FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
January 30, 2002

TAX RETURNS will be a bit more complicated this year and require more work, too.

There will be more pages to fill out and more forms to complete, warns Malcolm Campbell, vice-president and general manager of UFile.ca, a professional quality online tax preparation and filing program, which enables users to file their returns directly to Ottawa.

What's behind all this? Essentially, changes at the federal/provincial level and how they'll share your tax money.

For one thing, this year's return includes a lot of changes to non-refundable tax credits. These are credits that reduce the amount of tax we're required to pay. They apply to the current year only and cannot be carried forward. In addition, federal tax rates have been changed and certain provinces have changed the way they calculate taxes all together.

"You'll have to keep your eye on the ball when it comes to the amount of the non-refundable tax credits," adds Campbell. "I suspect that many people are going to be very frustrated when they are in the habit of referring to last year's return and have to relearn these calculations in those provinces that have made changes."

Provinces like Alberta, P.E.I. and Newfoundland will be applying their own non-refundable tax credits rather than using federal ones. To complicate matters further, other will be changing their tax formulae.

"Understanding and properly applying these changes and the rules surrounding them, that's where tax preparation programs like UFile really pay their way," says Campbell.

"If you do your return by hand, take the time to read about these changes and understand them. If you're doing your return with UFile," he notes, "all these changes have been incorporated into our program and will be incorporated in the calculations as your complete your return.

In addition, there are things about the tax system that are not available on the tax form that most people are likely to miss - unless they're really on top of it.

"If you're not using tax software," he added, "it's almost impossible not to miss a few things or make a few mistakes. Either way, it's going to cost you money or delay your tax refund unnecessarily."

UFile's tax preparation and filing program is based on the highly successful Dr Tax program, developed for tax professionals and backed by an impressive 14-year track record in a very demanding market. UFile incorporates this expertise at virtually every level.

How long does it take to do your return online? About 10 or 15 minutes for the average person.

Cost? One of the cheapest in the market today -- $12.95 for an individual return and just under $20 for an entire family. Low-income seniors and students, in fact, anyone who earns less than $20,000 a year, can go to www.ufile.ca and use it for free.

"The great thing about filing your return over the Internet is that it's in CRA's hands the minute you file it," says Campbell.