QuickTax
QuickTax (formerly known as TaxWiz) is owned by Intuit Canada, a subsidiary of Intuit (the people who also make Turbo Tax; the biggest selling tax software in the United States). Intuit also owns QuickTax. QuickTax claims to be the top selling tax preparation software in Canada. It is sold in three different formats -- Basic, Standard and Platinum.Navigation and User friendliness: 9
QuickTax's navigation is quite simple, it is designed in a linear fashion with little interruption. There is a useful feature that hypothesises changes to your tax payable and deductions if you made more money or invested differently. These options are out of the way, so non-interested filers can simply proceed with their taxes.
Ease of Setup: 8
QuickTax software and online tax preparation is very easy to use. Critics of QuickTax have complained about the need to download updates. We think this is a minor inconvenience.
The biggest feature with QuickTax is the help available. There are balloons, prompted help, highlighted topics, plus the usual FAQs and online help available. Those who know their forms well might find some of this intrusive and unnecessary, but most of us like to be reassured as we fill in our numbers.
Help: 8
The help system for this product is extensive, but not flawless. Some don't like the way QuickTax has comments for every line. Others have complained that customer support for QuickTax is problematic, with waiting on the phone, weak online support (lost server connections, for example) and slow turnaround on e-mails. Still, the popularity of the product indicates its general ease of use and the thoroughness of its internal help guides.
Effectiveness: 7.5
QuickTax is completely effective at filling out common tax returns for those with standard income and deductions. For self-employed and small business returns, you may want to seek out something more robust.
Price:
QuickTax Basic sells for $19.99. The premium (Platinum) version costs $59.99. Summary: 8
QuickTax is very popular because it's "designed with the beginner in mind." Other software packages might be more effective at filling out larger and more complex returns.
