NetFile | Income tax filing | Discussion forum

usephrase said
The Owner of the tax software server keeps all of your information for 7 years, it is required by the CRA government.

I used StudioTax on Windows in my laptop and WealthSimple online web version... 

In WealthSimple online web version it is possible to delete your returns after sending with warning that deletion can't be reversed. They probably actually store that deleted information for 7 years, but just not allowing users to gain access after deletion.

I do not share my CRA Access code with any service, it's better to keep it away from them. It's not mandatory yet to provide that code, when you submitting your return.

I know that as a fact, that the software sends raw data to CRA server, but NOT all private information sent, only part if it. And it also sends all numbers with corresponding boxes numbers. Most of the numbers are sent without "cents" with only a few exemptions.

Winnie said

In WealthSimple online web version it is possible to delete your returns after sending with warning that deletion can't be reversed. They probably actually store that deleted information for 7 years, but just not allowing users to gain access after deletion.

I do not share my CRA Access code with any service, it's better to keep it away from them. It's not mandatory yet to provide that code, when you submitting your return.

I know that as a fact, that the software sends raw data to CRA server, but NOT all private information sent, only part if it. And it also sends all numbers with corresponding boxes numbers. Most of the numbers are sent without "cents" with only a few exemptions.  

Thanks for your information. I will see if I can delete data of the older tax years on WealthSimple online web.
By the way, StudioTax for Android, NOT windows version, is certified by CRA.

Norman1 said
There's no requirement for the tax software vendor to keep a copy of your tax information. That's a matter between the tax software vendor and you.

Vendor is not liable for any errors. You are!

CRA's NETFILE certification guarantees that total income on the return is correct to the penny.

There is more than one acceptable return for many people. So, the certification doesn't test if all possible deductions and optimizations are used.  

My family member used TurboTax in 2021, I called TurboTax's customer service to request to delete the data, they replied : No, the CRA requires them to store tax information for 7 years.

Netfile is a protocol (process) to file one's T1 tax return data electronically to CRA servers. The protocol is designed, developed and owned by CRA itself. Vendor tax software packages have to conform to that protocol to enable electronic filing and the software itself must be certified by CRA each year as correctly making the proper calculations. Certification does not mean every potential tax scenario is tested for accuracy but I suspect the most probable T1 filing scenarios are tested.

The Netfile process establishes an encrypted direct connection between your device and CRA computers for those tax software packages that reside on your device. There is no intermediary. It is the only way I prepare and file tax returns.

It may be different for the Online versions of tax software where you actually connect to the vendor's server to populate your tax return and Netfile from that location. I have never used the online version of tax software so cannot say from where the Netfile process originates nor if a digital copy of one's Netfiled tax return resides/remains on the vendor's server.

There is a glitch at the current time for electronic filing of tax returns that contain capital gains or losses. Given the confusion on cap gains inclusion rate, and the recent retraction of the higher 66% inclusion rate, tax software must be re-certified by CRA to revert back to 2023 calculations. Until CRA re-certifies 2024 tax software, Netfiling of tax returns with cap gains/losses has been blocked (denied). Media word has it that these re-certifications should all be cleared by mid-March. Stay tuned.

Near the bottom of this link https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/corporate/about-canada-revenue-agency-cra/individual-income-tax-return-statistics.html you will see how many of which form of tax filings were filed in previous years. For 2024 (the 2023 tax year), some 32-33% of T1 tax returns were Netfiled, as compared to 60% that were Efiled (the same process as Netfiling except by third parties such as accounting firms, H&R Block, etc), and 7-8% that were paper filings.

Added: The data file that the Netfile protocol sends to CRA is called the T1-KFS Summary. It is a remarkably small data file.

usephrase said

My family member used TurboTax in 2021, I called TurboTax's customer service to request to delete the data, they replied : No, the CRA requires them to store tax information for 7 years.

Nonsense. There is no such NETFILE requirement. Some vendors, like the one who provides Studiotax, don't get the data at all:

Q.2 How I can trust my financial information to StudioTax?
YOU DO NOT HAVE TO! We do not ask or keep any personal information about StudioTax users or their computers. It is all happening on your computer. Unlike other tax programs, we do not collect registration information before we let you use our software. The whole idea behind StudioTax is to make you comfortable using a tax software and not coerce you into giving away your valuable personal and financial information.

As I said, that is a matter between you and the tax software vendor. The vendor can make it a condition of the agreement that they are allowed to keep the data and somehow monetize the data to fund some of the costs of providing the software.

Tax software isn't really free to provide. Some developer doesn't just sit down for an hour to produce a NETFILE-certified application.

Winnie said
@usephrase

Look under "Profile", if I remember correctly.
They hide deletion buttons, but you will find them.
I deleted my 2024 return immediately after sending on Feb 24, 2025.
It's easy.  

Nothing under Profile.
I go to Accounts -> My Tax Returns -> 2022 Tax Return-> Start Over

You can clear and start over, but it is not " Delete".

Please help and try on your side, where is the Delete button?

Winnie said
Yes, correct, you just start over and immediately you will be able to delete older return, but empty new one will be there. Like I said, they hide a bit and you need to play a bit to be able to delete. Good luck!  

I guess : Start Over is not Delete, after you start over, you clear all information on your side: your browser. Your previous tax return you filed was still in WealthSimple Server. We want to Delete all our information in WealthSimple server.

You can delete your profile, WealthSimple says "Deleting a profile removes all associated tax information"
I guess, it deleted the link between your profile and your tax returns, your tax returns are still in WealthSimple server.

https://turbotax.community.intuit.ca/community/after-you-file/discussion/i-am-using-turbo-tax-deluxe-online-edition-is-there-a-way-to-delete-all-my-tax-information-from/00/3165654

TurboTaxSusan
Moderator

There is no way to delete a return filed through NETFILE without deleting your account. If you delete your account all your returns will be permanently deleted and you will not be able to retrieve them or carry forward your information to next year.

TurboTax Online uses the same security systems that banks use. Your data is encrypted both while on the server, and when the return is transmitted to the CRA.

If you would prefer not to have your return data stored on the TurboTax servers, consider using TurboTax Desktop (for Windows), which only saves returns to your computer.

‎February 4, 2024 12:20 PM

2.
WealthSimple online version is the same, no way to delete older tax returns unless you delete your account or profile with them.

AltaRed said
Simply avoid using the online versions of tax software. Buy the downloadable version from one of the vendors that do it this way, install it on your device, prepare your tax return on your device and Netfile from your own device.

In some cases, one pays up front to activate the downloadable executable to be able to then use it to prepare your tax return while in other cases like Studio Tax, you only pay when you are ready to create your return (after inputting the data) to create a PDF that can be printed, or to electronically Netfile it. Methodology, i.e. pay first or later, does not matter. What matters is retaining everything on your own device.  

StudioTax for windows was free years ago, now it is a paid tax software.
All free software are either online version or mobile app ( I never used mobile app).
GenuTax Standard for Windows, what is it? Is it safe to use?