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Free 2020 Tax return programs

  • Last Updated:
  • Feb 23rd, 2022 9:30 pm
Member
Nov 27, 2013
439 posts
227 upvotes
I calculated my Taxes using TurboTax online (free) and noticed some things compared to the Standard version I always have used on my PC

The RRSP Optimizer is not available, it did not give me a breakdown of what I'm getting for Canada Child benefit or if I was getting anything. I have always used The Standard version on PC and it has this and it tells you how much yo are getting and what the monthly payments will be.

Also I believe this free version will not allow me to file online without paying.

Are there alternatives to TurboTax standard that have these features that are cheaper?

TurboTax Standard is $30 at Costco and allows for 8 Tax Returns, I usually get this version and do my Parents and my Sister's taxes as well.
Sr. Member
Dec 14, 2001
693 posts
846 upvotes
I believe nothing in life is truly free - especially if there is a company involved. Those free alternatives getting something - your data I suspect. The paid software that allow under a certain income level free are likely getting you hooked so you use them if / when you make more / have a family.

I started with ufile free and now stay with a paid version because it is easy - they do a carry forward of your last years info / rrsp limits etc... A couple of years ago I tried a couple of free programs, H&R Block and ufile - put same data in all. Ufile gave my an extra $120 over all the others. What I really like about it is (perhaps some of the other programs now do the same) with a push of a button it downloads all the slips CRA has for you (you have to have a CRA account and can get those slips manually as well) and populates your return automatically. Just my 2cents and some info for others.
Deal Addict
Mar 30, 2017
1226 posts
980 upvotes
GVA
Nam5588 wrote: Methinks 10% on ALL income would actually be a net bite for most rich people, if they can't use any loopholes, offshore accounts, etc. Also, tax lawyers and tax accountants would starve, can't have that :)
I would rather go with flat rate where people cant use loop holes etc.
F communism and socialism. They create fairness by making everyone equally poor.
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Jr. Member
Oct 1, 2020
136 posts
66 upvotes
abrillon wrote: Two Words. BUY LOCAL. Simple Tax is maintained year after year by a Canadian Owned company. No big corporate giant behind it like Ufile, HrBlock or TurboTax.
I don't know if it is a giant, but Wealthsimple is anything but local.
Member
Jun 20, 2010
471 posts
248 upvotes
abydyby wrote: with what reference you are mention Simpletax is good compare to Turbotax, I have been uisng the Turbotax for ages, i only see the cost of the packages $60+ for premium and i share the license with my friend its down to $30 for me and my wife.
Turbotax can be installed on 2 computers..
yes for my needs i felt no difference switching to Simpletax, it did the job fairly well. First time when i tried i had my return on both and compared the refunds etc and i cant recall by how much (was below 100 dollars) exactly but simpletax even had a slightly higher refund calculation (but that could be one off). My reason to switch was that it was free but later felt a bit guilty and ended up paying them whatever i paid to Turbotax online and now that has become a habit for me. Its a way to ensure that they stay in business for those who literally can't pay ....
Deal Addict
Apr 4, 2006
3198 posts
1023 upvotes
Vancouver
massakk wrote: Simple tax seems pretty good. It even converted USD values into CAD, others didn't do it AFAIK. Although I don't know about the nursing home stuff.
I don't have Simple tax. The auto US to Canadian dollar conversion is based on the year's average. However, you can have scenarios where it's more beneficial to use the exchange rate on the date the transaction occurred.

US Exchange Rate example:
2020 Annual Average - $1.3415
Dec 31, 2020 rate - $1.2732
Say you have a GIC which posted an interest on December 31st, it will be to your advantage to use the Dec 31st rate


Source: Bank of Canada exchange rate
Deal Addict
Aug 14, 2019
3494 posts
1911 upvotes
b0ne wrote: Boo on StudioTax, but understandable.
I can't understand them charging. Studio Tax's interface has been the same and antiquated since 2004 (16 years).
Deal Addict
Aug 14, 2019
3494 posts
1911 upvotes
ssj4_ootaku1 wrote: Nothing in life is free.....you're paying for it with your data! (Yes same can be said of FB/Instagram/Google, but you're not entering your SIN, Income in there)
You might want to look at how FB/IG, Whatspp, and Google harvest your personal data from your phone. Firefox has a feature called "containers" to prevent FB via your web browser to steal your info.
Deal Addict
Aug 14, 2019
3494 posts
1911 upvotes
Bebo123 wrote: So essentially you are paying StudioTax $15 to just file the return?
StudioTax will still do for free all the calculations and complete the entire tax return for you?!
**RFD way**—->Might as well copy their answers and manually enter it on a tax return and mail it in.
Cost=$0.00
Since when is Canada Post free? It will cost you at least $3 plus GST. You'll need to attach your receipts, hope Canada Post doesn't lose your oversized envelope, and wait longer for CRA to process to your return.

And don't forget, as a result of covid, CRA has closed their drop boxes: https://winnipeg.citynews.ca/2020/04/24 ... -covid-19/
Sr. Member
Oct 22, 2007
795 posts
1036 upvotes
HamsterDad wrote: What are the things you’ve needed to manually override?
Things with respect to the disability tax credit - there are certain times when you can get a supplementary amount but this could be ground down depending on if you have child care. You can optimize it and take a certain amount of child care without grinding down the supplementary amount, but all has to literally be done manually by hitting the checkmark on the "override" button. Also, if you are older and have an attendant versus the disability tax credit, yo can claim up to a certain amount of one without impacting the other.

