Discussions

I am curious, what is an average amount to pay for having a basic tax return done?A T4, T5 and RRSP contributions. Has anyone delt with HR block or similar "tax time" companies

There is Studio Tax that apparently is free. I use Ufile for 20 bucks from Staples. I used HR Block twice and for taxes done with moving expenses was almost 200 bucks for my wife and I. Single return I paid almost 75 when it was done. This was a long time ago. Now 3 of us use the program and it is very easy to use. If you have a computer get the program and do it yourself. It asks you all the questions a normal tax person asks. Heck I would even do it for you if you want. I work for beers lol.  
 
Edited by Fishin Guy, 2018-03-21 14:19:43

Filled mine out yesterday with Simple Tax. Took five minutes  
And you pay what you think it's worth to you. 0 - 59.95.

Who is Simple tax and where are they located?  
 
the last three years I have paid $150,for what I would consider a pretty basic tax return, to a retired accountant because I wanted it to be credible. $75 to HR would still be a savings.

Bought turbo tax at Staples - $35.  
 
e-filed 10 days ago and got my return today.

You could check out there web site or call http://www.westmantaxservices.ca

What does everybody consider simple? My spouse and I work at minimum 2 jobs each (multiple T4s), have our own rrsps, joint investments which make interest (I’m assuming we have to pay tax on those), have a child (dependent) and have EI payments to claim (maternity leave). Would this be considered simple enough to do your own? We usually pay $220 to get an accountant to do them.

Viv said "What does everybody consider simple? My spouse and I work at minimum 2 jobs each (multiple T4s), have our own rrsps, joint investments which make interest (I’m assuming we have to pay tax on those), have a child (dependent) and have EI payments to claim (maternity leave). Would this be considered simple enough to do your own? We usually pay $220 to get an accountant to do them. "

Depends on the person doing it I guess. I am really number oriented, with math coming easy and natural. I don't do mine, as my wife is self employed, and I really don't want to keep up with all the deductions involved in that. You also could do it easy enough using tax software, which really makes it easy. A variety of paid and free options. Paid ones are usually a bit easier, but both do a good job.

Simple tax is a program I have used for the last 2 or 4 years and it is awesome. Very user friendly and all they ask for is a donation. Info is carried forward from year to year. Would not use it if I had a really complicated return but for what you mentioned, it would work great. I have used other programs including Ufile and Turbo Tax and Simple Tax is the best. I do have some rental income and expenses and a couple of years ago, I did my taxes with Simple tax but did not submit. Took my info to an accountant and paid $100.00 to have my return done and came out with the same result to the penny.

Viv said "What does everybody consider simple? My spouse and I work at minimum 2 jobs each (multiple T4s), have our own rrsps, joint investments which make interest (I’m assuming we have to pay tax on those), have a child (dependent) and have EI payments to claim (maternity leave). Would this be considered simple enough to do your own? We usually pay $220 to get an accountant to do them. "

While that seems like a lot, it's still a simple return. There's a lot of items, but really they only fall into a couple of categories and none are due to self-employment. It's just a matter of being organized, but using decent software helps tremendously with that.  
 
When I did returns for the volunteer program, you would qualify as a "simple" return, depending on your investment income. As long as you have statements or slips for that, it should be a piece of cake.

tomi said "Simple tax is a program I have used for the last 2 or 4 years and it is awesome. Very user friendly and all they ask for is a donation. Info is carried forward from year to year. Would not use it if I had a really complicated return but for what you mentioned, it would work great. I have used other programs including Ufile and Turbo Tax and Simple Tax is the best. I do have some rental income and expenses and a couple of years ago, I did my taxes with Simple tax but did not submit. Took my info to an accountant and paid $100.00 to have my return done and came out with the same result to the penny. "

I was leery about it at first. Nice to hear it''s a good one.  
 
Edited by JoBeth, 2018-03-22 11:16:07

I'm going to give Simple Tax a try. Can anyone tell me if I need my city property tax info as part of the return? if so, where and why does it come into play?

I've used TurboTax for over a decade now. Paid about $16 this year for a basic return online (sale price). I'd never go back to having a tax firm do them, they just aren't complicated enough to justify the expense.

of any program that is free? I have what I feel is a easy return to do and have all my papers to do it. Don't know what I will be getting back so not wanting to pay much for one.

We go on to H&R website and file our claim. When they ask if you want someone to review it, we say no. Doesn''t cost anything and we have the money back in about 10 days.  
 
Edited by saltnpepper, 2018-03-22 13:36:29