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UFile: Interview and Giveaway!

Tom Drake — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 09:00:00 +0000

I recently had the opportunity to interview Joanne Birtch, Vice president Marketing and New Business Development, Dr Tax Software Inc. to discuss UFile as we get into the tax season.

Tom: Joanne, thanks for joining us on Canadian Finance Blog. Can you tell us what sets UFile apart from other tax software options available to Canadians?

Joanne: UFile is unique from other tax software in that it uses the same tax calculation engine as our professional product. Professionals look for reliability and advanced optimization features that help them reduce the tax payable by their clients. UFile delivers these feature to consumers with an easy to use, customized interview method. UFile is also fully Canadian-owned and is developed, produced and supported entirely in Canada.

Tom: How about the different versions, what options are best for what type of person?

Joanne: UFile is offered ONLINE and for installation on the user’s computer. Both products can do all kinds of tax returns. UFile does not charge more for more complex tax returns. Whether you use UFile ONLINE or install it on your computer is dependant on the number of returns you prepare. The UFile for Windows Standard Edition (installed) can do up to 8 tax returns and the Plus edition can do up to 16 returns.

Tom: One of the things that impressed me most about UFile is that there are a couple situations where UFile is actually free to use. Can you explain those in more detail?

Joanne: UFile can be used for free if your family income is $20,000 or less OR if you are a post-secondary student regardless of your income. While other online software charges for EVERY family member, UFile does not charge for dependants. UFile’s pricing is simple: $15.95 for the first person in the family and $9.00 more for the spouse. UFile also has a special day in February were those over the age of 59 may use UFile for free by accepting our offer that day (they may file whenever they are ready).

Tom: Thanks Joanne for taking the time to let our readers know about Ufile.

UFile Online 2010 Giveaway

We are giving away 10 codes for UFile Online to 5 lucky winners. You get one to use for you (including your spouse and dependants) and another to give to a friend!

How To Enter:

To enter to win two codes for UFile Online 2010, fill out the entry form below before the end of day on March 20th.

In addition to your first entry when filling out the contest form, you can get up to 5 bonus entries by doing any of the following:

Subscribe to the Canadian Finance Blog email, where you’ll get each article, 7 days a week with no spam emails. Please make sure you use the same email when you enter the draw.
Follow Canadian Finance Blog on Twitter and add your Twitter ID in the entry form.
Tweet one of our posts during the giveaway period (you can find a Tweet button at the bottom of any post).
Like the Canadian Finance Blog Facebook page and add your Facebook name in the entry form.
Like one of our posts during the giveaway period (you can find a Like button at the bottom of any post)

This contest is open to anyone in Canada and will have five winners of two online codes each. The deadline for entries is Sunday, March 20th at 11:59PM MST and the winners will be contacted by email on Monday. There will be one winner, chosen with a random number generator from Random.org. If the winner does not reply within one week, a new name will be drawn. Good luck!

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UFile: Interview and Giveaway! originally appeared on Canadian Finance Blog on March 15, 2011.

TurboTax 2010 Review

Tom Drake — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 10:00:57 +0000

TurboTax is out for the 2010 tax season and I’ve had a chance to try it out over the past week and put together a TurboTax review and giveaway. Intuit has rebranded their Canadian tax software from the previous QuickTax name. This was done to align all their global tax programs under the TurboTax name.

So other than just the name, what else is new? While only so much can change with tax software from year to year, TurboTax does have some improvements to it’s step-by-step guidance, including better tracking of where you’re at while filling out your return.

Another simple feature I found useful was the ability to flag pages to easily come back to them later. This helped me a couple times as I often find myself missing some number or piece of paper, but I would just flag it and move on to the next step.

While TurboTax Standard will cover the needs of most Canadians, there is also the Premier version that includes help with investments and rental properties and the Home & Business version that includes everything from Premier and also helps you maximize your business deductions and expenses. Keep in mind that the Standard version can handle investments and business income and expenses, but just as straight tax forms, not with any wizards or optimizers. You can compare TurboTax versions on Intuit’s site.

