# Do you do your own taxes or pay someone else to do them?



## Kathryn (Apr 10, 2009)

Do you do your own taxes or pay someone else to do them?


* It's April 30th. The last day for filing your income tax. Remember even if they owe you Income Tax Act 162 (7) states that CRA can charge you $25.00/day to a maximum of 100 days for every day that you are late in filing your return.


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## CanadianCapitalist (Mar 31, 2009)

Kathryn said:


> Do you do your own taxes or pay someone else to do them?
> 
> 
> * It's April 30th. The last day for filing your income tax. Remember even if they owe you Income Tax Act 162 (7) states that CRA can charge you $25.00/day to a maximum of 100 days for every day that you are late in filing your return.


That's interesting. I didn't know that. Talk about a double whammy -- they hang on to the refund longer and charge the taxpayer for the privilege. 

One more thing I've heard is that late filers attract extra scrutiny than usual. So, it's best to file taxes on time!


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## FrugalTrader (Oct 13, 2008)

I typically collect the documents, run the numbers myself before submitting to an accountant. I personally like having a CA's name on my paperwork when I file.


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## Sampson (Apr 3, 2009)

We do them ourselves.

I also am surprised about the $25/day.
I'd better let some relatives know (whom are years backed up).


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## mfd (Apr 3, 2009)

I now do my fiances. I'm still undecided whether I will be doing mine.


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## lb71 (Apr 3, 2009)

FrugalTrader said:


> I typically collect the documents, run the numbers myself before submitting to an accountant. I personally like having a CA's name on my paperwork when I file.


I am assuming that is due to business income and you are just trying to prevent an audit or review? Has it worked, or does CRA still ask you questions?


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## lb71 (Apr 3, 2009)

Kathryn said:


> * It's April 30th. The last day for filing your income tax. Remember even if they owe you Income Tax Act 162 (7) states that CRA can charge you $25.00/day to a maximum of 100 days for every day that you are late in filing your return.


I didn't know about that either. I always thought as long as CRA owed you money you could file late. I have filled late for some of my family in the past because I thought it was OK and they never got penalized for it.


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## Blue Caper (Apr 13, 2009)

For those of you who pay for a CA to prepare and file for you, how much do you typically pay and what kind of services are they providing? 
Just personal, personal and business, unique situation, complex personal filings?

So far I have done my own taxes. I would recommend Studiotax (it's free!) to anyone filing fairly simple tax returns. This was my 3rd year using it. 

Next year I may hire someone as I have rental income.


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## Kathryn (Apr 10, 2009)

lb71 said:


> I didn't know about that either. I always thought as long as CRA owed you money you could file late. I have filled late for some of my family in the past because I thought it was OK and they never got penalized for it.


I don't think CRA does this much. We got a notice from head office where I work saying they 'can' do it. I've never heard of it happening to anyone though.


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## Bullseye (Apr 5, 2009)

I do my own, many of my family members, some friends, and some of my small business clients. And I actually really don't like doing it! 

I enjoy accounting, but taxes are a real pain, you have to constantly be aware of tax law changes, it can take a lot of time to stay current. My tax situation is going to start getting very complex in coming years, and I'm quite tempted to just pay a tax accountant to handle it.


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## Mockingbird (Apr 29, 2009)

For those last minute filers (or for next year), here's a link to a FREE tax software. Just fill in the info, print them out, and mail. Only downside is that you cannot do a Netfile with this program.

http://pacificcoast.net/~gthompson/


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## Rickson9 (Apr 9, 2009)

Kathryn said:


> Do you do your own taxes or pay someone else to do them?


My wife and I have fairly detailed tax returns so we pay to have them done. We're not confident that we would be able to take advantage of everything that we may be entitled to under Canadian tax laws. 

However, we always follow the motto, pigs get fat and hogs get slaughtered.


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## Rickson9 (Apr 9, 2009)

Bullseye said:


> ... taxes are a real pain, you have to constantly be aware of tax law changes, it can take a lot of time to stay current.


This is pretty much the reason we pay to have ours done.


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## Four Pillars (Apr 5, 2009)

I do my own - but I think I will hire someone (who?) for at least one year to make sure I'm not missing out on anything.


