By Sarah Toyne BBC News Online personal finance reporter

Tele-filing could suit young people, the Revenue hopes

The Inland Revenue is planning to offer people the chance to file their tax return over the telephone, BBC News Online has learned.

The system, which has been under discussion for a number of years, would involve voice recognition software, and follows the lead of a number of other countries, such as the United States and Canada, who have developed tele-filing services.

What happens if someone has a cold or does it late at night when their voice is a bit croaky. Could it affect their tax bill? Chas Roy-Chowdhury, Association of Chartered Certified Accountants

The Revenue said tele-filing could "possibly" be introduced from April 2004 onwards.

The service could be beneficial to blind people, as well as other groups who may find completing a paper-based return difficult and daunting. It may also result in quicker refunds.

Tax return pilot

A Revenue spokesman told BBC News Online: "It will provide another opportunity for people to file their return by a different medium and it is customer friendly: it will be more convenient in some cases."

Details of the tele-filing plan have emerged in an announcement about the Revenue's plans for a new four-page tax return.

The Revenue said it was conducting a pilot of the form involving around 50,000 taxpayers based in different parts of the UK, including tax districts Belfast, Coventry and Wey Valley.

People who are taking part in the pilot are being selected on the basis of their last completed tax return, the Revenue said.

They were likely to be people with simple tax affairs, including pensioners, and self-employed workers with small turnovers.

Initial testing of the form had been "very encouraging", the Revenue said

Chas Roy-Chowdhury, head of taxation at the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, welcomed the Revenue's desire to embrace new technology, but wondered how it would work.

"What happens if someone has a cold or does it late at night when their voice is a bit croaky. Could it affect their tax bill?" said Mr Roy-Chowdhury.