Free income tax software options in 2021 (2020 tax year) | Page 6 | Income tax filing | Discussion forum

I actually started the return a while back but did not file because I was waiting for the DUCA amended T5 and then I also received an unexpected amended T5 from another institution so I had to change the earlier inputted amounts for the dividend and interest income so now everything is all messed up.

Doug said

but do allow you to change your return and regenerate a new draft completed income tax return, which, presumably, generates another $0.00 "paid" invoice and payment receipt.

Doug, I filed my taxes this year using TurboTax Free Online and can confirm this is the way it works. Upon using ReFILE via TurboTax, when you complete the tax return filing it takes you into a "payment" section, but the invoice is marked zero "0.00". Thanks for your valued contributions on this forum btw, Doug.

I would like to thank BillieBob (post 55) for recommending TaxFreeway.
While I did use tax preparation software several years ago I had completed my last few tax returns by hand. This year I was facing many new tax items I was unfamiliar with, among which were pension income, linked return with a spouse and charitable donations over the allowed limit.

There was no nagging about buying. I created the 2 tax returns and when I was ready to review, print and Netfile I purchased the key for $14.95 + tax.

I am quite satisfied with TaxFreeway and will use it again.

CRA's auto fill service helps with the slips and info it receives from Canadian financial institutions and employers.

However, it won't work with foreign income sources and foreign holdings that don't submit info to CRA. For example, a shareholder dividend reinvestment plan one has directly with a US company. The plan will send a Form 1099-DIV and file a copy with the IRS only. That won't show up in CRA auto-fill.

One still needs to check the auto-fill afterwards to see if anything is missing or incorrect. Some people have found that auto-fill is missing a slip or two, for some reason.

Also, would gains reported for strip bonds on auto-filled T5008's (Statement of Securities Transactions) be handled correctly? Buying strip bonds for $9,900 and having them redeemed at maturity for $10,000 later actually gives one $100 of interest and not $100 of capital gains!

Same with any foreign investments that are not held through a Canadian brokerage account or a Canadian investment plan trustee.

CRA won't see a T1135 filed for shares of a US company held directly or held through a shareholder plan administered in the US.

I have been using myTaxExpress since 2002, and have found that it handles everything that I need, including Cdn and foreign dividends, capital gains, and even refiling with corrections. It has a very reasonable price of $6.99 for one return, or $13.99 for up to 10 returns. The software runs locally on my PC, currently with Windows 10, but the website claims that it runs on Windows 7,8 and 10, and they even have a version that runs on Windows XP and Vista. The UI is fairly simple, but works for me.

pooreva said
FYI: TurboTax runs on Win10 (and above) only.  

The box with TurboTax CD I have says "Windows 8 or Windows 10 required."

So, if you are one of the few who has Windows 8 on your computer, TurboTax for tax year 2020 should work for you.

COIN said
"Those using earlier versions of windows, why not upgrade to Windows 10?"

Good question and thanks. I love Windows 7 and XP before that and am reluctant to change. I am probably the most computer incompetent person in Toronto so I'll have to ask my "Geek" friend to do it for me. I'll also ask him if it is possible to partition the drive so I can still keep Windows 7 while adding Windows 10.  

Windows 10's boot up time is way faster than Windows 7 due to ability to fast boot.
Other than the time taken (1hr+ depends on ur CPU) to upgrade, there is zero reason to choose 7 over 10. I can understand the reluctant to change, but growing old is a change too and we have to accept it one way or the other, so why not try a new OS instead of stick to an old one 🙂

One needs to investigate to see if the upgrade will actually end up to be free.

It will be far from free if one will need to buy a new printer, scanner, or TV tuner card because there is no Windows 10 driver or a dumbed down Windows 10 driver for the peripheral.

One could also end up spending money upgrading software to versions that run in Windows 10.

Microsoft has dropped support for DRM-protected Windows media files in Windows 10. One will need to burn purchased DRM-protected songs to CD to be able to play them after upgrading away from Windows 7. Otherwise, one could end up having to buy those songs again!