Need Advice On 'Retiring' Our Tax Accountant. :-) | Income tax filing | Discussion forum

Since 2004, I use the same program as topgun in post2, TurboTax, however I buy a physical CD to stick into the computer drive. For personal and for sole-proprietorship. The program transfers all relevant info from year to year, like CCA etc. Probably other tax programs can do the same. You can install it on more computers (maybe 4), for example on yours and on your friend's (it works). Max. number of returns included in the original cost is 8 plus on top of that 12 with under (I believe the cut off is) 25K income. Some things it could not do four years ago, despite their support taking over my screen (with my permission) and trying to do it by themselves. Probability for you needing that functionality is miniscule, I guess (disability transfer - which I did manually and sent an explanation to CRA) . One feature which I miss is that income from T5 cannot be automatically split between and more importantly among non-spouses. I expect an enquiry from CRA some day on that on the returns I filed, which is easily defendable, but needs attention - at least it serves the practice of essay writing.

Why not practice with free software for this year and see if the results are similar to the $300 version. You could use the accountant copy as a guide and so next year you may feel somewhat confident that you're doing it right.

I've been using TurboTax Standard paid version for years, to file taxes for my household and other relatives.

It does offer to optimize income splitting, among many other things.

I think I might have been OK with TurboTax Basic now that pandemics simplified my taxes a lot, but out of habit I keep buying a bit more expensive Standard for about $35, which is more feature rich.
I usually get it from Staples, they offer it online and in store. I prefer version that comes with CD, because browsers become stricter and stricter with downloads, which means downloadable install might not work.

In all my years of complex and of simple taxes, with and without dependents, medical expenses, other multiple types of expenses including business expenses, I have found that TurboTax does handle them all.

Also, TurboTax, like many other tax preparation software packages (but not all of them) can download T4/T5 and other forms from CRA My Account, thus simplifying tax filing.
TurboTax also can Netfile taxes, making tax return submission very easy. They seriously improved that part over last few years, making electronic tax return submission seamless.

Finally, paid TurboTax version installed on computer will import your information from previous year tax report prepared by TurboTax. Which means, you file your basic information once (name, address, SIN, etc., etc.) and next year when you file taxes again with TurboTax you won't have to repeat entering it. It'll even remember your max allowed RRSP contribution.

The only thing I don't like about TurboTax is when you file taxes there will be 2-3 steps where they will offer upgrade or professional review or other similar service, for an extra fee. I would recommend not to pay extra, software is already good as it is.

If you decided on TurboTax, I would suggest going with Standard (not Basic), also if your computer has CD drive for sure get one that comes with CD. You'll see it written on a box and it is same price as their "Download Version Only" product.