There’s also a TurboTax Basic. I’ve never tried it but it appears to be stripped down to a walk through for just T4s and donations. But considering it does have all the tax forms included, this could be an option for those looking for a step up from doing taxes manually on paper.

I recommend TurboTax and have used it to prepare my family’s taxes for the past two years now. It’s a great program and worth the money if you want the smoothest experience while doing your taxes. If you have a simple enough return, you might also consider the lower cost UFile or even the free StudioTax.

TurboTax Premier 2010 Giveaway

TurboTax Premier includes everything in Standard, plus powerful tools to help you easily claim investments & rental property income.

How To Enter:

To enter to win a copy of TurboTax Premier 2010, fill out the entry form below before the end of day on March 6th.

In addition to your first entry when filling out the contest form, you can get up to 5 bonus entries by doing any of the following:

Subscribe to the Canadian Finance Blog email, where you’ll get each article, 7 days a week with no spam emails. Please make sure you use the same email when you enter the draw.
Follow Canadian Finance Blog on Twitter and add your Twitter ID in the entry form.
Tweet one of our posts during the giveaway period (you can find a Tweet button at the bottom of any post).
Like the Canadian Finance Blog Facebook page and add your Facebook name in the entry form.
Like one of our posts during the giveaway period (you can find a Like button at the bottom of any post)

This contest is open to anyone in Canada. The deadline for entries is Sunday, March 6th at 11:59PM MST and the winners will be contacted by email on Monday. There will be one winner, chosen with a random number generator from Random.org. If the winner does not reply within one week, a new name will be drawn. Good luck!

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TurboTax 2010 Review originally appeared on Canadian Finance Blog on March 1, 2011.

Canadian Tax Software Options

Tom Drake — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 10:00:24 +0000

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.

Tax Software Review – Udotaxes 2009

Tom Drake — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 09:00:32 +0000

While I’ve written about StudioTax in both the 2008 and 2009 tax years, I recently found out about another free Canadian tax program called Udotaxes.

Udotaxes has a very polished look that makes it appear less like free software and more like QuickTax or UFile.

There is a wizard for entering your basic information such as your name and SIN, as well as your martial status and what province you lived in at the end of the tax year. After your personal details are entered you’ll need to enter everything else directly into the fields on the tax forms and slips. The Questions section helps you find the forms you need, but does not fill in the forms.

The lack of a full interview process to get you through your forms may be a negative for those that are uncomfortable with preparing their own taxes. However, if you simply want an easier way to file your taxes rather than using a pencil and calculator, this is a simple way to enter your data and have all your forms calculate automatically.

Udotaxes does offer language support for french, though unfortunately the software does not support preparing taxes from the province of Quebec. Hopefully either Udotaxes or StudioTax will support Quebec tax forms in future versions.

Like all the others, Udotaxes allows you to create a pdf of your tax forms when you’re done and it is certified for NetFile. Due to the CRA’s NetFile requirements, you can only prepare 20 returns per licence, which is better than the 8 returns available from the paid programs but most people are not likely to reach this limit.

So give Udotaxes a try if you want a step up from doing your taxes on paper. While it is free to use, they do accept donations if you want to show your appreciation for their hard work.

Tax Software Review – Udotaxes 2009 originally appeared on Canadian Finance Blog on March 22, 2010.

Tax Software Review – StudioTax 2009

Tom Drake — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 10:00:03 +0000

While QuickTax and UFile are both great tax preparation programs, there are other alternatives that will do the job and are completely free. Today we’ll look at StudioTax, which I was impressed with when I used StudioTax 2008 last year.

StudioTax includes a Quick Start Wizard that takes you through most of your taxes. StudioTax is a full featured program, including support for those that are self employed and those with investments or rental income. Unlike the paid programs, that only allow filing 8 returns, Studiotax will let you file 20, which is the maximum that the CRA will allow to be eligible for NetFile.

