.
Finally, either method leaves you with the same obligation to retain the material behind the figures. Filing electronically does not make the supporting data unnecessary. Keep the copy of what you submitted together with the underlying data, organised by year.
Watch out for
- · This page is a general orientation, not tax advice
- · The treatment can depend on the submission method — check National Tax Agency guidance
- · Either way, the supporting material still has to be kept
Frequently asked questions
Does filing electronically remove the need to keep documents?
Not having to attach something and not having to keep it are different questions — documents you need not submit may still be documents you must retain. What to keep and for how long is set by the rules, so check the National Tax Agency's guidance and ask a tax accountant where it is unclear.