20 Certified Tax Software Accepted by CRA

92.6% of the 2023 Canadian individual tax returns received were filed by electronic means.  The vast majority of T1 tax returns sent electronically to CRA are through an authorized service provider or discounter.  This can be a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) accounting firm, a tax preparation business, or a community volunteer tax clinic.

Canadian tax residents can use CRA-approved tax software to calculate and file their own T1 individual tax returns electronically.  This electronic tax-filing service is known as NETFILE.  NETFILE has the following advantages and benefits over paper-filed returns:

• The tax return is filed directly to CRA, with fewer chances of transcription errors
• There’s immediate confirmation that CRA has received the tax return
• Individual’s do not have to send in tax supporting documents and receipts, unless CRA requests for them at a later date
• Refunds are processed faster, especially with direct deposit

CRA outlines a listing of certified tax software approved for electronic filing each year.  There is a number of paid, free, or pay-what-you want tax software available on a multitude of technology platforms.  Many Canadians have a simple or straightforward tax return filing, so are able to utilize tax software to prepare their own tax return and NETFILE directly to CRA.  The tax software programs usually will ask you to answer a number of questions, prior to outlining the tax forms for you to complete.  Most programs, with your authorization, can even access all your tax slips directly with CRA and pre-populate a prepared tax return for your review.  It is recommended to utilize tax software if you are preparing your own tax return.

Almost all paid tax software programs provide free offerings based on individual tax situations or income levels.  For apprentices, the free tax filing option may be available if they are a full-time student during part of the year or have a net income level below a certain threshold.

Certified Tax Software to Electronically File own Tax Return

Whether you pay a tax professional to prepare your tax return or utilize tax software, there are certain deductions and tax credits available to trade apprentices that you may want to ensure have been included.  It is actually the taxpayer’s onus to review the return prepared for accuracy and completeness prior to filing.  Most tax return software programs will only initially show the most common and popular tax forms based on certain tax scenarios.  Certain tax forms will have to be manually selected to be included to claim deductions or tax credits (eg. BC tax training credit for trade apprentices, RRSP).  This causes many apprentices to miss these taxation benefits.