A recent post on the Personal Finance Canada Subreddit brought to my attention – that popular income tax software StudioTax is no longer free.
Up until now, StudioTax has been operating on a donation basis. Starting with the release for the 2020 tax year, a license fee of $15 will be required before printing or Netfiling your return.
The software will remain free for those residing in Canada’s northern territories and for anyone with income less than $20,000.
In addition to offering Windows and Mac versions, last year StudioTax introduced apps for Android and iOS.
My personal preference is to use tax software that runs on my device, rather than submitting my financial details through a private company’s web-based service. Aside from it being previously free, the offline nature of StudioTax is what made it the choice for my own returns over the past few years.
With that said, for the purposes of this article, it would appear that GenuTax is the only other free downloadable software title remaining. GenuTax is presently operating on a donation basis and their software is available for Windows only.
The Canadian government maintains a list of CRA-certified tax software here. Keep checking over the upcoming months for when a version of your preferred tax software is released and certified for the 2020 tax year.
Do you have additional tips or questions about anything in this post? Please leave a comment below.