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Paying someone to do your return is legal, common and often worth it, but only some preparers can send it to the CRA for you. The CRA calls those ones EFILE certified. Firms such as H&R Block are the kind of business most people picture when they search for a preparer, though this page doesn’t rate any firm. What it does cover is how to pick one, what to bring and what to check before you sign anything.
How do you choose a tax preparer in Canada?
Start with the CRA’s own directory of certified preparers. These are people certified to file your return through EFILE, and a preparer can be a firm, an organization or one individual working from a kitchen table. If someone offers to file for you and can’t say whether they’re certified, walk away.
Then ask three plain questions. How much will it cost, in writing, before they start? Who signs the return? And will you see the finished return before it goes in? Nobody can hand you a fair fee from thin air. We couldn’t find a figure on any official page, so get two quotes and compare what each one covers. Say one shop quotes $90 and another $140: the cheaper one may charge extra per slip, and the dearer one may include everything. The sticker price tells you very little.
Be careful with any promise of a bigger refund. A preparer can find credits you missed, but nobody can guarantee a number before they’ve seen your slips.
What does the preparer need you to sign?
| Step | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| Form T183 | You sign it to let the preparer send your return to the CRA electronically |
| Review | You look over the prepared return and the form before you authorize filing |
| Access to your account | Optional. A preparer can be given online access to see your tax information |
| Records | You keep your slips and receipts for at least 6 years |
That last row surprises people. Hiring a preparer doesn’t hand the responsibility over, so the review falls on you. Read the return. Check your name, your address, every slip and the direct deposit details. Keep a copy of the signed T183 with your records too, because it’s the proof you agreed to the filing.
On access, the CRA has said that since 15 July 2025 preparers no longer ask for authorization through EFILE for a single client. They use its Represent a Client service instead. So expect your preparer to ask for your CRA account details or a recent notice of assessment, and ask early how they plan to get authorized. If the answer is “just give me your password”, that’s a no. Sharing your sign-in is never the way.
For a bit of background on the system itself, Wikipedia’s article on Canadian EFILE explains that the service is limited to professional preparers who pass CRA screening, and that the client signs a T183.
What should you bring to the appointment?
Bring every slip you received: the T4 from each employer, T4A, T5 and any RRSP or FHSA receipts. Add receipts for anything you plan to claim, such as medical costs, donations or child care. If you’re self-employed, bring your income and expense totals for the year. And bring last year’s notice of assessment.
A clean pile saves time, and time is what many preparers charge for. Sort by slip type before you go. Not sure what to expect? Run your numbers first with the tax refund calculator. You get an estimate to hold against what the preparer comes back with. It takes a minute and can save you a bad surprise in either direction.
A worked example to test the answer
Say you’re in Ontario, earned $60,000 from one employer, and had $9,000 of income tax withheld. The tax refund calculator shows income tax for the year of $8,320.50 on taxable income of $59,435. That means a refund of about $679.50 before any credits it doesn’t cover.
Now suppose a preparer tells you the refund is $3,000. That isn’t impossible, since you might have claims the calculator doesn’t model, but it’s the moment to ask which credit or deduction makes up the gap of roughly $2,320. A real answer has a form line and a receipt behind it. A vague one doesn’t.
The income tax calculator gives you the same tax bill from the other side, and the tax credits calculator shows what the federal credits are worth. It’s federal only, so it won’t show provincial ones.
When is a preparer worth paying for?
If you have one T4 and nothing else, the software you’d use yourself is probably enough. A preparer earns the fee when your year is messy: self-employment, rental income, a move between provinces, a death in the family, or years of unfiled returns. Those are the cases where one error costs more than the fee.
Free help exists too. The CRA runs a volunteer program for people on a low income with a simple return. The income limits differ between CRA pages, so they’re left out here. Check the CRA page before you pay anyone.
What goes wrong with preparers?
Signing before reading is the big one. Second is handing over an original document and not getting it back. Third is paying in cash with no receipt. If a preparer asks to have your refund sent to their bank account instead of yours, say no. The CRA lets you set your own direct deposit, and there’s no reason for anyone else to hold your money.
One more. Don’t assume the fee is deductible, because that depends on your kind of income. Ask.
How do you know the return really went in?
Don’t take it on trust. A few weeks after filing, sign in to your own CRA account and look for the notice of assessment. If it’s there, the return arrived and was processed. If nothing shows up and the preparer goes quiet, that’s the time to ask for the filing confirmation they should have kept. Picture Sam in Calgary, who paid a shop in March and found out in September that nothing had been sent. A two-minute look at the account in April would have caught it.
Our shorter guide on how to choose a tax preparer pairs well with this page, and the guide to dealing with the CRA covers what to do if a notice looks wrong.
Where the numbers come from
The preparer rules come from the Canada Revenue Agency pages on using a professional tax preparer and on digital services for tax preparers, read in September 2026. The worked example uses this site’s 2026 tax data, built from CRA and Ontario sources. No price, discount or feature of a named firm could be confirmed, so none is stated here. This site isn’t connected to the CRA or any government.
Frequently asked questions
Does a tax preparer have to be certified?
To send your return to the CRA electronically, yes. The CRA says its directory lists preparers certified to file using EFILE.
What form do I sign for a preparer to file for me?
Form T183. You sign it after you've reviewed the return, and it lets the preparer send the return to the CRA electronically.
Who is responsible if the return has a mistake?
You still are. The CRA expects you to review the return before you authorize it and to keep your records for at least 6 years.
Can a preparer see my CRA account?
Only if you allow it. The CRA says access is optional, and preparers now use its Represent a Client service to ask for it.
Is there free help instead of a paid preparer?
The CRA runs a volunteer tax clinic program for some people with a low income and a simple return. Check the CRA page for the current limits.
- How to choose a tax preparer in Canada
How to decide if you need a tax preparer, what a preparer does, the questions to ask before you hire one and where to find free help in Canada