TaxTron Review: Flexible Tax Filing for Personal and Corporate Returns
There is no shortage of Canadian tax software companies claiming to have something for everyone. But one company may be able to back it up. TaxTron is a lesser-known tax software brand, but what they offer may surprise you.
In addition to filing tax returns for individuals and families, they have software dedicated to corporate tax filing, as well as tax practitioners to file returns for their clients. In fact, they claim to be the first tax software company in Canada to offer a web-based corporate tax filing application.
Introducing TaxTron
TaxTron is yet another tax software program available on both Mac and Windows-based computers. According to their company profile, TaxTron’s goal is to “help as many people with their income tax returns in Canada as possible by offering flexible Canadian tax software.” With that in mind, they allow users to complete their return English or French, have software that can handle personal and corporate tax returns, and allow low-income individuals and students to file for free.
The TaxTron Product Lineup
TaxTron offers no fewer than five distinct versions of their tax return software, which can be downloaded for use on both Macintosh and Windows computers. They also have a web application for corporate returns.
TaxTron Individual
If you only have one personal income tax return to file, an individual license should be all you need. Electronic filing, via NETFILE, is supported for 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 tax years. If you’re using a Mac, you’ll need to have a Mac OS of 10.9 or higher to file your 2020 return. Windows users will need to have Windows 10, 8, 7, or XP.
TaxTron Family
If you’re filing taxes for a family member i.e., spouse, or you have members of your household who require additional licenses to file their own taxes, you’ll need to open a TaxTron family account. Depending on the income of each individual, a family license can cover up to 20 returns.
TaxTron Corporate (Single License)
If you own a corporation and plan to file your own tax return, you can do so with a TaxTron Corporate single license. If you are claiming a Net Loss for tax purposes, you can even file for free. To file electronically, you will need a web access code. If you don’t have one, you can obtain it directly from the CRA. The corporate license is available on both Mac and PC for less than $100 each.
TaxTron Professional (Personal and Corporate)
Tax professionals who are efile certified can prepare and file returns for their clients using TaxTron Professional. Only returns for 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 tax years can be filed electronically, however. You would need to prepare and file a paper-based return for any previous year.
TaxTron Pricing
Here is a breakdown of the different tax software versions offered by TaxTron, along with the respective pricing. Keep in mind that full-time students and individuals with an income of less than $31,000 can file their tax returns for free with TaxTron.
Software Version Pricing
TaxTron Individual License for Macintosh $19.99
TaxTron Individual License for Windows $12.99
TaxTron Family License for Windows $24.99
TaxTron Family License for Macintosh $39.99
TaxTron Corporate (Single License) for Mac $99.99
TaxTron Corporate (Single License) for Windows $99.99
TaxTron Professional for Macintosh $595.99
TaxTron Professional for Windows $249.99
TaxTron Corporate Professional for Macintosh $249.99
TaxTron Corporate Professional for Windows $249.99
TaxTron Customer Support
There are several levels of support available through the TaxTron website. They have an FAQ section that provides information on everything from using NETFILE to preparing a spousal return. If you can’t find your answer, access the TaxTron KnowledgeBase from the Support Centre, or submit a request for technical support.
Sometimes you need to talk to a real, live human being. If that’s the case, TaxTron has you covered. They have local phone numbers in five major cities, which are rerouted to their head office in Toronto. You can also send them an email if you don’t need an answer immediately.
TaxTron Exclusions
Most tax software programs cannot accommodate every single tax credit and deduction from ten different provinces and 3 territories. TaxTron is no different. Before you start your return, I recommend that you browse through their exclusions list to make sure they won’t impact your return. With that in mind, TaxTron can handle the returns of the vast majority of Canadians.
Final Thoughts on TaxTron
While TaxTron isn’t as well known as other tax preparation software, like TurboTax, UFile, or Wealthsimple Tax, they get many things right and seem like a worthy competitor. For starters, the pricing is right, with free returns available to students and low-income individuals, including seniors.
They offer several layers of customer support, including via email and telephone. Lastly, they offer dedicated software for corporate returns and tax professionals. That’s something you don’t see with most tax return software companies.
Comments
Bought family version 2 days ago. The app is crashing very often. Called support, but they ignored my issue completely. Don’t ever buy Taxtron. However I will make a complain to “Protection de Consomateur” because they refused to payment back the cost.
I have been using Taxtron for T1. For years, every year, I have been calling them to help out on splitting T3 and T5 income between my wife and I. The software has NOT been able to perform this task seamlessly. Every year, the job is never done, without having to use work around and called for technical support to split T3 and T5 between spouse. When is Taxtron going to take this deficiency and fix the bug in the software?
I’m been a customer of taxtron for T2 and T1 for more than 10 years. I had experience some problems with the software, but they allways help me to solve these.
Last year was the only time that nobody give me an answer and solve the situation, only received a notification they will check the mistake;The software didn’t calculate Children expenses deductions. I had to use another software to send this particular tax. I hope the next years they will fix the software bug isue. I will continue using Taxtron, eventhough, it is a good program.
I am user of TaxTron for more then 5 years. I really didn’t find any big issue in the software, there always a data entry issue from my side. whenever I called they always provide me the explanation and resolved the problem. Customer service and the price of the software is unbeatable. I highly recommend to use it if you’re looking for certified and good software.
I did use netfile taxtron software, was so easy to file with their web based software. I did autofill my tax return and I was able to prepare my simple tax return within less than 15 minutes. I highly recommend this software to my friends.