I’ve always found tax time stressful. A few years ago I gathered all of my receipts together and hired an accountant to do my taxes, but it turned out a couple years later that accountant had been a little loose with what could and couldn’t be written off! I found myself answering questions to the CRA and paying back years worth of returns.
The lesson I learned was to take more ownership over my own tax return. I had blindly hired someone who I didn’t really vett, and I thought just collecting my receipts and passing them along was enough.
Fast forward to years later, and I’ve taken full ownership over my taxes! With a clean slate I’ve done more than just gather my receipts and put together spreadsheets. Something I’m really excited to share that can help with your own tax process is using CloudTax.
CloudTax is designed for a person like myself who has minimal knowledge of tax preparation! The program is specifically for Canadian non-business owners who would like to file their personal taxes themselves. The software is certified by the Canada Revenue Agency, and it’s completely free to use. If you wish to receive personal assistance from a local tax expert, you can do so from CloudTax at an affordable price. CloudTax is Canadian, and is NetFile certified.
As you start your return there are questions to answer about yourself, and from there you are guided through the process step-by-step. CloudTax includes unlimited live-chat and phone support from tax experts as you complete your return.
What I loved about CloudTax was that I could save my return to complete later, and I could even access it on my mobile phone so I could file my return from anywhere.
Your CloudTax return is saved for the next year as well in case you need to reference your past return. One option that I thought was very helpful was the Auto-Fill My Return service where CloudTax can fill in parts of your return directly from CRA My Account.
Alternatively, you can have your taxes filed by an expert with CloudTax Pro. For a standard return the cost is only $29, while for a complex or business return the cost starts at $69.
You can use CloudTax Pro from the comfort of your home, and you pay once your return is filed. A CloudTax Specialist will review your tax return with you, answer any of your questions on self employment tax deductions, and then will file on your behalf and send you confirmation once your taxes are filed.
One thing that I loved hearing was that CloudTax keeps your tax data encrypted on it’s servers. Your information is shared only with the CRA and only if you choose to NETFILE through CloudTax.
A new feature to CloudTax this year is that you can take a picture of your slips, or upload from your computer, such as your T4! CloudTax will then take that data and enter it into your return. This is an easy way to keep your tax records safely, in case you need to refer back to it at a later time.
Something that I love about CloudTax is how much information about filing your taxes is available. The CloudTax blog includes posts about subjects such as tuition tax credits, tax relief for low income filers, and how to pay your taxes online.
I really loved the CloudTax YouTube channel as well! There are short tutorials and videos that you have access to that answer all kinds of tax related questions such as tax tips for students, information on dependents and your tax return and claiming moving expenses.
It’s incredible to me that CloudTax is a free program! There is a wealth of information on their blog and YouTube channel that I found so helpful, and the fact that it’s NetFile certified gives me additional peace of mind.
If you are interested in trying out CloudTax for yourself, visit their website here!
Items in this post may have been provided to me for review, but all opinions are fabulously my own.