TaxCalc vs VAT Sense

TaxCalc is a UK accounting software platform for tax compliance, client management, and practice operations. Its products prepare personal, partnership, trust, and company tax returns, as well as statutory accounts. For Self Assessment, SimpleStep guides users through relevant sections, with an option to switch to HMRC-style forms. Calculations update in real time, and Check & Finish reviews a return before submission. Tax products submit directly to HMRC, while Accounts Production files statutory accounts to Companies House. Accounts Production can import year-end trial balances from Xero, QuickBooks, or FreeAgent and export journals and adjustments; integrations differ between products. TaxCalc supports self-employment and investment income, but does not include state filing. It runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows, with mobile access limited to the web. Pricing is paid, from £42, with a free trial and no free plan. TaxCalc says each licence includes unlimited weekday phone and email support from UK-based, accountancy-trained specialists.

VAT Sense is a REST API for VAT number checks and tax-related data, intended for use in other services. It validates numbers against live records in the UK, EU, Australia, Norway, Switzerland, South Africa, and Brazil, and provides EU VAT rates plus VAT and GST rates from other countries. It also supplies country data, currency conversions to GBP and EUR using official HMRC and European Central Bank rates, and VAT-compliant invoicing information. A validation can include an official government consultation number when the requester provides its own VAT number. The API requires HTTPS and HTTP Basic Auth. VAT Sense says client-side CORS requests are not supported because they could expose account API keys, and says the service uses 256-bit SSL. Client libraries are available for Python, Node.js, PHP, Go, Ruby, C#/.NET, and Java; the documentation also links to Postman collections. General limits are 300 requests per minute, with UK VAT validation limited to 3 requests per second. A free plan is available, and the pricing note lists paid plans from $6.99/mo. Plan prices exclude VAT, and payment can be in GBP, USD, or EUR.