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## canabiz (Apr 4, 2009)

I have been doing my own taxes (and for the parents as well) for the past 10 years. Come as a result of some questionable attitude by a family acquaintance we asked to help do our taxes back then...I promise my folks I would do what I can not to bother said person anymore and I have kept my promise since. 

Doesn't mean I got all my bases covered because I am not a tax accountant by trade but it's a great feeling doing what you can within your abilities.


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## Retired at 31 (Apr 20, 2009)

Used to do them myself, but things are getting more complex... paid over 1,000 this year... in accountant fees


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## stardancer (Apr 26, 2009)

I always did my own, along with doing family members' returns. Now however, my daughters are grown up and out of town, so they take care of theirs. I still do my mother's- very simple (3 basic sources of income and rental rebate). Since I work at H&R Block I get mine (and hubby's) done for free. With rental, capital gains/losses and pension splitting, things have become more complicated, and having a system figure things out is really nice.


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## Rickson9 (Apr 9, 2009)

Unless you are a tax accountant or have a very simplistic situation (ie 15 year-old with a summer job at the mall), if you do your own taxes you are leaving a lot of money on the table (for the government to take/keep).


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## lb71 (Apr 3, 2009)

Rickson9 said:


> Unless you are a tax accountant or have a very simplistic situation (ie 15 year-old with a summer job at the mall), if you do your own taxes you are leaving a lot of money on the table (for the government to take/keep).


I don't agree. Unless you have your own business, very few individuals would need an accountant to do their taxes. If you are not comfortable with doing your taxes, sure pay someone for that piece of mind. But they won't find you a penny more than any of the software out there.


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## MoneyGal (Apr 24, 2009)

I do my own taxes, and tax for a bunch of other people as well. I am intensely interested in tax policy, and this is a way for me to keep current about tax stuff.


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## canabiz (Apr 4, 2009)

lb71 said:


> I don't agree. Unless you have your own business, very few individuals would need an accountant to do their taxes. If you are not comfortable with doing your taxes, sure pay someone for that piece of mind. But they won't find you a penny more than any of the software out there.


I concur, tax laws are getting more complex as more exotic investment schemes are available but so are the tools to help simplify the income-tax filing process. I still remember doing everything on papers 10 years ago and physically went to the CRA office in Ottawa to drop it off in the bin.

My philosophy is very simple: If you can invest on your own, you can do taxes on your own.


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## lb71 (Apr 3, 2009)

MoneyGal said:


> I am intensely interested in tax policy, and this is a way for me to keep current about tax stuff.


That's such a good point. It's good to know what affects your final tax return. A lot of people do not even know about any of the tax credits/deductions available. I was telling my parents about the home tax credit available for this year months after if was announced and all the publicity, yet they didn't even know about it. And they are not alone. Imagine the credits available annually that do not get used or maximized.


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## Bullseye (Apr 5, 2009)

Rickson9 said:


> Unless you are a tax accountant or have a very simplistic situation (ie 15 year-old with a summer job at the mall), if you do your own taxes you are leaving a lot of money on the table (for the government to take/keep).


Despite what I posted above, I actually disagree with this as well. The vast majority of Canadians will do just fine with a simple tax program. They all have interview-type features which ask you questions meant to trigger you to enter things you might otherwise forget.

Possible that some people leave some money on the table, but very unlikely that it's a LOT of money.


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## The_Number (Apr 3, 2009)

Rickson9 said:


> Unless you are a tax accountant or have a very simplistic situation (ie 15 year-old with a summer job at the mall), if you do your own taxes you are leaving a lot of money on the table (for the government to take/keep).


I don't know. One year the Revenue Canada reviewed my return and corrected it in my favor (It was a very simple return, and I guess I still managed to mess it up.)

Since then I've been using an accountant, and I noticed that I'm getting significantly more in tax returns than I used to. This year, my situation is a bit complex, and I paid around $250-300.

In the past few years in the U.S. I've been paying about $125 for a personal return. One year I compared the accountant's return with a software, and the difference was about $750.


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## Canadian Finance (Apr 3, 2009)

I've always done my own taxes, but I might get someone to do them for 2009. I've had simple tax returns in the past, but this year I'm adding business expenses, a smith manouvre and my first child. With all this happening in the same year, I'm just begging for an audit. If someone does this for me for one year, I can use that return as a reference for future years.


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## Assetologist (Apr 19, 2009)

We always an accountant. 

