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How Can I Check Whether My 2013 Tax Software Is OK with the CRA and NETFILE?

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Before you buy or download software in 2014 to prepare your 2013 tax return for the Canada Revenue Agency you should make sure it’s certified for NETFILE if you want to file electronically: Here’s how.

What Does NETFILE Certified Mean?

Each year, the Canada Revenue Agency tests software. If it approves of it, it certifies the program as being acceptable for use with NETFILE . NETFILE is the system individual tax payers use to submit their income tax forms online.

Apparently the CRA has received some complaints about aspects of tax software that don’t directly impact the tax calculations or the transmission of files over the internet. You can tell because their website states:

  • The CRA does not verify spelling or grammatical errors within the tax preparation software packages; and
  • The CRA does not test it [the software] for user-friendliness

So don’t go whining to the CRA if your software insists on referring to you as the RaxPayer throughout all the forms and schedules.

For Which Platforms Does the CRA Test NETFILE Software?

The CRA lists software that has been tested on

  • Windows
  • Macintosh
  • Online (PC and MAC compatible); and
  • Mobile Devices – Apple and Android products

How Can I See a List of the Approved NETFILE Programs for my 2013 Taxes?

The list of approved software is posted on the CRA website at:
http://www.netfile.gc.ca/sftwr-eng.html

As of today, January 23, 2014, nothing is approved yet.
UPDATES:
As of January 27 still nothing approved yet.
As of January 31, only one program is approved to date: TaxTron. It is not free unless you are a full-time student of have less than $31 000 total income. More programs should be approved quickly including some free ones. I’ll keep checking.

As of February 11, 2014 many products for Windows and MAC are now approved although none are listed yet for Mobile Devices.
Highlights for Windows include the free software StudioTax 2013, which survives by donations, and 2 free online only products which I have never used called AdvTax and SimpleTax.
Highlights for MAC include 2 free online only productds called AdvTax and SimpleTax, neither of which I have tested.

At this point I’m likely going to stop updating this list as you now know where to check for approved software and that there are some free applications available. Instead, I’ll turn to trying to get started testing some of the software and reporting my results.

If it’s like previous years, you won’t be able to NETFILE until the second week of February, anyway, so the delay, while annoying, is not actually costing you anything.

I’m watching because I’d like to test any free downloadable software if I have time before April 30. So I keep checking for updates.

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Do you use NETFILE? Have you had any problems with it? Please share your experiences with a comment.

How Long Does It Take to Transfer a TFSA from ING Direct to BMO InvestorLine?

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This is a tale of two TFSAs. Actually, it’s a tale of four Tax Free Savings Accounts. The first two TFSAs were at ING Direct. (Now called Tangerine.) ING Direct Tangerine offered 2.5% interest for a few months for savings of up to $5500 per account (one account per client) provided the savings were transferred automatically into the client’s TFSA on January 1. My husband and I took advantage of that offer. Then, on January 2, we sent in the forms to transfer our TFSAs from Tangerine to our BMO InvestorLine accounts—but how long would it take?

UPDATE: Please be aware that as of January 2015, Tangerine has started charging a fee if you transfer your RRSP or TFSA from Tangerine to another bank, credit union, brokerage or financial institution.

Given that change, I would no longer recommend the Kick Start program unless you plan to keep your TFSA money at Tangerine for the long term.

How Did We Apply to Transfer Our TFSA Funds?

It’s important to transfer TFSA funds. If you actually withdraw the funds from a TFSA account, you have to wait till January 1 of the next year before you are allowed to deposit them again in the same TFSA or in a different TFSA at another financial institution. You can transfer TFSA funds at any time with no tax penalty.

Be careful to check whether there is a fee charged by the bank etc though before starting a transfer. ING Direct Tangerine does not charge transfer fees. (At least not as of when this was written in January 2014. Always check.) UPDATE: As of January 2015 Tangerine plans to start charging a fee to transfer TFSA funds to another financial institution.

To request the transfer of our TFSA funds to BMO InvestorLine, we signed into our InvestorLine accounts and filled out a T2033 each. The form is available under the Account Services tab, then the Forms link, then the Transfers tab, then the Transfer forms: Personal Accounts link.

You can read some more about this in How to Transfer Assets to a BMO InvestorLine Account from Another Bank Using a T2033 Form.

After we completed the forms, printed and signed them, we mailed them to BMO InvestorLine.

How Long Did It Take for My TFSA to Transfer from Tangerine to BMO InvestorLine?

I mailed our requests to transfer our funds in a bright red street mail box on January 2. I have no idea whether it got picked up that day or the next.

On Tuesday, January 14, my money was still in my TFSA at Tangerine.ca.
On Wednesday, January 15 it was gone!

First thing in the morning on January 17, my TFSA funds appeared in my cash balance in my BMO InvestorLine TFSA.

So it took 15 days for my funds to transfer, or 11 business days. That includes the “Canada Post” factor of getting my request delivered to InvestorLine.

How Long Did It Take for My Husband’s TFSA to Transfer from ING Direct (Tangerine) to BMO InvestorLine?

We don’t know yet.

That’s right. It’s now January 22 and his funds have not yet left Tangerine. They are sitting in a cash TFSA account which is fortunately earning 2.5% while he waits.

UPDATE: Thursday, January 23: My husband’s TFSA has now left Tangerine. It has not yet arrived in his BMO InvestorLine account as of the morning of Monday, January 27.

Ah! As of the morning of Tuesday, January 28, his cash is in his InvestorLine account.

So in his case it took 26 days, or 18 business days including the Canada Post time, to transfer.

As I said earlier, don’t expect these things to happen quickly!

The Moral of the TFSA Transfer Story?

There’s no simple answer for how quickly your TFSA transfer will take place. There’s not even any simple way to check on the status of the transfer. We’ll wait another few weeks before calling InvestorLine to see if they have received the transfer request. Phoning now, during RRSP season, is not worth my time. (We didn’t need to phone.)

If you’re hoping to have cash in a specific account to catch a short term opportunity, beware. It takes time to move things from bank to bank. Plan ahead.

UPDATE: Please be aware that as of January 2015, Tangerine has started charging a fee if you transfer your RRSP or TFSA from Tangerine to another bank, credit union, brokerage or financial institution.

Given that change, I would no longer recommend the Kick Start program unless you plan to keep your TFSA money at Tangerine for the long term.

Related Reading

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Have you transferred TFSA funds between institutions? How long did it take? Please share your valuable experiences with a comment.

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