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Email this6:12 pm
December 23, 2011
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Today I completed our income tax returns using Turbo Tax as I have done for many years. This version was advertised as a smoother simpler process...and it was!!
In PAST years when you get to the steps of printing and submitting to CRA you would create a CRA file and then go to the CRA site and upload it yourself BUT this year the Turbo Tax program does it all for you which is nice and convenient.
BUT.....
Does this mean there is an intermediary source that sees/saves my income tax Information etc that can be breeched and allow me to become an identity theft victim?
I searched the Turbo Tax site for the option to email my question but it appears they have set their circular CONTACT US to chat or call only.....no option to email.
7:03 am
January 3, 2013
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Hello Kanaka,
My personal understanding is that the system works the same way an online credit card payment works. So, the answer is yes. The information is captured somewhere on their system, however it is encrypted and can't be decrypted easily if at all possible. This being said, referring to their security page, they use Bank-level encryption, Multi-factor authentication, Ongoing risk assessment and outside audits, and TLS (Transport Layer Security) technology (what is sued for an encrypted transaction all over the web).
I did mine as yours by sending it directly from Turbo Box to CRA and I am not concerned about its security. I believe, CRA is less secure than Turbo Box. Remember when a hard drive was stolen / lost saving people's information?
Regards
10:49 am
October 27, 2013
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UFile has directly Netfiled for years. The process was to create a PDF T1 for one's own records and then to click on Netfile which then transmitted the .TAX file (small encrypted data file) to CRA directly. Nothing less secure with that than going to CRA directly oneself. The .TAX file varies from 10-25kB (or perhaps a bit more) in size depending on the amount of data.
4:44 pm
December 23, 2011
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Thank you
3:30 pm
May 28, 2013
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I have always done my taxes using the paper forms, but this year for the first time I downloaded a free tax program called StudioTax for Mac (there is one for Windows also), which is one of the programs recommended by the CRA. The nice thing about this program is that it does everything on your own computer, so all your information stays with you and not out in the cloud. As I am still leery about net filing, I just use the results of this program to fill in the paper forms, which I will again send in with all the T slips, etc. Call me old fashioned, but I prefer the security.
4:05 pm
August 28, 2013
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Canada Post security???? Do you have Any idea how many mail is lost by Canada Post on a yearly basis? I filed my taxes by TurboTax last week and will receive return tomorrow. Wife will file by paper due to recommendation by Turbo Tax due to retroactive CPP.
And no, I will not be sending it by Canada Post; there is a tax mailbox inside tax building. At least it used to be few years ago...
5:35 pm
December 23, 2011
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rhvic said
I have always done my taxes using the paper forms, but this year for the first time I downloaded a free tax program called StudioTax for Mac (there is one for Windows also), which is one of the programs recommended by the CRA. The nice thing about this program is that it does everything on your own computer, so all your information stays with you and not out in the cloud. As I am still leery about net filing, I just use the results of this program to fill in the paper forms, which I will again send in with all the T slips, etc. Call me old fashioned, but I prefer the security.
On the other hand.....
I was like you especially succumbing to Telus or who ever to charge $2 for a statment. I now take everything I can by email or email notification to retrieve. You get your statements much faster and if you are away you can deal with it all to avoid late charges.
I have been doing my income tax and submitting by net file for years. Last year I had over 5000 in medical bills and Turbo Tax told me I would be audited. A few months later I got a nice letter from CRA and I had to send copies by post mail or online using the CRA site. I used the latter and a month or so later received a letter....saying all was ok. This year I signed up for the Notice of Assessment by email too. I put all my documents in pdf format and file on a portable hardrive forever and keep a 10 year file of paper income tax forms, slips etc.
I look at it this way....I pay a horrendous amount of $60 a month for internet so make it pay by not using Canada Post for bills or anything else that can be submitted online (<=securely). So I probably save $10-$15 a month.
And not to mention......most of the older, but not ours, Canada Post boxes in our neighborhood have been broken into. And Canada Post takes no responsibility once the items have been delivered to the box.
5:50 pm
December 23, 2011
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JustMe said
Canada Post security???? Do you have Any idea how many mail is lost by Canada Post on a yearly basis? I filed my taxes by TurboTax last week and will receive return tomorrow. Wife will file by paper due to recommendation by Turbo Tax due to retroactive CPP.
And no, I will not be sending it by Canada Post; there is a tax mailbox inside tax building. At least it used to be few years ago...
Ha ha.....right! Last year I had 2 time sensitive letters to mail from BC to ON. Went to a real Canada Post office and it had to be Parcel Post and I paid about $20 each (for a letter). The next day I checked the tracking. One said not delivered and would be returned to me and the other said it would be delayed because I addressed it incorrectly. So I called both companies. The not delivered, was delivered and they gave me the exact time and what time it moved on floor up in their office. The other one I had to wait a day or so and confirmed delivery....that one was in a pre addressed envelope supplied by the company that wanted a reply. Ha ha on Canada Post....less and less and they still screw up!!!
A couple of months ago I had to transfer some RRSP money to Toronto and Selkirk MB. I went to UPS and the office had shut down so I pulled over to call my wife to see if she knew were another one was. I could see a Priority Post, a wholly owned subsidiary of Canada Post, and got royal treatment ...and those nice zipper envelopes.
I checked the next day at 9am and both had already been delivered.
No more important documents for Canada Post for me!!
7:37 pm
April 1, 2015
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I have a relatively straightforward tax situation and have netfiled online for the last three years using the Google Chrome browser on my Android smartphone. Each year, I tried a different software product: Turbo, H&R and Tax Chopper. They all worked. However, I would prefer to file directly online to the CRA without going through a private third-party developer. Although certified, the CRA is not responsible for their security and does not look at their privacy policies. It is the user's responsibility to research each product. Also, the CRA is not responsible for any programming errors, resulting in wrong calculations. Moreover, Netfiling online using only CRA software reduces the user's exposure to the risk of a security breach (hacking). The CRA stores data on servers which aren't any more or less secure than those used by commercial tax preparers. Why double the risk?
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