There is no single best option. If your APIT is already correct, IRD e-services is free and enough. If you want a browser tool, look at Taxable or TaxWise. If you want a person to handle it, look at Simplebooks, Taxperts, Tax360 or TaxAdvisor. If you want your data offline, look at ours.
How we compared
We read each product’s own website, including its pricing page where one exists, on 20 September 2026. For each one we recorded the exact prices shown, the plan names used, what platform it runs on, what the site says about where data is stored, and what the site says about preparing a return versus submitting it to the IRD. Where a site did not state something, we wrote “not stated on their site (checked 20 September 2026)” rather than guessing. We did not test the products, we did not rate them, and we make no claim about any competitor’s accuracy, security or quality. Prices and plans change, so check each site before you decide.
Comparison table
| Option | Type | Price as published | Data location as stated | Prepares return? | Submits to IRD? | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IRD e-services | Government portal | Free | IRD systems | No, you enter figures yourself | You submit it yourself | Web browser |
| LankanTax Desktop (ours) | Offline desktop software | Rs 7,000 one-time launch price, regular Rs 15,000 | Your own computer. Our page states “Your computer only. Nothing is sent to us or any server”, with optional encrypted backups to your own Google Drive or OneDrive | Yes | No. Guided field-by-field fill, you submit | Windows 10 or newer, macOS 12 or newer |
| LankanTax for Accountants (ours) | Practice software, desktop or hosted | Rs 15,000 for the first 25 filings, then Rs 1,000 per filing | Desktop edition: your office computers, no server access by us. Hosted edition: our servers | Yes, per client | No. Hosted edition only, a Chrome extension fills the IRD e-services fields, you review and press submit | Windows, macOS, or hosted in a browser |
| Taxable | Cloud personal tax tracker | Free plan “Rs. 0/forever” with 1 GB storage. Annual plan “Rs. 5,900/per year” with 10 GB storage | Their features page states data is “Encrypted at rest in Azure South-East Asia data centres” | Yes on the Annual plan. Their site lists “Tax return, capital gains return and assets schedule, generated for the IRD” | Not currently. Their site describes a filing-ready export package with a passcode-protected share link for your agent, and lists agent filing as “Coming Soon” | Web app. No mobile app listed on their site |
| Simplebooks income tax filing | Filing service with an online tool | “Starting from” “Rs. 10,000”. Their page lists “All-inclusive – no hidden fees” and “No credit card until final review” | Not stated on their site | Yes. Their page lists “Real human review” | Their pricing block lists “IRD e-filing” among what is included | Web, plus a free WhatsApp tax assistant |
| TaxWise | Cloud tax software | Free “Rs. 0 forever”. Standard “Rs. 5,900/year (50% launch offer, regular Rs. 11,800)”. Pro “Rs. 8,900/year (50% launch offer, regular Rs. 17,800)”. Advisor “From Rs. 14,900/month (50% launch offer, regular Rs. 29,800)”. Enterprise custom | Their site states data is stored in AWS Singapore (ap-southeast-1) and does not leave that region | Yes | No. Their site states “Filing remains your responsibility” and that you submit through the IRD e-Filing portal | Web |
| Taxperts | Filing and advisory firm | Not published on their site. Their /pricing URL returned 404 | Not stated on their site | Their site lists Tax Return Filing as a service and refers to calculating and filing tax returns | Not stated on their site whether they submit on your behalf or prepare it for you to submit | Web, plus phone and email contact |
| Tax360 | AI assistant plus filing and advisory service | Not published on their site | Not stated on their site | Yes | Their site lists IRD e-filing and APIT management among its services | Web, including an AI assistant at ai.tax360.lk. No app links on their site |
| TaxAdvisor | Advisory and tax agent service | Consultations: Basic Rs 3,000 (15 min), Basic Plus Rs 6,000 (30 min), Enterprise Rs 10,000 (30 min), Startup Rs 10,000 (30 min). Individual tax agent plans per year: Starter Rs 25,000, Standard Rs 30,000, Premium Rs 35,000, Platinum Rs 45,000. Company pricing on request | Not stated on their site | Yes, as part of the agent plans | Their pricing page states all individual agent plans include final tax return filing | Web, iOS and Android apps linked from their site, WhatsApp |
All competitor entries checked 20 September 2026.
IRD e-services
The government’s own e-filing portal. It is free and open to anyone with a TIN. You enter every figure by hand. It does not compute your liability for you and does not tell you which reliefs you qualify for.
Choose this if: your return is simple, your APIT is already correct, and you do not want to pay for anything.
LankanTax Desktop (our product)
Software you install on your own machine. Our page states that your salary, bank interest and NIC stay on your computer, that the app works fully offline, and that encrypted backups, if you switch them on, go to your own Google Drive or OneDrive rather than to us. One licence covers a household, so you can prepare returns for yourself, a spouse and parents. It walks you through the fields the IRD portal asks for. You press submit yourself.
Price on our page today: Rs 7,000 as a launch price, regular price Rs 15,000, paid once, no subscription.
How to get it today: our Family page currently points to the Founding 100 campaign, which offers the Y/A 2025/26 edition free to 100 households. As of 20 September 2026 the campaign page shows all 100 seats reserved and the form working as a waitlist for a next batch, with the campaign closing on 15 October 2026. To buy at the Rs 7,000 launch price, or to ask about the waitlist, contact us at hello@lankantax.com.
Choose this if: you want your financial data to stay off the internet, you are filing for more than one person in your household, or you are combining employment, rent, interest, freelance and foreign currency income.
