Comments on: Questions regarding QuickTax 2009

By: What’s New in TurboTax 2010 | MoneySense

What’s New in TurboTax 2010 | MoneySense — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 14:19:57 +0000

[...] Questions regarding QuickTax 2009 [...]

By: Financial Ramblings

Financial Ramblings — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 13:45:38 +0000

[...] Questions regarding quicktax 2009 by Canadian Capitalist. [...]

By: Canadian Capitalist

Canadian Capitalist — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 23:54:14 +0000

@Gene: Thanks for the RBC code. I’ll mention it in a round up. You have a point that security is probably top notch and these days we don’t think twice about transacting online. Still, I can’t get past the fact that esp. with tax information there is all sorts of valuable info such as SIN numbers etc.

By: gene

gene — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 23:43:13 +0000

Maybe I inadvertently hacked this message section, since I seem to be the only one posting, but I’m not overly concerned about having my return data online at Quicktax or UFile. With maybe a million returns between them, the possibility of any one person suffering identity theft from a data leak at these companies seems remote. Maybe a handful of people will somehow be victimized, I just don’t think it would be me.

By: gene

gene — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 20:04:41 +0000

RBC Online Banking customers get 20% off Quicktax online (Quicktax Standard is $13.59):

http://quicktax.intuit.ca/tax-software/partners/rbc.jsp

I’m sure a whole host of other institutions offer such discounts to their clients.

By: gene

gene — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:23:05 +0000

@CC,

I agree it is a real time saver to use software. The last time I used paper I made a few small errors and had to recalculate huge portions of the return.

Another option is to try a couple online packages to see the results and then fill in a return by hand. I recall the packages I tried giving a summary of taxes owing before having to purchase their services.

However, the best option for me is to use StudioTax, which is freeware with the option of donating. This way, I don’t feel guilty about using the online packages for free just to get the results.

By: Canadian Capitalist

Canadian Capitalist — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:55:56 +0000

@Doctor Stock, @Big Paranoid Man: I agree. Putting up every bit of personal information there is about the family onto a central server somewhere gives me the creeps as well. Granted, such servers certainly have a much greater protection that your average home computer but I can’t help but imagine them having a big bulls eye on their back. However, I heard that many online sites now offer the ability to delete your data once you are done but then you have to trust them to delete it properly.

@ChrisG: I don’t think CRA will ever offer free tax software. The big vendors offer free filing for low-income households, so CRA’s stand seems to be that everyone else makes enough to shell out $20 to $40.

Despite the cost, I can’t see myself going back to paper. I probably easily save 2 to 4 hours by prepping taxes using software, not to mention, software is much less error prone.

By: ChrisG

ChrisG — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:27:57 +0000

Is there an app for that? That would be cool!

By: Matt

Matt — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:23:44 +0000

You want to do your taxes on an iTouch? lol.

By: ChrisG

ChrisG — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:21:12 +0000

The question I have had for years is why doesn’t the CRA offer a bare-bones online tool you can do yourself, for free? I actually like doing my taxes, and I still do them on paper, because I’m pretty comfortable figuring out the forms myself, and I hate the idea of paying money to submit tax forms.