So, what are you doing this weekend in the GTA? Well, tax season is almost here, you may take a day or two to file your taxes. Actually a few days/weeks ago was RRSP season, however that is such a con that I would've been quite embarrassed (and mean) giving RRSP tips for such a bogus program. "Hey, here's a great idea...how would you like to set money aside and invest for your retirement, and use the deductions to lower your taxes for the year? Just don't mind the asterisk at the bottom and follow our directions ok?"** - Government of Canada.

CEO of Marketing in Ottawa

Ok, well taxes are taxes, no options there. Now I've mentioned before what kind of tax bracket we find ourselves in compared to the rest of the world out there, and for the majority of us, the Government swipes our money even before we see it. The only difference between the government and the mafia is the accent and the excessive use of hair gel.


Gov of Canada board of directors

Anyway back to the useful stuff. What to do to file your taxes and hopefully get some of the money back. Well, apparently if you work on contract or have a business, you require the services of a professional tax helper, so best tip is negotiate your price and go by referrals. Sorta like you screen your investment advisor. For the rest of us, we have our own self-serve tax software. But which one is the better option?

For years, we've been using Quicktax or UFile. You know the jingles, they run on radio and tv non-stop nowadays. We pay money to use their software, do all the work ourselves, then hopefully get something back (or find you owe more, which is the equivalent of paying the Hell's Angels to babysit our child).


Ok, play time has begun. We start with drinking games and move on to russian roulette. No time for nap time!

Oh, for the love of jeff, when's the useful stuff gonna get here? Ok, ok, no more stalling. We left it at filling software, right. Quicktax, Ufile..garbage. Torrent and use the pirated versions if you fancy yourself, but I dont think their price is justified. You have StudioTax which is free. Oh dear, so you can make a tax software that has no expenses or maintenance and just be satisfied with revenue from advertising...who knew. It's CRA certified, however this was IT in the 06 era. Their lack of updates for this year makes me worried, so let's move on.

Turbotax US has a free version for single filling individuals. Surprise, surprise, the Canadian Turbotax has a handsome $17 license fee attached to it. Well, we must have so OMG HAXOR complicated Canadian taxes on our hands it really justifies paying a lot more than our neighbors.

So I guess the bottom line is we are quite screwed. If you want to use legit tax software, you may not have a lot of options. This is the only free option that I know of, but there are so many if's and but's that most of you won't qualify for it.

Cost: *Sigh*

** Government absolute control. No access to money (or a hefty withdraw penalty) until age 71 (assuming you live that long..haha). Funds withdrawn even at 71 subject to taxes..you won't get all of it buddy, I know it's yours but taxes are taxes. Funds withdrawn have a limit per year, which is usually not enough to cover your cost of living. Unless you start in your mid 20's, fresh off your post-university first job, it's not enough to grow to a generous amount. Etc. Etc. stick with TFSAs

**UPDATE**
Krystal Yee from over at Moneyville just posted a wider set of tax software than what I had discussed, including a free netfile online with Udotaxes. Good job guys, FU the rest of those greedy pigs.