It’s tax season once more, and again this year I’ll be reviewing some of the major tax software offerings, beginning with QuickTax Standard 2008 from Intuit.
I tested QuickTax last year, and once I had the product installed and activated it was a breeze. The activation process was aggravating, however, so I was pleased to see that the concerns I expressed last year were all addressed in the 2008 edition, and this time around activation was no problem at all.
Quicktax requires product activation to combat piracy, and last year the 21-number activation key printed on the CD sleeve was printed together as one long number and wasn’t overly clear, leading to several input errors and a call to tech-support. This year, the characters were much more clearly printed and broken into groups, making it much easier to enter the correct code the first time.
A Web connection is required to verify the key, and this year the activation server responded much more quickly. A toll-free number is also available if you can’t get online. This year, between installation and activation, I was ready to start doing my taxes in less than five minutes.
As I used QuickTax last year and still had the file on my PC, the software was able to automatically detect my previous return and give me the option of importing that data, saving me a good deal of data entry.
The QuickTax interface is quite user-friendly and intuitive, and gives you the option of completing your return form-by-form (for more advanced users), or through an interview-based approach called EasyStep. I opted for the latter, and after answering a few questions on my income and expected deductions was prompted for the appropriate numbers in an easy menu format.
When trying to keep things simple though, some things can be missed, and a few of the questions were unclear. For example, it wasn’t clear to me that by Property Tax Credit they meant renters such as myself as well as homeowners, and I initially left it unchecked before going back and clicking the item for further information (and a deduction).
Mine was a relatively simple return, and it was easy to enter my T4 information in the appropriate boxes, as well as enter my various deductions, whether it was charitable donations or the Transit Pass credit.
One enjoyable feature is the refund/payable window in the top-right corner that keeps a live tally of your refund (hopefully) as you move through your return. It’s fun to see how different deductions impact your bottomline.
Once you’ve completed entering your information, a number of QuickTax tools go to work. An optimizer tool looks for savings and missed deductions, and analyzes whether you’d be better-off carrying some deductions forward. Another tool also looks for errors. You get a chance to compare your information to last year’s, and your potential GST credit is estimated as well, if appropriate.
From there, you can either create a Netfile file to submit electronically to Revenue Canada, or you can print a hardcopy to send by mail. Last year, QuickTax Standard came with 2 returns, and this year that has been bumped-up to as many as 20. It comes with at least 8 returns, with an additional 12 possible if the income is under $25,000 each.
New for 2008 is a Pension Income Splitting Optimizer, which automatically analyzes and suggests the best distribution of pension income between spouses. Intuit is also offering a Maximum Refund Guarantee, offering a refund of your software if you get a larger refund with any other tax preparation service. And for $39.95 per return users can purchase Audit Defence, which, in the case of a government audit of the return, provides the user with representation by a third-party tax specialist. This option must be purchased before the return is filed.
As I mentioned I had a fairly simple return, and I was finished and ready to file inside of 30 minutes. Having addressed the key shortcomings from the 2007 edition, QuickTax Standard 2008 is an excellent option for those looking for a quick and painless tax filing experience.
Intuit markets four editions of QuickTax in Canada. The Basic edition retails for $19.99, offers e-mail support only, and does not include the deduction optimization tools of the carry-forward of 2007 information. The Standard edition, which I tested, retails for $38.99 and includes free phone, e-mail and online chat support. Targeted at more advanced users, for $69.99 the Platinum edition adds support for investment and rental property. And for $99.99, the Business Unincorporated edition adds support for business taxes.
All are available now through the retail channel.