StudioTax does have built in update checking, though it seems to only be a manual link, not run when the program starts. So if you installed StudioTax earlier in the year, be sure to update to the latest version to get any fixes or improvements to the software. Unfortunately StudioTax also does not support importing previous returns from other programs, only from StudioTax.

The other small issue I have is with the visual presentation. While it does what it needs to do, a more polished look would give it a feeling of being more user friendly and would help more Canadians to view it on the same level as QuickTax and UFile.

Started in 2004, StudioTax was developed by a group of software developers from Ottawa and has been gaining in popularity every year since. While StudioTax is free, they do accept donations. If you like the program, consider sending them a few dollars to show your appreciation for all the effort they have put into it!

Tax Software Review – StudioTax 2009 originally appeared on Canadian Finance Blog on March 8, 2010.

Tax Software Review – UFile 2009

Tom Drake — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 10:00:59 +0000

Earlier this week we looked at QuickTax, which is the top selling tax software in Canada. But there is another well known program that has been gaining momentum. UFile is a serious contender in the Canadian tax preparation market.

The interview process in UFile works well, though not quite as comfortable to use as the QuickTax interviewer. UFile also includes their MaxBack Refund Analyzer, which looks at the whole family to best suggest deductions, credits, and pension splitting.

UFile’s biggest strength is in their pricing. While there are free tax programs for Canadians, you may be willing to pay for a more polished and user friendly product. Ufile is only $19.99, half the price of QuickTax Standard. Ufile’s cost effectiveness becomes even more apparent when compared to higher version’s of QuickTax, many of which add features that are in the one version of UFile. There is a Plus version of UFile that is recommended for those that are self employed.

UFile also has online versions, which are free for some if you’re either a student or have an income of less than $20,000. This Friday, February 26th, is Free File Friday for Canadians age 60 or over. You’ll only need to accept the free offer on Friday to qualify. You can then enter your taxes at a later date once you round up all your documents.

Check back next week for reviews of StudioTax and Udotaxes. Both are completely free, though they do accept donations.

Tax Software Review – UFile 2009 originally appeared on Canadian Finance Blog on February 25, 2010.

Tax Software Review – QuickTax 2009

Tom Drake — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 10:00:04 +0000

QuickTax is the first of four different tax programs that we’ll be having a look at over the next 4 weeks. I entered my tax info into all four programs to get an idea of how each one works, and while they have many similarities, each one also has it’s own strengths and weaknesses.

QuickTax is the #1 selling tax software in Canada for a reason. Intuit, Quicken and QuickBooks are well-known brands and no other software includes as many additional features. I tried out the Standard version of QuickTax, which is likely the best version for the majority of Canadians. There is also a Premium version that may provide some additional benefit for investors. If your tax return is very simple, there is a Basic version, though you might be better off with one of the free tax programs available.

I found QuickTax easy to install. Just a few clicks and the software was installed and immediately looked for updates. QuickTax Standard 2009 includes an EasyStep Interview that helps you through every step of your return. The software optimizes your RRSP and searches for any deductions you may be eligible for.

A new feature within the interview process that I really liked is Life Changes Profiling, which points out tax implications based on what happened in 2009. This was especially helpful for me since last year I started a business, bought a house and had a baby.

QuickTax is my pick for paid tax preparation programs. It’s Standard version does cost $10 more than UFile, but it may be worth the additional expense if you have a complicated return and want an easy to use interface that lets you take advantage of its additional features.

There are also online versions of QuickTax, including some that may be completely free. To qualify for the free QuickTax versions, you either need to be a student, make less than $20,000, or only have T4/T4As to enter with no investments, including RRSPs.

Tax Software Review – QuickTax 2009 originally appeared on Canadian Finance Blog on February 22, 2010.

Budgeting Tools Online And Beyond

Guest — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 10:00:19 +0000

One of the biggest obstacles to making and keeping a budget is not knowing where to begin. Thankfully, the Internet age has brought with it some wonderful tools designed to help you keep an eye on your spending. Here are just a few.

1. Wesabe.com: A lot of Web-based budgeting tools are similar, but one of the things that set Wesabe apart is its promotion of a user community. In addition to monitoring your spending and getting investment tips, you can chat with other users and get firsthand advice about saving and budgeting from people who know what works.

