Free (or by donation) 2019 Tax return programs

i haven't been keeping up since simple tax was sold and they changed the terms...can they sell your data now?

+1 for studio tax. I've been using it for almost 10 years now. It might not look as pretty as TurboTax but it does the job just as well. Never understood why anyone would shell out money for TurboTax when there's a free alternative.

Also +1 for StudioTax.

qbarnes95 wrote: ↑ i haven't been keeping up since simple tax was sold and they changed the terms...can they sell your data now?

Darn it. I've been using simple tax for years. Can anyone summarize what's changed?

Edit: so I did some digging. They've been bought by wealth simple but they seem to have good privacy protocols in place. I did my taxes again with them this year and they were just like before, actually it was improved if I'm being honest. They did advertise their financial services to me at the end and it was clearly based on my personal financials which is a bit greasy but it's just automated stuff so I didn't mind it. I'll prolly continue with these guys out of convenience.

grasshopper902 wrote: ↑Never understood why anyone would shell out money for TurboTax when there's a free alternative.

definitely

it's a great program

(and not directed at grasshopper at all) But consider donating a few dollars to them. It's worth it

A. Unfortunately you have to do that manually. Only StudioTax returns can be imported by StudioTax.


Darn :/

....and another vote for StudioTax as a 10+ year user.

grasshopper902 wrote: ↑ +1 for studio tax. I've been using it for almost 10 years now. It might not look as pretty as TurboTax but it does the job just as well. Never understood why anyone would shell out money for TurboTax when there's a free alternative.

I use studio tax as well but Turbotax has been free for years. Same with the one on H&R blocks website.

I also use Studio Tax. I like the fact that all my info is kept on my computer and not online like some of the others.

already downloaded Studiotax and started reeving T4RSP from banks.

qbarnes95 wrote: ↑i haven't been keeping up since simple tax was sold and they changed the terms...can they sell your data now?

brucedlx wrote: ↑ Darn it. I've been using simple tax for years. Can anyone summarize what's changed?

https://simpletax.ca/blog/2019/changes- ... ms-service

Thank you, OP!

qbarnes95 wrote: ↑ i haven't been keeping up since simple tax was sold and they changed the terms...can they sell your data now?

I used Simple Tax for the past few years and had no idea they were sold. We all jumping ship now or what? Seems like Studio Tax is popular in this thread.

Artwebb1986 wrote: ↑ I use studio tax as well but Turbotax has been free for years. Same with the one on H&R blocks website.

Am I correct that TurboTax, H&R Block, UFile, etc. and similar retail programs are only free if income is less than $20,000?
https://www.ufile.ca/tips-and-tools/file-for-free

Others like StudioTax do not have such restriction. But all software programs, free or not, limit 20 returns.

TomRFD wrote: ↑ I used Simple Tax for the past few years and had no idea they were sold. We all jumping ship now or what? Seems like Studio Tax is popular in this thread.

I was lucky many years ago found a similar discussion and started with StudioTax. I won't go back to anything else. I was working on my return the first time with the program and I got a question. I posted a note and they replied back, on Sunday! Highly recommended.

Not sure why people are freaking out about simpletax - the information is encrypted.

+1 for Studio Tax. I have been using it for >10 years. Works well for me, haven't used another tax filing software so can't compare.

I have been using SimpleTax for the past few years. It's simple to use and is web-based. I have no idea they were sold though, and it looks like StudioTax is more popular here.

wranglery wrote: ↑ Am I correct that TurboTax, H&R Block, UFile, etc. and similar retail programs are only free if income is less than $20,000?
https://www.ufile.ca/tips-and-tools/file-for-free

Others like StudioTax do not have such restriction. But all software programs, free or not, limit 20 returns.

No idea on the limit but it's more than 20k thats for sure.