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I use both ufile.ca ($10-15) and studiotax (free).
I find ufile more user friendly, and you only have to pay if you want to netfile. So what I do is fill out in both ufile and studio tax and make sure the numbers are the same, if not I look to see what I did differently and which one is wrong, once they both add up to the same, I submit through studiotax so I don't have to pay.

I agree. I load up Studiotax as soon as it's available to start crunching numbers. My folks buy the desktop copy of uFile ($20). Good for an ever decreasing number of returns (4 this year). I agree that it's more user friendly.

I'm amazed, in Canada at least, at the number of people that still manually file paper returns. CRA provides a list of companies offering free Tax software http://www.netfile.gc.ca/sftwr... , and even if you don't qualify to NETFILE, you can still use software to prepare the forms, and print with a 2D barcode with all your data.

... since almost inevitably the final result is e-filed, either by you or by your tax preparer.

YMMV, but a couple of things came to my mind.

First, if you're asking this question it's really likely that doing your own taxes isn't saving you anything. An accountant or similar preparer can do them faster, and almost always finds savings that you won't. Plus, at least in Canada, if the tax people come a knockin' it will be your preparer who deals with them, not you.

Second, if you're one of those people with one tax slip from your employer, and two or three deductible receipts for charities or medical expenses, or if you're the typical student, you should be able to fill out a paper return in about ten minutes, or do it on-line or on your own PC with free software and mail it in. It's dumb to pay HR Block money to do this. The CRA even has a list of companies you can check out, almost all of whom offer free choices for simple returns.

Third, as with anything that could wind up putting you in jail, taxes are one of those things where I like to keep complete paper copies of the entire file. Somehow having it printed and/or copied on paper feels more secure than trusting bits somewhere on the Internet.

The locking of phones may have been ok in the beginning, but this is a business practice that needs to stop right now.

Ever wonder why you can't file your taxes at irs.gov?

In the 1990s the IRS wanted to let you file your taxes online as you currently can do in many other countries. It would have been faster, more secure, and cost less to process than paper-based filing. The infrastructure was there already. In short, it totally made sense in every way.

That's when lobbyists for Intuit, H&R Block, and the other tax preparation software manufacturers jumped in. The result? A "compromise" that maintains their business model. Only they can file returns electronically. In return, they have to provide their software (albeit crippled) to a portion of the country that is taxed on less than $57K a year.

Never heard of this? That's how they like it.

The point is that the government is so vulnerable to lobbying that it will enforce any cartel's business model no matter how absurd nor how much it wastes taxpayer's time and money.

I wonder if a petition called "Allow all citizens to file their taxes directly to the IRS" would make a difference. Somehow I doubt it. But prove me wrong.

is your provincial tax preparation also free?

Yes, most of the tax programs include both. There are some exceptions, where certain programs don't support some schedules (schedule = supplementary form.) e.g. StudioTax is totally free, but doesn't support schedule T1273 - the AgriStability / AgriInvest Programs. Since that's only for certain farmers, the majority of filers could use that software to prepare their taxes. As far as I know, filing in Canada is always free: either by phone, electronically, or by hardcopy snailmail.

I realize most of you will assume this question is USA related (I see the firehose story got tagged with "usa" quite quickly), but it applies to lots of other countries too. In Canada, we're supposed to use NETFILE certified software, most of which is free up to a certain income threshold. The Canada Revenue Agency has a list of all software certified for your 2012 filing (i.e.: 2011 tax year). Some of those same companies are probably certified by the IRS for filing taxes in the USA too.

I should be able to submit my 1040 electronically for free, from the IRS.gov website. Instead, I have to go to a 3rd party, where my income levels dictate I have to pay

That's how it's been in Canada for many years (the process is called NETFILE, and it's free.)

Do you seriously have to pay a third party just to submit your return? Wow.

Really? This must be some time ago. I haven't encountered any problems with most government (CRA, Statcan (census) and the like) or bank websites and I'm running Firefox on Linux and Safari on the Mac (which is a minority browser). The only exception is the Air Canada site, which seems to be IE centric.

In fact the Canada Revenue Agency website even supports Opera, among other things.
http://www.netfile.gc.ca/browser-e.html

CIBC, Royal Bank, ScotiaBank, TD Bank, PC Financial all support Safari and other minority browsers
http://www.cibc.com/ca/legal/browser-security.html
http://www.royalbank.com/online/faqindex.html
http://www.scotiabank.com/cda/content/0,1608,CID43 57_LIDen,00.html
http://www.tdcanadatrust.com/ebanking/sup-br.jsp
http://www.banking.pcfinancial.ca/a/security/whatW eDoPopup.page#more_secure_browsers

While I agree that the tone of the letter was perhaps not the most civil, I think it is the responsibility of a government to ensure that diversity is respected, insofar as it is possible.

Canada has an online filing system which explicitly supports all browsers, including fringe ones like Safari and Opera:
http://www.netfile.gc.ca/browser-e.html

With something as universal as taxes, it is almost always a mistake to develop for one platform, even if it is used only once a year.

It also makes sense economically, because the cost of processing a paper tax return is significantly higher than that of an electronic tax return. Surely the savings gained from an electronic return justifies going with a more cross-platform solution? All it takes is a bit of foresight.

There is a common tax system in use around the world, or when governments start approving free tax software implementations for filing.

it just might be GNU/Linux friendly.

The browser form from CCRA is free (as in beer) and GNU/Linux friendly incase that wasn't clear. (Or at least it was last year, and my Moz 1.5 passes the test they have currently)

I'd go with the in-browser option. I used it last year, and had no problems. (I used Mozilla too) They also have a list of software up.

I'd go with the in-browser option. I used it last year, and had no problems. (I used Mozilla too) They also have a list of software up.

Looking at the netfile website most of the software available is free for those with a modest or low income. If you have more than a modest income, don't be complaining about a $30 piece of software. Paper filing and, as you said, telephone filing are free.