How To Take the Stress Out Of Tax Time

There are two words that every Canadian adult dreads every April: Tax Time.

It’s not fun, is it?

First of all, you have to keep up with things like deductions and tax credits that the government has changed since the last time you filed. Then you need to have your finger on the pulse of everything to do with your own personal financial situation that happened in the last year—because you made careful notes regularly every week in 2013 about your finances, right?

Right. Me neither.

Throw into the mix a few fun factors like being self-employed, buying a new home, or becoming a new parent, and you can understand why many Canadians become an ostrich when it’s time to do taxes.

I am (or should I say, “was”) no different. When I was growing up, I saw my dad go through the painful event known as “tax time” and it was a nightmare. I grew up dreading the process of having to do taxes and up until a few years ago, I stressed out every April.

And I mean, stressed out.

A few years ago I started using TurboTax and it didn’t take me long to realize I could stop pulling my hair out. It was so easy to use — I was in shock. In my world, “taxes” and “simple” were not two words that ever went together, but with TurboTax they did.

Hallelujah!

By the way, that’s TurboTax — not to be confused with Turbo Man, although when I first discovered using it I did kind of share Arnold’s joy:

There are many reasons why TurboTax is my best friend during tax season, including:

1. Speed

Click, click, click and I’m done before you can say "Do I really have to do my taxes myself?" It takes me longer to update my iPhone.

2. Electronic filing 

Filing your return with TurboTax & its new One-Click NETFILE feature is hands down the fastest way to get your refund. One-Click NETFILE lets you submit your return to the CRA within the TurboTax software using just your name, SIN number and date of birth. It’s quite shocking how fast it is, actually. I like that. #Winning.

3. Knowledge 

I have no problem admitting that taxes are not my area of expertise. Luckily, I don’t have to worry about figuring out what credits or deductions apply to our family’s personal situation because TurboTax figures it out for me with Life Changes Profiling.

I never have to worry about learning about tax credits each year. For example, did you know that there was a First Time Donor’s Super Credit? How about the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit or the Family Caregiver Tax Credit? No? Me neither. But TurboTax does, and because of that, I was able to easily figure out what pertains to my family.

• The First Time Donor's Super Credit gives you an extra 25 per cent non-refundable federal tax credit when you claim your charitable donation tax credit. This means that you can get a 40 per cent credit for up to $200 in cash donations and a 54 per cent credit for the part of the cash donations that is over $200 but not more than $1,000.
• Buying a home for the first time? The First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit is worth about $750 for qualifiying taxpayers. That's a nice chunk of change to go towards your "New Home Decorating Fund."
• The Family Caregiver Tax Credit provides tax relief to Canadians that care for dependent relatives including spouses, common-law partners, and children under 18 years old.

4. Support 

TurboTax has excellent customer support and advice via phone, email, online chat, Facebook, and Twitter. They even have a service called Pro Review, which allows you to have a tax professional review your return before you submit it. File that under #GoodToKnow.

5. Affordability

The online version of TurboTax is just $17.99. That’s less than what I spend at Tim Hortons on our way to our weekly soccer game. Seriously. (By the way, purchasing coffee for Soccer Moms and Dads is apparently NOT a tax deduction. Trust me, I know.)

Simply put, it is actually possible to make taxes less painful. This, I know.

They say that there are two certainties in life: death and taxes. That may be true but I never thought I would see the day that one of them became something that I actually looked forward to every April.