Two corporations, rental property and little interest in spending time doing something I don't enjoy.

I would rather expend my 'financial' energy making money and the rest of my energy enjoying life.

Professionals can be worth their weight in gold but I have certainly learned the hard way to ask them specific questions and for individualized help.


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## The_Number (Apr 3, 2009)

Just to follow up on my earlier post, I just received an interesting notice from the Revenue Canada.

As I said in my previous post, my tax situation is a bit complicated, so I looked around several accountants (first tax year in this city) and hired the one who specifically told me that he could handle my situation and paid $250-300 for the service. Although he didn't always sound confident, he assured me that what he has done should be fine, and I was pleased by his estimate of a rather large refund.

The Revenue Canada disagrees with my accountant's return and thinks they owe me additional 6k and fixed the return for me! I'm not going to count on it until I actually receive the check in the mail, but I'm not complaining. This is the second time they reassessed the return in my favor, and I honestly can't imagine the IRS doing the same (It's a funny thing to say, but the Revenue Canada bought my good will.)

But the remaining question is: Should I keep this accountant for the next year's tax return? My return will be simple next year, but I really don't want to count on the Revenue Canada to look out for my best interests.


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## msj (May 3, 2009)

The_Number said:


> But the remaining question is: Should I keep this accountant for the next year's tax return? My return will be simple next year, but I really don't want to count on the Revenue Canada to look out for my best interests.


Since you apparently have no idea why you're getting extra money back I would recommend you take your Notice of Assessment to your accountant so that he can explain why you're getting more money back than originally filed.

This happens to me all the time - new client, some carry forward information is not provided by the client, or they are incapable of keeping track of their quarterly installment that they have paid, and then the client is wondering why the CRA picked something up that I had "missed." 

Yeah, these clients don't rate an "A" or even "B" grade.


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## GregR (Apr 10, 2009)

I do a combination...

I run the numbers myself first and then hand it off to my mommy who runs a few H&R Blocks to look it over and file for me 

Saves the cost and if there is a large diffrence I can see where the problems are. First year doing small business tax and there was alot to learn so it definately helps to have it double checked and stamped by a professional orginization.


https://www.networthiq.com/people/GregR


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## The_Number (Apr 3, 2009)

msj said:


> Since you apparently have no idea why you're getting extra money back I would recommend you take your Notice of Assessment to your accountant so that he can explain why you're getting more money back than originally filed.
> 
> This happens to me all the time - new client, some carry forward information is not provided by the client, or they are incapable of keeping track of their quarterly installment that they have paid, and then the client is wondering why the CRA picked something up that I had "missed."
> 
> Yeah, these clients don't rate an "A" or even "B" grade.


I received multiple communications from the Revenue Canada (these communications are apparently not related to one another), but the reason for the large refund is that I have a mid 5 figure tax credit from five years ago or so. Of course, as your average C- client, I never knew anything about this


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## msj (May 3, 2009)

The_Number said:


> I received multiple communications from the Revenue Canada (these communications are apparently not related to one another), but the reason for the large refund is that I have a mid 5 figure tax credit from five years ago or so. Of course, as your average C- client, I never knew anything about this


If you did then presumably you would have claimed the credit at your earliest moment rather than wait for the government to tell you you had your own money (tax savings from the tax credit) sitting there in the first place. 

Sure, I have C- clients (or, rather, "D"), but I like the smart ones better.


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## ethos1 (Apr 4, 2009)

Kathryn said:


> Do you do your own taxes or pay someone else to do them?
> 
> 
> * It's April 30th. The last day for filing your income tax. Remember even if they owe you Income Tax Act 162 (7) states that CRA can charge you $25.00/day to a maximum of 100 days for every day that you are late in filing your return.


mine went in efiled on the 30 April and on 11 May, I received my refund

For tax filling & filing I have used a pro for the past 25-years, not that I could not do it on my own with the software available today, but paying the pro is worth every penny - best money that I ever spent


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## brad (May 22, 2009)

I pay an accountant because my taxes are complicated; my employer's in the U.S. and I'm a dual citizen, so there are three forms to fill out for me (US federal, Canadian federal, and provincial) plus I have my accountant do my common-law wife's taxes and her daughter's as well. It's expensive (over $1,000 total, which works out to about $140 per form she prepares) but worth it to me.


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