Elster

Tax returns in Germany are complicated, incomprehensible and a lengthy process for normal end consumers without experience. The official online tool ELSTER of the tax office does not support tax laymen. Instead, the process is still lengthy, cumbersome and confusing. In this course, we've taken on the task of simplifying the online tool and thus making the subject of taxation more accessible to the average consumer.

Result

Dashboard

The dashboard gives the user the possibility to quickly and easily continue working on tax returns that have been started or to start a new one. You can see the available years which are displayed in cards.

Main Menu

With the help of the main menu, you can easily and quickly switch between the main functions. These are tax returns, other services, the mailbox and settings. As soon as a process is running, however, it is minimised in order to create space, not to irritate the user and to offer the possibility of switching at any time.

Tax declaration

We have tried to group the tax declaration process into categories and simplify it. Selecting the desired year opens the corresponding map in which the process takes place. For this purpose, a process bar is indicated on the side to provide the user with orientation. The questions are arranged in theme-specific categories and are based on the personal information from the registration process. However, these can always be changed and individually adapted in the tax return. The design has been kept simple and. The design was kept simple in order not to irritate the user with the information content.

Inbox

ELSTER also has an integrated mailbox for messages from the tax office, but also for answers to support requests. This is simply structured and the user can sort incoming messages as desired.