Taxes
 

Do you lot use a DIY software (any good ones) or have an accountant? Just tryin' to decide. Hate filing paperwork

Re: Taxes
 

We used to do our taxes ourselves, but handed it over to an accountant when we were going to spend a year in Australia in 1975/76

Have used an accountant ever since .................. it's much easier to hand everything over to someone who really knows what they are doing. I'm pretty certain that we would not have got a lot of the tax breaks that the various accountants have found for us over the years

Re: Taxes
 

My husband (who is an accountant) uses Ufile. It's free the first year for new immigrants and very easy to use.

Re: Taxes
 

Used TurboTax last year and ended up with about $1,600 back between the wife and I. Cost about $40 in total to file both our returns through it. The "wizard" on the site was pretty easy to follow. Took less than an hour to do both and the CRA had no issues either which is always nice. Besides shifting some student tuition type "credits" around our income was pretty simple - just standard employment T4s (no rental income or self employment etc)

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For the past couple of years I've used Studio Tax. Approved for NetFile and it's free.

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Use an accountant, he finds stuff I never would! Saves me way more than he costs.

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I will be using TurboTax, when my T4 turns up....

All my colleagues swear by it.

Re: Taxes
 

I've used UFile for the past five returns, no issues really.

There is a new section this year relating to the new family tax credit, it's not that easy to understand first run through but got there, and hit submit yesterday!

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That's interesting. We used StudioTax for several years and then TurboTax took them over...or something.

Scrub that....QuickTax was what we originally used. StudioTax was one we tried that also worked well.

Anyhow, both of them and others we experimented with were all good and coped with rental income and UK income.

Free for incomes under something like $20k but not expensive anyway.

They also retain much of the info in subsequent years.

Re: Taxes
 

+1 for Studio Tax. It was recommended to me here last year, & I'm now a fan.

I think this depends on one's circumstances, sources of income for example (self-employed, employee, overseas income, investments, etc etc). Also ROI: it's worth my time to do it myself.

I'm not anti-accountants for tax returns per se (in spite of two horrendously awful experiences with them over the years), however if one only has employment income, DIY is pretty straight forward.

I learned to DIY when trying to understand (& ultimately fix, with the help of CRA & Revenu Quebec; and in the second incident help from this forum) horrendously awful accountant mistakes.

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I use Genutax, it is free. I have looked at using an accountant before because we had the house rented in UK and then we sold it. But the prices i was quoted for tax return preparation is crazy.

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If your income comes on T slips you can enter them into a computer program just a easily as an accountant can.

Re: Taxes
 

I have some other items which I need to declare and am trying to find a good accountant - please PM is anyone knows a good one.

OP - have heard good things about Turbo and Studio.

Re: Taxes
 

Quicktax/Turbotax user here. Never had a problem in the several years I've used it.

Back 10+ years ago, the OH was self employed so we used an accountant for that.

BTW does anyone know if the dreaded T1135 can be done online this year?

Re: Taxes
 

Well, according to the instructions of the version of the form on the CRA's website individuals can electronically file the form using Netfile (available to the public) or E-file (available to professional tax preparers).

I use a program called Profile which is the market leading professional tax preparation program in Canada. It says I cannot.

Re: Taxes
 

:confused:

(But thanks anyway).

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Used TurboTax for a bit, works pretty well. No self employed, or other weird things, so that's probably why.

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Is rental income and UK superannuation weird? :lol:

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I had to fiddle around with it for a while to get the QROPS to work last year, but that was just a matter of working out which box in the 'tax interview' thingy it copied to which box in the RRSP schedule.

As you say, it doesn't seem to be set up to handle anything weird.

Re: Taxes
 

What kind of fees have you been quoted before?

What is H&R block like?

Re: Taxes
 

we have a friend, retired single lady in her 70s who has used H&R Block for years ............. she says they have always been good, and fast.

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H&R Block is, like, for particularly retarded Canadians who can't read or write.

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:ohmy:

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Not a particularly nice comment and unhelpful for people who are submitting their taxes for the first time and just want advice.

Re: Taxes
 

My advice was clear. Don't use H&R Block, especially if you're filing for the first time.

They employ retired bookkeepers with negligible training and zero knowledge of anything more complicated than a T-4. Many have never heard that other countries don't conform to Canadian tax rules.

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but your words were extremely politically incorrect ..... and unwarranted

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Always myself, too easy to go and pay someone to do it. Unless a return is complicated, I don't see the use of a professional if one has a basic income based tax return with t4's.

I use tax chopper, it's free for new folks to Canada, and for those making under 25,000 if single, and under 30,000 for married/common law folks, and I think full-time students is free as well. Never had any issues with them and the refund amount they come up with is always the same as those companies claiming they can get you more if you pay them... I just like free, why pay for software if you don't have to?

Re: Taxes
 

Well, excuuse me Mrs.

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Do it yourself before paying HR Block, they are no better then what you can do yourself.

If your just have T4's and basic deductions like transit pass, its incredibly easy and simple to file, even for those doing it the first time.

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H & R messed up my taxes, used them once, never again. I ended up underpaying by $1000 because of their error, not knowing the difference between Nett and Gross. I found the error, filed an adjustment paid the $1000 to Revenue Canada and fought H & R for their guarantee of paying interest and penalties on any error they made. They did not cough up easily, but in the end they did pay up.

Re: Taxes
 

Thanks

Thank you for the feedback.

I'd rather not go through that. :thumbdown:

Re: Taxes
 

:thumbsup:

We're now doing five free ones each year. (I think my mother in law had to pay once when some cashing in of some sort of policy upped her "income" that year)

It's quite tempting to go into business doing it for the neighbourhood. :rofl:

Re: Taxes
 

Assuming no-one in your neighbourhood earns more than $25K.

Re: Taxes
 

I used Turbotax last year, but will be trying something else this year. The software seemed a little bit temperamental at times, though I got it done in the end and did like the format. However I also resented having to pay $100 to get a version that could handle our small business income. This year I've not decided between StudioTax and UFile. As the former is free I'm thinking about giving it a go and seeing how I get on.

Re: Taxes
 

Just out of interest, what package do people who've returned to the UK during that tax year use? I find Studiotax doesn't let me select anything other than a province for residence as of December 31st and I can't leave it blank...

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If you were a factual tax-resident for part of 2014 you put the province you lived in before you left.

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I don't think it's necessarily more complicated just for an income above $25k. And I didn't mean just do it for the ones that would be free.

Between us we've done UK superan income, rental income, wage only, Quebec equivalent of GIS/OAS, Canadian Superan, cashing in of whatever policy it was and a death.

It's just inputting different amounts. If it was something Joe Public was willing to do for the neighbors, just set a charge that covers the fee (or no fee) to make it worthwhile.

Send the complicated ones to johnboy. :)

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There are a couple of non-profit organisations here who offer free tax return services for low-income people. I've volunteered some time on that, from time to time.

I wouldn't, for free or for pay, undertake to do someone else's return, except in the supervised circumstances above. I have no qualifications other than knowing how to read & fill in forms ;). I might, for friends, sit beside 'em & "hold" their hand through the process.

Re: Taxes
 

Wouldn't be hard in my complex, 50% of the buildings are low income units, and the others are geared to low income but not qualified for BC Housing...

I'd venture a majority make under 25,000. Not that I'd want to do their taxes.

Re: Taxes
 

So what is good for weird stuff :p