Also, some of the spousal transfer amounts would not come through properly unless manually overrided.
Sr. Member
Oct 22, 2007
795 posts
1036 upvotes
Fast1fly wrote: I hate doing taxes every year, and CRA usually already knows everything I have to file.......on another note (gripe) why do we pay income tax when we are taxed again on everything its like they dont have enough from us.....
Thats just people misunderstanding how taxes work. CRA takes pay from your paycheques because they aren't going to wait around till next April to get the money, but what they take is just a guestimate. When you do your actual tax return you are basically just playing catchup and calculating to see whether they took too much or too little. People often get excited about getting a refund, which is funny because all it means is you paid the CRA too much during the year. Its like being excited that you got $99 in change from a cashier for buying something for $1 with $100 bill, versus getting $4 change for paying with a $5.
Last edited by The__Rock on Jan 4th, 2021 7:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Sr. Member
Oct 22, 2007
795 posts
1036 upvotes
Temporel wrote: Well, if you use the Disability credit and have medical receipts, that ain't a Garden Variety situation. Of course if you have a complex situation maybe a tax specialist should do your taxes. You would still have to weigh the extra cost versus the extra tax savings though. Tax specialists aren't cheap usually.
Yes - But i have found basic returns messed up as well. The tricky thing with tax is you don't know what you don't know, and its not like you have a solution manual at the end of the day to check it against to see how well you did. At the same time, an accountant can only do as much as the information you give him. For example, a buddy of mine had a 3rd kid and never bothered telling his accounting. When I asked him about something with his child care deduction, I realized he either never told the accounting or the accounting never put anything in, because his child care was capped based on the #'s for having 2 kids. Another common thing I see is people taking the RRSP deduction when they shouldn't because it would not reduce their taxes at all or very insignificantly, and you are better off claiming a certain amount and then saving the rest to claim in a future year. This is very big because most software will just take the maximum amount.
Member
Apr 14, 2018
230 posts
303 upvotes
bpcrally wrote: I'm a fool that pays every year for H&R block. It's purely out of laziness since they auto populate my data from the previous year (yes I know the others do this too, but not the first time you use it) . If only I could get off my butt and make the switch
You could pay me $10 to do it ;)
Sr. Member
Oct 22, 2007
795 posts
1036 upvotes
bpcrally wrote: I'm a fool that pays every year for H&R block. It's purely out of laziness since they auto populate my data from the previous year (yes I know the others do this too, but not the first time you use it) . If only I could get off my butt and make the switch
I've never seen a return prepared by H&R Block that didn't have a mistake in it. May as well get the cashier at the grocery store to do it for you, they have about the same experience.
Sr. Member
Aug 13, 2003
669 posts
542 upvotes
Calgary
ryanrudolf wrote: It doesnt work anymore unfortunately. It started with the US version last year and carried over to the CA version.

Im trying to reverse engineer / patch the dll using the same concept in the US version. I've patched the DLL but still not working :(
Same here. The file to patch has a different name than the US version but the code was exactly the same. Program starts up then closes itself in my case.
Deal Addict
User avatar
Jan 24, 2011
1154 posts
1056 upvotes
Montreal / Laval
The__Rock wrote: Yes - But i have found basic returns messed up as well. The tricky thing with tax is you don't know what you don't know, and its not like you have a solution manual at the end of the day to check it against to see how well you did. At the same time, an accountant can only do as much as the information you give him. For example, a buddy of mine had a 3rd kid and never bothered telling his accounting. When I asked him about something with his child care deduction, I realized he either never told the accounting or the accounting never put anything in, because his child care was capped based on the #'s for having 2 kids. Another common thing I see is people taking the RRSP deduction when they shouldn't because it would not reduce their taxes at all or very insignificantly, and you are better off claiming a certain amount and then saving the rest to claim in a future year. This is very big because most software will just take the maximum amount.
So truth the first point, an accountant can only optimize your taxes based on the provided information. Other thing is that when you fill the taxes yourself, not only it reminds you the missing information and how to optimize your taxes return for the past yeqr, but how could you optimize your expenses/investment/saving in the future.

Otherwise, I didn't get the second point concerning RRSP deduction, do you mean the revenue growth over time, so the marginal taxe rate or the return on RRSP is more interesting by claiming later ?
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Deal Addict
User avatar
Jan 24, 2011
1154 posts
1056 upvotes
Montreal / Laval
The__Rock wrote: I've never seen a return prepared by H&R Block that didn't have a mistake in it. May as well get the cashier at the grocery store to do it for you, they have about the same experience.
What do you think paying them or others services like TurboTaxes to do the double check ? They are only paid if more taxes return after their verification, I think.
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Sr. Member
Oct 17, 2008
793 posts
331 upvotes
Earth
I've tried Turbotax online and haven't come across an entry screen for the $400 work from home credit.....anyone? Thoughts? :rolleyes:
Deal Addict
Aug 14, 2019
3494 posts
1911 upvotes
andy_ca_cn wrote: I've tried Turbotax online and haven't come across an entry screen for the $400 work from home credit.....anyone? Thoughts? :rolleyes:
Considering the deadline for tax slips isn't usually for a few months now, there's always been updates to the software during the first three months or so. It wouldn't hurt to email or chat with Turbotax and ask them.

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