I own a property. My wife doesn't. For the last two years, we filed jointly using the Full Service plan. This year, they are telling us we have to file as self employed because I own a property, which raises the price by another $200. We asked if we could file separately, but they basically said no because we're a married couple. Then they said we could, and that CRA will put us together after the filing, but we don't know that as being true (currently waiting for CRA to phone back to confirm if this is true). We cancelled our return and will be using someone else.
When you are married or in a common-law relationship, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) takes into consideration the combined household income when calculating credits. However, if your spouse or partner knows your net income, they should include it on their tax return to avoid being granted credits they are not eligible to receive.
Yes, you can do your return separately to save you money. Choosing TurboTax Full Service also includes Audit Defence which is something to have that eases the mind if the CRA decides to audit you.
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CRA has confirmed that they know to file us together as a couple, even if our returns are done separately.
But there is still the matter of both of us being funnelled into the brand new (and much more expensive) "Self Employed" category, when neither of us are self employed. It seems like the term "Self Employed" being used by Turbo Tax is simply a title for a specific tier of service, which comes with an extra charge, which could be used to cover anyone, self employed or not, with the returns being filed to the CRA without that designation (unless the person is actually self employed).
CRA has also confirmed that the term "self employed" is irrelevant to them anyway.
So, even though nothing has changed for me since last year, suddenly, me owning the same property I claimed on all previous tax returns, forces me to choose the "Self Employed" category, and then pay $500 total for both returns ($250 each), even though my wife does not own a property, and is not self employed, and would have only been charged $145 without my return added. She is basically being asked to file under a category she isn't even in, just because I own a property.
This drastic increase in charges and the "Self Employment" category are all new as of this year, yet nothing has changed on our ends. It is because of this that I will stop using Turbo Tax and go elsewhere. I do not take kindly to blatant price gouging.
We understand that you've seen TurboTaxes price increase and have some concerns. Throughout the tax season, TurboTax product prices are regularly adjusted to meet market demands and fluctuations. While a price increase is not always the ideal situation, TurboTax is always committed to providing you with easy-to-use software that will allow you to prepare and file your tax returns with ease and accuracy. If you have any further questions about TurboTax products, we'll be happy to answer them.
Unfortunately, we won't be able to adjust prices now that the change has been implemented. We thank you for your feedback and will be sure to pass it on to the relevant team.