More and More Canadians Filing Taxes Online
50 per cent of Taxes Filed to CRA Last Year Were Done Using NETFILE
According to QuickTax, one of the leading tax software products in Canada, 50 per cent of tax returns filed to the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) last year were filed online using NETFILE with that number increasing year over year.
"Canadians are getting used to the concept of doing things online," said Cameron Moore, senior product manager for the Edmonton-based QuickTax, in a telephone interview. "And that level of comfort is growing every year."
Benefits to filing online
Moore explained that the advantages of doing your taxes online is convenience where you could start at work once you get your T4 slip and then complete your return at home.
"You get access to your tax return anywhere anytime if you file online and you get your refund back in less than eight days," he added. "And you get immediate confirmation that CRA got your tax [return]."
While half of the returns filed to the CRA are done electronically, there is still the other half that sends it via snail mail.
Moore believed that the reason why people still prefer filing their taxes using Canada Post is because they like to put their receipts when sending their return to the CRA. Another misconception, he noted, is that tax payers think they will get audited more often if they file online but the CRA said online returns get audited at the same rate as if they were mailed in.
Doing taxes the old-fashioned way
Another barrier to getting people to file online or even using tax software is price, said Moore.
"There is still approximately 20 per cent of Canadian filing tax returns the old fashion way: paper and pencil," he added. "You can do [your taxes] manually for free but it takes time."
Lynette Liew, a 37-year-old Victoria-based healthcare professional is one of those that use paper and pencil to do her taxes.
"I've used tax software in the past - about 6 to 8 years or so ago, probably when it first came out. But now, I just don't feel the need to spend the extra money for it," she said, in an e-mail interview. "It seems just as easy to do my taxes the old fashion way."
To help those like Liew realize the benefits of using software to do their taxes, Moore said that QuickTax is offering those with simple returns a free online version of the company's tax software.
Taxes and Online Security
While there are many barriers to people filing online, one barrier that doesn't seem to be a concern to tax payers is security.
"If using a product like QuickTax [with] its encryption technology, there is no risk in filing online," said Lynn Hargrove, director of consumer solutions, Symantec (Canada) Corp., over the phone.
But Hargrove added that while filing online can be secure, people should be aware of tax-related phishing scams this time of year. Phishing is an e-mail scam that is usually purportedly from a person's bank asking for sensitive information such as user name or password in order to steal one's identity.
"The CRA will never ask you for personal private information on e-mail," said Hargrove. She also recommended that if you get an e-mail like that, never click on the link as it could direct you to an infected site.
If you are worried about security while doing your taxes or phishing scams, Hargrove advised people do their taxes from their home PC and not in places like a cybercafé. Additionally, people need to make sure their PC has the latest anti-virus and firewall as well as a secure online back-up to protect their tax information along with the latest software patches.
Despite barriers and security scams, Moore thinks that the number of people filing online will only increase in the years to come.
"It is a matter of time where the vast majority [of Canadians] will file online and people filing via mail will become a small exception," he added.
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