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Sure it does; not sure what agent99 is referring to. I use StudioTax, and we split income. It also has an 'optimizer' to help you do it.
StudioTax
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I have been a user of TurboTax for quite a while (and still do..!) and quite often over the years, I gave StudioTax a quick try/test just to play with it. I realize that my level of familiarity with StudioTax is minimal (the GUI is quite a challenge) but I could never get the same return number as I get with TurboTax. I suspect that I am not entering the data correctly (especially pension splitting) in StudioTax, but the software is not making it easy to correct/find mistake.
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Thanks ... I haven't had to use either so I wasn't sure if I was remembering correctly. :biggrin:
Cheers
I was talking about using the CRA T-slips that are in MyAccount at CRA. Some may be in one spouses name, some in the others. I have not tried using those with StudioTax. Maybe they can be split when doing a joint return? Anyway, I find it easier to just use the paper slips for input.
Looks like StudioTax is now charging $15 for a license for the software. I'm curious if that changes anyone's opinion on it, or their plans to use it for the next year.
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1,419 Posts
Yes, it does. I will seek other no-cost versions.
anybody use any of the products on this page?
File your taxes online: Certified tax software - Canada.ca
Listed are the NETFILE-certified software products for the 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 tax years.
My opinion remains the same but I will certainly look at other options before paying them. I wonder what maintenance they're doing besides keeping up with tax code changes as it has some annoying issues which have been around for years. Acceptable in a free product, less so when asked to pay for it.
I would have thought that those who found Studio Tax useful and used it for their tax returns, would have at least made a small contribution after filing?
We did, so the $15 makes little difference and I will continue to use it. I always found it suited us better than the more expensive commercial software like Turbotax, Ufile etc. In the past, I used Taxfreeway. Like Studiotax, you could use it free and just had to pay of you wanted to print or efile your return. You could save $5 by switching to Taxfreeway
Money posted the government site that lists all free and paid approved tax software:
File your taxes online: Certified tax software - Canada.ca
Listed are the NETFILE-certified software products for the 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 tax years.
Some of the free offerings are on-line only - Not sure I would want to use those.
For those who use Windows and object to the $15 (or wish to try another donation based offering), Genutax may be worth looking at. A good friend of mine with an accounting background, uses it for personal and small business returns, I believe.
I should have added this to my original posting, but I'm wondering if the fact that Wealthsimple bought StudioTax last year has anything to do with it. There were some changes in the TOS at the time.
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875 Posts
$15 for 20 returns is not a big deal as I used to donate $10. Make sure to find out who has access of your data before looking for a free software.
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18,982 Posts
I'm OK with paying $15. What's more important is, does the software still run stand-alone, and can it be used offline?
I don't want to use network based systems where everything is entered online on the company's servers (high risk of data theft). One reason I liked StudioTax is that I could run it offline and store the returns in a local file.
I don't want to use network based systems where everything is entered online on the company's servers (high risk of data theft). One reason I liked StudioTax is that I could run it offline and store the returns in a local file.
That article says SimpleTax, not StudioTax. The StudioTax web site still says 'BHOK IT Consulting' at the bottom, as it did before.
Ah, my mistake, that's probably why I didn't think of it in the first place.
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10,881 Posts
I'm sure some never get around to making their contribution and forget about it.
Cheers
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I don't see anything that suggests that part has changed.
There's talk of the OS needed, the .NET framework being used so I suspect the change is requiring a fee be paid to print/netFile.
You should be able to download, install and test that it works offline without paying the fee.
Cheers
That link says that Wealthsimple bought Simple Tax. I recall reading about that last year. Where does it say they bought Studio Tax?
I misread. My mistake.
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1,419 Posts
i haven’t look at the pay requirement other than to see it allows 20 returns. Do you think it will allow multiple returns on different PCs? I assume you’ll create an account and then it will allow you to switch PCs. I do my parents’ returns and they live in a different city,
I have never paid anybody or anything to do my taxes. I have always done my own since the days you picked up the package from the post office or mailed to you.
Then when CRA stopped publishing the package and forced everybody to file electronically, the first thing I thought was that CRA should provide their own free software to file the return instead of making us pay for somebody else's software. Thirty different software packages means potentially thirty types of different mistakes from thirty different sources.
Luckily, I found Studio Tax and except for the glitches I found from year to year, it was good enough for me. After all, it was free.
If Studio Tax is charging money now, they had better have fixed all the bugs that I had found before.
I hope that if I pay for a licence, I can let my sons (who still live with us) to use the licence for their downloads too.
Then when CRA stopped publishing the package and forced everybody to file electronically, the first thing I thought was that CRA should provide their own free software to file the return instead of making us pay for somebody else's software. Thirty different software packages means potentially thirty types of different mistakes from thirty different sources.
Luckily, I found Studio Tax and except for the glitches I found from year to year, it was good enough for me. After all, it was free.
If Studio Tax is charging money now, they had better have fixed all the bugs that I had found before.
I hope that if I pay for a licence, I can let my sons (who still live with us) to use the licence for their downloads too.
If you don't feel Studio Tax or other low cost programs are worth $10-15, why don't you order the package from CRA and do your taxes manually as you said you did before? If you don't have a drop off center nearby, you will presumably have to absorb the cost of postage?
Tax packages for all years - Canada.ca
General income tax and benefits packages from 1985 to 2013. Each package includes the guide, the return, and related schedules, and the provincial information and forms.
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183 Posts
I think that misses the point. Why should any Canadian need to pay anything to file taxes, even if the price is modest? Seems to me, as Canadians, we should be demanding simple, straight forward, single page submission at worst.If you don't feel Studio Tax or other low cost programs are worth $10-15, why don't you order the package from CRA and do your taxes manually as you said you did before? If you don't have a drop off center nearby, you will presumably have to absorb the cost of postage?
Tax packages for all years - Canada.ca
General income tax and benefits packages from 1985 to 2013. Each package includes the guide, the return, and related schedules, and the provincial information and forms.www.canada.ca
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