Tax return software

[eddly]

It isn't competition. Generally accountants will be hired to do more complex tax returns.

[macker]

I don't think we are supposed to link to other forums? If you google RFD 2012 Comparison of Tax Software Programs they do a nice summary of all the options out there for filing software.

[squiggs96]

Originally Posted by macker

Surprising a bunch of accountants haven't heard of Studio Tax? A bunch of Engineers told me about it at least 3 years ago. It is widely used these days and in the 100's of thousands that use it IIRC? Why wouldn't accountants know about it

According to the Census, 25.2M people filed tax returns in 2009. According to the Studio Tax website, which in my opinion looks horrible, hundreds of thousands of Canadians use it each year. I'll say 200,00 people, since there is no exact figure. This means 0.8% of people use it. If 0.8% of people use the software, why are you surprised that a number of CAs, many of whom are tax experts at their companies, haven't heard of a free tax return company? I've heard of many companies, and I only use one, and I hadn't heard of Studio Tax. Once again, this doesn't make it bad, it just means I haven't heard of it.

Would you take engineering advice from an accountant? Would you take structural advice from a marketer? Would you be surprised if a chef hadn't heard of a way to cook a dish that 0.8% of people cooked it a certain way?

Ufile offers free tax returns for post secondary students and also has free file Fridays. Turbotax offers free returns for military personnel. H&R Block has free returns for dependents.

Why wouldn't accountants know about Studio Tax? It's not their job to know of every single tax return software on the market.

[bomber317]

Originally Posted by macker

Surprising a bunch of accountants haven't heard of Studio Tax? A bunch of Engineers told me about it at least 3 years ago. It is widely used these days and in the 100's of thousands that use it IIRC? Why wouldn't accountants know about it

Why would they know about it? At every company I have ever worked for, the accountants were the least tech savvy out of any group.

[Bertuzzied]

Originally Posted by squiggs96

I'm just saying that if a bunch of accountants haven't heard of a tax software program, maybe they should some other things to get the word out. I asked a few more today and none of the accountants I asked have heard of it. I'm not saying it's a bad program, I'm saying that it's not as popular as you think it is. If accountants haven't heard of it, why would everyone other Canadian have heard of it?

You said it's mind bottling everyone in Canada isn't using it. If you haven't heard of it, it's hard to use it. I guess we could search the internet for free tax software programs, or we could just pay the $15 for the one we've used, trusted and know that it works. I'm guessing there are many, many things that are cheaper if I spent enough time looking for it. It didn't occur to me and my colleagues to search for free programs for tax software.

Does it cut into my profits? Since I don't prepare tax returns for other people, no it doesn't cut into my profits. Once again, I'm pointing out reasons people may not want to use it or may not use it because they don't know about it.

I know the information carries forward. I'm just saying that people might value their time over an annual fee of $15. If I have the choice between spending an hour or two transferring all of my information forward one year or paying $15 each year to not have to do it, I'm okay with spending the $15. I have a fairly complex return, so it would take more time than the average user.

I don't think Studio Tax cares about advertising their program to a bunch of accountants. Why don't you ask some of your IT friends or tech savvy friends if they heard of it or not?

Maybe i should rephrase it. It's bottles the mind that any one who has heard of studio tax doesn't use it.

And i have a hard time believing it would take an hour or 2 for a new user to retype their SIN number and the a few numbers for last years tax return. I guess it's just a $15 lazy tax for them every year.

[bomba]

Got an accountant this year, but all years previously have used www.ufile.ca ... great site

[eddly]

enough with the mind bottling!

[jtfrogger]

I have used Studio Tax for a number of years. I switched when QuickTax restructured their software tiers and started charging substantially more for version that had the features that I needed.

Although it is free, I usually toss him a bit of cash, since it is good software.

[bomber317]

Originally Posted by jtfrogger

I have used Studio Tax for a number of years. I switched when QuickTax restructured their software tiers and started charging substantially more for version that had the features that I needed.

Although it is free, I usually toss him a bit of cash, since it is good software.

Wait! you manually entered in your previous returns in Studio Tax?!?! That's mind bottling!

[aragorn]

you can use the free 2011 tax checklist, just in case you are missing some tax credits - print the form using the button at the bottom, you don't need to submit it

http://www.taxclinic.ca/forms/2011-tax-checklist

dyi in any of the tax software available on the market. or you can NETFILE your tax return with CRA

http://netfile.gc.ca/menu-eng.html

[Northendzone]

Originally Posted by eddly

enough with the mind bottling!

all these comparasions in this thread reminded me of that old joke - bake one cake do they call you a baker, darn one pair of socks, do they call you a tailor, but $uck one @#$% and they call you a @#$%$ucker........

[yads]

I've used taxchopper. It's pretty well priced and I like being able to access it on any computer.

[Jacks]

Anyone seen a good deal on Turbotax this year?

Last year I found it at Walmart for $27.99 but this year I haven't seen any discounts.

Yes, I know that (insert program here) is free.

[getbak]

Yup, StudioTax is still free, and still all I need.

http://www.studiotax.com


EDIT: Looking back through the thread, I see we've had this discussion before.