This section collects our reviews of the tax software Canadians use to prepare and file their own returns, the comparisons between them, and the shared notes every review relies on: how the ratings work, how NETFILE and Auto-fill my return fit in, and why prices need checking each year. For the filing process itself (deadlines, documents, what happens after you file), see the Canadian tax filing guides, and for everything else tax-related the taxes section.
Picks and roundups
- Best tax software in Canada: our picks across free and paid products, by tax situation.
- Best free tax software in Canada: the free options, what each free tier covers, CRA SimpleFile and free tax clinics.
Single-product reviews
- Wealthsimple Tax review: the pay-what-you-want Basic plan and the paid Plus and Pro plans.
- TurboTax Canada review: the Do It Yourself tiers, add-ons and the Expert Assist and Expert Full Service products.
- UFile review: per-family-member pricing, the free tier and CarryForward.
- H&R Block tax software review: the online tiers, Peace of Mind audit protection and assisted filing.
- StudioTax review: the free, form-based Windows program.
- GenuTax review: free, donation-based Windows software with detailed rental income support.
- CloudTax review: the mobile-first free tier, Plus and the expert-assisted tiers.
Head-to-head comparisons
- Wealthsimple Tax vs TurboTax vs H&R Block: price, features and fit for the three biggest names.
- UFile vs TurboTax: family pricing, Quebec returns and investment handling.
How we rate tax software
Each review scores the product out of five stars in a short rating table. Every review scores the same three core categories:
- Price/value: what the product costs for the returns it handles, including what its free tier covers before an upgrade is needed.
- Ease of use: how much tax knowledge the interface assumes. Guided interviews score higher here than form-based programs that open the CRA forms directly.
- Feature completeness: which slips, schedules and situations (investments, self-employment, rental income, Quebec) the product handles.
Reviews then add the categories that matter for that product’s likely users: accuracy and support for the full-featured paid products, Quebec support, mobile experience, investment handling, rental income handling, family filing value, audit protection or access to assisted filing. A feature the product doesn’t offer at all, such as a Quebec return or a mobile app, is scored one star and marked “not available”. The overall score is an editorial judgment of how well the product serves the filers it suits, not an average of the category scores.
Filing through NETFILE
Every product reviewed here is NETFILE-certified, which means it can send your completed return straight to the CRA electronically instead of on paper. How NETFILE works, who can use it and when a paper return is still required are covered in NETFILE vs paper filing.
CRA Auto-fill my return
Auto-fill my return is the CRA service that lets certified tax software download the information the CRA already has on file for you: T4, T5, T3 and other slips, RRSP contribution receipts and room, and carry-forward amounts. All of the products reviewed here support it. It works once you sign in through your CRA My Account, and slips appear only after their issuers send them to the CRA (most by mid-March), so what it imports still needs a check against your own records. Its main benefit is catching the most common filing mistake: a missing income slip.
Prices and plan names change
Tax software providers change their prices, tier names and what each tier includes from one tax season to the next, and some discount during the season. The prices in these reviews are the ones listed when each page was last checked; confirm the current price and what your tier covers on the provider’s own site before you file.
Browse All Canadian Tax Software Reviews and Comparisons Articles
Browse all 11 articles in this section.