Click here to visit a guide to hundreds of financial links!

Software for taxing times

By Richard Morochove

First published March 12, 1998

As the taxtime deadline looms near, software that calculates your income taxes is ready to help you get through those confusing forms and explain the complicated rules only an accountant could love. I looked at five tax programs, all priced for less than $50.

The penny pincher's pick of this year's tax software litter is CoolTax. It's freeware you download from www.cooltax.com.

For that unbeatable price, you get a package that does the tax calculations and prints the return, but without multimedia frills. "CoolTax does not contain music, video clips of talking heads, or glitzy buttons and whistles," advises the Web site, so you can't say they didn't warn you.

Why is CoolTax free? It's a lite version of TaxByte, a professional tax preparation package from FLS Research. The developers hope users who need heavy-duty features, such as electronic filing, will upgrade to the $99 TaxByte.

CoolTax offers great value as a freebie. However it helps to know tax preparation basics, since the online help isn't as comprehensive as other commercial programs. In addition, some of CoolTax's menu options aren't usable unless you upgrade to TaxByte, which is a tad confusing. CoolTax requires Windows 95 or Windows NT.

If you'd rather not go through the hassle of installing tax software on your PC, you can enter your tax information on the Web. GriffTax lets you complete your return on its Web site, using a Java-capable Web browser.

You fill out tax forms anonymously, without your name, address or Social Insurance Number. The calculations are completed by software on the server and are sent to you in an Adobe Acrobat file. Using the free Acrobat reader software, you finish off the return by adding your personal identification and then printing out the return.

You can view your tax summary information free. GriffTax's Web tax preparation service costs a modest $7 for a complete return that lets you receive up to five Acrobat files. The company also makes a conventional version of the software available for the Macintosh operating system, priced at $30.

HomeTax Final Deluxe is studded with a number of minor improvements this year, which make the program easier to understand and use. The enhanced user interface resembles Microsoft's Internet Explorer 4.0 in many ways.

New this year are more realistic looking information slips (T-4 and T-5 forms) the company calls Real-Slips On-Screen. A window at the bottom of the screen lets you monitor changes in any single line of your return, such as taxes payable, as you enter your data.

I particularly like the Auditor feature of HomeTax, which highlights potential problem areas in your return with a prominent red X. HomeTax also includes 66 tax tips (25 of them with full multimedia) from financial expert Brian Costello.

Both 32-bit (for Windows 95 and NT) and 16-bit (for Windows 3.1) versions are included on the same CD. The 32-bit version offers superior multimedia features. HomeTax lists for $29.95, but is often discounted to about $20.

If you'd like to learn more about controlling your taxes, then the Canadian Tax Tutor from CanTax ($49.95 list price) is a good choice. This program goes behind the tax calculations and provides a dozen lessons covering issues ranging from charitable deductions to RRSP (Registered Retirement Savings Plan) planning.

CanTax also provides a conventional tax preparation package, CanTax 98 ($36.95). The improved user interface includes tabs to quickly jump from place to place. It's one of the last tax programs to offer a DOS version, in addition to both 16 and 32 bit versions for Windows.

While both CanTax and HomeTax are improved this year, I still prefer QuickTax Deluxe 98 (street price $39.95) from Intuit Canada. New this year are online links to the Web for program updates and RRSP information.

Highlights of QuickTax Deluxe 98 include over 100 superb multimedia tutorials which explain tricky tax topics in easy to understand language. They almost make doing your taxes fun. I said "almost!" The CD includes electronic tax books that help you plan to reduce your income taxes.

There's also a standard version of QuickTax 98 (street price $29.95) which lacks tax planning tools included in the Deluxe version, such as a loan and saving planner and tax calendar. If you'd like to evaluate the program, you can download a trial version of standard QuickTax. Both standard and deluxe versions of QuickTax are available for Windows and Macintosh.

Is income tax software worth it? The programs are fairly inexpensive, but remember you'll need to buy a new version each year, to keep up with changes in tax rates and deductions. Tax software can save you time calculating a return, particularly if you do more than one. Most tax packages let you prepare between 15 to 18 returns, more than sufficient for most families. CW

Richard Morochove, FCA, is a Toronto-based computer consultant.

Copyright ©1998 by Morochove & Associates Inc. All rights reserved. This work may not be copied or distributed by any means without our prior written permission.

Air, Hotel and Car Rental deals at HopJet.com

Visit the ComputerWatch Archive to see more columns

Post any questions or comments about this article to Computer Watch WriteBack.