Canadian Finance Blog

Posted: 28 Feb 2011 02:00 AM PST

If you’re looking to use tax software to file your income taxes this year, you might be wondering which program you should use and what are the major differences? Here is a general idea of what you can expect from each choice.

Tax Software

When it comes to tax software, two names probably come to mind; TurboTax and Ufile. Both have installable programs as well as online versions.

TurboTax might still be more familiar to Canadians as QuickTax, which is what it was known as until they changed the name for the 2010 version. I find TurboTax to be the most user friendly and complete tax software, though certainly not the cheapest. Tomorrow I’ll have an updated review for TurboTax 2010.

UFile is another great choice. It’s lower price makes it a good option, especially if you have a simple return to file. Making it an even better deal, students and those with a family income under $20,000 can use the online version of UFile for free. And those that are using the online version do not need to pay extra to file for their dependants.

Free Tax Software

Well not always as visually polished as the commercial programs, free tax software can often cover what you need. Plus, did I mention it’s FREE?

StudioTax is a solid program that you might want to try. I used it to file my 2008 tax return and found it did the job just fine. The 2010 version finally includes Quebec provincial returns, now making it a rather complete program. I recommend it to anyone that wants to try out a free program to prepare their taxes.

Udotaxes is another free option you can try out. While it doesn’t have a complete interview feature to walk you through every step, if does have a quick wizard to get you started and then a regular tax form layout.

What tax software have you used recently? Any features you liked or any problems you had?

Canadian Tax Software Options originally appeared on Canadian Finance Blog on February 28, 2011.