LankanTax for Accountants (our product)
Rs 15,000 covers the first 25 client filings, then Rs 1,000 for each filing after that. The desktop edition keeps client data on your office computers and we have no server access to it. The hosted edition stores data on our servers so several staff can log in and so the Chrome extension can autofill. The extension works only with the hosted edition. It fills the IRD e-services fields from a return you have already prepared, it does not store your IRD password, and it does not submit. You review every field and press submit on the portal yourself.
To buy: email hello@lankantax.com.
Choose this if: you run a practice with 25 or more filings a year and want the per-filing cost to fall as volume grows.
Taxable
A cloud tracker for income, expenses, reliefs, assets and liabilities, with tax calculated as you record each item. Their free plan is “Rs. 0/forever” with 1 GB of document storage and covers tracking. Their Annual plan is “Rs. 5,900/per year” with 10 GB of storage and adds, in their words, a “Tax return, capital gains return and assets schedule, generated for the IRD”, a Statement of Estimated Tax, deadline reminders and a filing-ready export package with a passcode-protected share link for your agent. Their features page states data is “Encrypted at rest in Azure South-East Asia data centres”. Their site lists an agent filing step as coming soon, so today the submission is done by you or your agent.
Choose this if: you want a running record of your finances through the year and are comfortable filing yourself, or handing the package to an agent, once it is generated.
See our head-to-head comparison of LankanTax Desktop and Taxable.
Simplebooks income tax filing
An online filing tool with people behind it. Their page shows “Starting from” “Rs. 10,000” and lists “Instant tax results”, “Real human review”, “IRD e-filing” and “All-inclusive – no hidden fees” as what is included, with “No credit card until final review”. They also run a free WhatsApp tax assistant. Their site does not state where client data is stored.
Choose this if: you would rather a person looked at your return before it goes in.
TaxWise
Browser-based tax software. Their free plan is “Rs. 0 forever” and covers one 2025/2026 return for employment income. Paid plans as published are Standard at “Rs. 5,900/year (50% launch offer, regular Rs. 11,800)”, Pro at “Rs. 8,900/year (50% launch offer, regular Rs. 17,800)” and Advisor from “Rs. 14,900/month (50% launch offer, regular Rs. 29,800)”, with custom Enterprise pricing above 50 returns. Their site states data is held in AWS Singapore (ap-southeast-1) and does not leave that region, and that “Filing remains your responsibility”: the software generates IRD schedules and you submit through the IRD portal. Their site also states they are not affiliated with or endorsed by the IRD.
Choose this if: you want a browser tool with nothing to install, you want to try a free tier first, and you are comfortable with data held in AWS Singapore rather than on your own machine.
Taxperts
A firm offering TIN registration, VAT and SSCL registration, tax return filing, tax advisory, expat tax services and transfer pricing. Pricing is not published on their site and their /pricing URL returned 404 when we checked. Their site does not state where client data is stored, and does not state whether they submit returns on a client’s behalf or prepare them for the client to submit.
Choose this if: you have a registration need or a business or expat situation and want one firm for filing and advice. Ask them directly what is included and what it costs.
Tax360
An AI assistant at ai.tax360.lk that answers questions about Sri Lankan tax, alongside a service covering personal income tax filing, IRD e-filing, APIT management and quarterly tax payment management for foreign-income earners. Pricing is not published on their site. Their site does not state where client data is stored and does not link to a mobile app.
Choose this if: you want quick answers to tax questions in the same place as a filing service. Ask them for a quote.
TaxAdvisor
Built around appointing a Chartered Accountant as your tax agent. Consultations are published at Rs 3,000 for 15 minutes (Basic), Rs 6,000 for 30 minutes (Basic Plus), and Rs 10,000 for 30 minutes on the Enterprise and Startup tiers. Annual individual tax agent plans are published at Rs 25,000 (Starter, employment and investment income), Rs 30,000 (Standard), Rs 35,000 (Premium, business income without financial statements) and Rs 45,000 (Platinum, business income with financial statements). Their pricing page states all individual plans include free tax registration, portal access, advisory support, quarterly payment guidance and final tax return filing. Company and NGO pricing is on request. They also link iOS and Android apps and a WhatsApp channel from their site.
Choose this if: you want a named Chartered Accountant acting as your agent through the year rather than a one-off tool.
Who should use what
- Salaried employee with one T-10 and correct APIT: use IRD e-services. It is free and your return is short. You do not need to buy anything, including ours.
- Salaried employee who wants a free tool to check the numbers first: TaxWise’s free plan covers one employment-income return at “Rs. 0 forever”. Taxable’s free plan tracks income year-round without generating the return.
- Freelancer or foreign-income earner who wants to track through the year: Taxable. Its free plan handles multi-currency income and quarterly instalments, and the Rs 5,900 annual plan adds the return documents.
- Someone who wants a browser tool with business income: TaxWise Pro at Rs 8,900/year covers business income and expense mapping.
- Landlord or interest income: LankanTax Desktop or Taxable both handle rent and interest. Choose on whether you want the data on your own machine or in a cloud service.
- Family filing several returns: LankanTax Desktop, which covers a household under one licence.
- Anyone who wants their data to stay offline: LankanTax Desktop is the only option here that runs with no internet connection.
- Accountant with 25 or more client filings: LankanTax for Accountants, or TaxWise’s Advisor plan if you would rather work in a browser.
- Anyone who wants a person to handle it: Simplebooks, Taxperts, Tax360 or a TaxAdvisor agent plan.
- Anything complicated, such as a business sale, a trust, a transfer pricing question or an open IRD assessment: talk to a qualified person before buying any software. Our tax consultant directory lists firms across Sri Lanka.