Effect of E-Filing, Tax Understanding, and Tax Awareness on Taxpayer Compliance Moderated By Internet Understanding

This study examines the effects of E-Filing implementation, tax understanding, and tax awareness on individual taxpayer compliance and investigates whether internet understanding strengthens the relationship between E-Filing and compliance. A quantitative cross-sectional survey was conducted among 119 individual taxpayers registered at Kantor Pelayanan Pajak/KPP Pratama Kupang who had used E-Filing. Respondents were selected through purposive sampling. Data were analyzed using PLS-SEM in SmartPLS 4, with moderation tested through a two-stage approach. E-Filing implementation (β = 0.219), tax understanding (β = 0.393), and tax awareness (β = 0.176) positively influenced taxpayer compliance, supporting H1–H3. Tax understanding was the strongest predictor, and the model explained 67.1% of compliance variance. Internet understanding showed a significant negative moderating effect (β = −0.100, 95% CI −0.196 to −0.016), contrary to the proposed hypothesis, leading to the rejection of H4. E-Filing, tax understanding, and awareness improve taxpayer compliance. However, internet understanding does not strengthen E-Filing effectiveness, although its direct relationship with compliance remains positive. The study focuses on E-Filing users in one region, relies on self-reported cross-sectional data, and has limited precision in estimating the moderating effect. This study extends digital tax compliance research by applying latent-variable moderation analysis and identifying results that differ from previous regression-based findings. It highlights the distinction between general internet understanding and E-Filing-specific competence, offering practical implications for targeted taxpayer education.