The last-hour rush to save on taxes is pushing traffic towards online startups, including Wealthy.in, FundsIndia.com, MakemyReturns.com and TaxSmile.com.

These websites make instant investments possible by verifying a customer’s documents through Skype. A copy of the investment proof is sent to the customer’s email after the transaction is completed. The websites also help customers in filing returns.

MakemyReturns.com claims to have already crossed 4,500 transactions this month compared to 3,000 last year. “This month, activities have ranged from advance tax calculations to filing of tax returns,” said Varun Advani, COO, MakemyReturns.com.

While websites do not charge customers for making investments, they charge around Rs 500 for filing returns.

For the two-month old startup, Wealthy.in, transactions have almost doubled this month. “Thanks to the technology one can invest anytime. Most websites see people making investments as late as 2.00 am or as early as 6.30 am,” said Aditya Agarwal, founder, Wealthy.in.

Consumers are predominantly salaried employees and self-employed professionals — mostly from metros. Six out of ten of these investors are below 30 years old, and about eight out of 10 are male, companies claim. They also said that the average amount of investment made was around Rs 2.5 lakh.

“Every user is assigned an investment adviser. Also, they can access their records through mobile apps as well,” said Srikanth Meenakshi, COO, FundsIndia.com.