2. Billster.net: Billster is a free service ideal for helping you plan your monthly debts and payments, and it also has a great function called “Shared Bills” that lets you monitor things you owe as part of a group, e.g., if you and your roommates are splitting the cost of utility bills.

3. Yodlee.com: Yodlee is another fantastic service that lets you centralize your accounts, from checking and savings to credit cards and loans, and to visualize how to save money.

Those services are all free, but if you want to pay for programs, there are some helpful ones on the market:

1. Quicken: Probably the most recognizable name in budgeting software, Quicken will run you about $100, but you can download it directly to your computer and start working. You can set up auto payments and see your spending over weeks, months, quarters, or entire years.

2. Mvelopes: You can buy either a one-year or two-year membership for Mvelopes, which is a great tool for digging into your personal finances and finding ways to cut needless spending. They’re also on Twitter.

Again, those five tools are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to personal finance software online. With a little research and determination, you’ll have your finances organized before you know it.

This guest post is contributed by Raine Parker, who writes on the topic of accounting degrees. She welcomes your comments at her email: raine.parker6@gmail.com.

Budgeting Tools Online And Beyond originally appeared on Canadian Finance Blog on February 18, 2010.

Free Alternatives For Preparing Your Taxes

Tom Drake — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 10:00:11 +0000

In previous years, Canadian readers may have completed their taxes with QuickTax or Ufile. Both of these are great programs and I plan to look at them in more detail later this month. However, there are a couple of free programs for preparing your taxes that I wanted to quickly share with you. While this tax software may not have all the bells and whistles of the bigger titles, they work as expected, especially for those with uncomplicated returns.

StudioTax

I used StudioTax for the 2008 tax year and was happy with it. StudioTax has a great wizard that will get you through most of the forms. You then have the option to add any specific forms you require and fill then out one field at a time.

Udotaxes

I haven’t tried Udotaxes yet, I believe it might be the first year it’s been out. I have installed it and looked around and it’s very polished for a free program.

Once I have all the forms for my personal taxes, I’ll try these programs out an provide a more detailed review. In the meantime, for those of you that are lucky enough to have your necessary documents, why not save some money and try out these free tax preparation programs?

Free Alternatives For Preparing Your Taxes originally appeared on Canadian Finance Blog on February 15, 2010.

Manage Your Canadian Accounts With BudgetPulse

Tom Drake — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:00:10 +0000

BudgetPulse is a money management website that could be a great way for you to report and budget based on all your Canadian accounts. It’s actually something that they DON’T do that makes it work so great for Canadians looking to track and forecast their personal expenses.

I’ve previously written about other websites like Mint, Quicken Online and Wesabe. A common complaint with all of these have been either no or little support for Canadian banks and credit cards. This is because these websites use your log-in credentials to pull data from financial institutions. While some support the major Canadian banks (but not credit unions and many credit cards), other will not allow you to even sign up.

There is another issue related to these sites logging into your financial information. While it can be convenient, it’s quite a security risk for one site to hold your passwords for every financial product you have.

However, BudgetPulse has neither of these problems since they do not sync to your banks and credit cards. It’s a simple online money application. You enter your income and expenses and create reports, budgets and goals. You can either enter the information manually or import it from MS Money, Quicken or data files that you can download from your bank’s website.

Then you are able to manage your transactions, budget with handy sliders and set savings goals. Savings goals are interesting since not only can you work towards your own objective, you can share it with friends or family and they can contribute towards your goal. There are also charts and graphs that can give you different perspectives on your financial situation.

A new feature they recently launched is online fundraising for non-profit organizations. This shows your goal and how far you have come to completing the goal. People can contribute by PayPal, Amazon or pledge to pay money.

So give BudgetPulse a try if you want to get your own finances reported in one place, which can be a great way to find expenses to cut and save more of your money.

Manage Your Canadian Accounts With BudgetPulse originally appeared on Canadian Finance Blog on November 19, 2009.