Updated Checked by the Tax-Services.ca editorial team How we check
A tax professional can prepare and file your return, and for a plain T4 return you may not need one. If you pay someone to file electronically, check that they are in the CRA’s directory of certified EFILE preparers. You can search it by postal code in a couple of minutes.
What can a tax professional do for you?
The CRA’s page describes three things: prepare your tax return, send it in electronically, and, if you allow it, deal with the CRA for you afterwards. That last part is separate from filing. The CRA calls it authorizing a representative, and its representative authorization page is where the process starts.
The fastest way is online. Sign in to your CRA account, go to your profile and add an authorized representative. If your professional has a RepID, they can send a request through Represent a Client and you confirm it in your account. The slow route is a paper form, AUT-01, which gives access by phone, mail, fax and in person. Mail it to the CRA within six months of signing it.
Should you pay for help with your tax return?
For a plain T4 return, probably not. Free software or a volunteer at a free tax clinic can handle that, and the CRA points to both. The CRA publishes suggested income limits for volunteer clinics, $40,000 of family income for one person and $55,000 for two, and lets each clinic set its own, so call ahead. Clinics don’t take returns with business or rental income or capital gains. Our free tax filing for low income guide has more.
Someone to hire makes sense when the return has parts you can’t judge yourself. Rental income. A business. Selling shares. A move out of the country. In those cases a mistake costs real money, and someone else’s knowledge is cheaper than a reassessment.
| Your situation | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Employee, few slips | Free clinic or certified software |
| Self-employed or rental income | A preparer who files business returns and will explain each claim |
| Leaving Canada | Someone who has handled Forms NR73 and T1161 |
| Corporation | A preparer who files the T2 with certified software |
What does the decision look like for real people?
Two neighbours in Saskatoon. Ayesha is a nurse with one T4 and a few tuition slips, and she files with certified software in an evening. Her cousin Hamid drives for a delivery app, sold some shares and rents out a basement suite. Hamid has three kinds of income that each carry their own rules, so a professional is a sensible spend for him. Same street, different answers. What decides it is the number of moving parts, not how much you earn.
If you land somewhere in between, a common middle path is doing the return yourself and paying someone for a one-hour review. We haven’t verified what reviews cost, so ask first. Our guide on how to choose a tax preparer and our guides on what to check on a certified tax preparer and choosing an income tax preparer go through what to compare.
What should you check before signing?
Ask to review the return before it goes in. The CRA says you should read it against Form T183, the information return you sign to authorize filing, and make sure the two match. Keep the slips, receipts and the completed T183 for at least six years.
One warning from the CRA is about discounters. They work out your expected refund and give you one payment up front before filing. You get less than the actual refund. Whether that trade is worth it is your call, but know the deal.
We couldn’t confirm what professionals charge, and we won’t guess. Ask for the price for your own return, in writing, before anything is filed.
What should you bring to a tax professional?
A preparer can only work with what you hand over, so a short folder saves time and money. Bring or upload:
- every slip you received, such as T4, T4A, T5 and T3, plus last year’s notice of assessment;
- receipts for anything you want to claim, such as tuition, donations, medical costs, child care or work expenses;
- for rental or self-employment income, a summary of income and expenses for the year;
- your direct deposit details, and the name and birth date of any dependant or spouse;
- any letters from the CRA about your account, since they affect what the preparer should check.
Ask for a copy of everything filed. The CRA says you should keep your slips, receipts and the completed Form T183 for at least six years, and that the preparer should keep a copy of the T183 too.
How can you tell if the advice is any good?
Use a number. Take someone in Ontario earning $60,000. The income tax calculator gives $8,320 of federal and Ontario tax. With a $5,000 deduction, it’s $7,104. So a deduction of that size is worth about $1,216.
If your preparer says a claim of that size will save you far more, ask how, and ask for the line on the return where it shows up. The marginal tax rate calculator shows what an extra dollar of income or deduction is worth at your level, and the tax credits calculator shows federal credits. Neither replaces a preparer. They let you ask better questions.
This one’s dull but true. A refund can’t be promised before anyone knows your income and claims. The CRA says your notice of assessment and any refund are usually processed within two weeks of electronic filing, and its processing page sets a target of 4 weeks for 95 percent of online returns. The notice is your proof the return went in.
Your NOA and any refund are usually processed within 2 weeks.
Using a professional tax preparer, canada.ca
If you haven’t got a notice by then, don’t wait until tax time next year to ask. Check your CRA account first, and phone your preparer if they filed for you.
What mistakes do people make when hiring help?
The costly ones are simple. Some people sign Form T183 without reading it against the return. The CRA says the T183 must match the electronic return, and your signature in Part F is what authorizes the preparer to file it. Others pay a discounter, which gives you one payment up front for your expected refund, and then find they received less than the actual refund.
A third mistake is handing over a CRA account password instead of authorizing a representative. Adding one takes a few minutes in your account profile, and you control what they can see. Our guide on checking a preparer, the EFILE directory and T183 covers the same ground with a checklist. A professional can also be a bookkeeper or an accountant for a business, and our guide to finding a good bookkeeper goes through that case.
Sources, and how we checked them
Preparer and authorization rules come from the CRA pages on using a professional tax preparer, authorizing a representative and the free tax clinic program, read in November 2026. The tax example uses 2026 federal and Ontario rates in our calculators and was recomputed in code. We’re an independent site, and no government body is behind it.
Frequently asked questions
How do I check a tax professional is certified?
Search the CRA's tax preparer directory by postal code. The CRA says the preparers listed there are certified to file returns through its EFILE service. A listing shows the preparer can file electronically. It does not say anything about fees or quality, so still ask for a written price.
How do I let a tax professional talk to the CRA for me?
Add them as an authorized representative in your CRA account, or confirm a request they made through Represent a Client. Form AUT-01 by mail gives phone, mail, fax and in-person access only, not online access, and must reach the CRA within six months of signing.
What does a tax professional cost?
We could not confirm typical fees on an official page, and the CRA says only that preparers file for a fee. Prices depend on the forms involved, such as rental, business or capital gains schedules. Ask for the price for your own return in writing, before anything is filed.
What should I keep after filing?
The CRA says to keep your slips, receipts and the completed Form T183 for at least six years. The preparer must keep a copy of the T183 too. The notice of assessment is also worth keeping, since it is your proof the return was filed and assessed.
Can I use a free clinic instead?
For a simple return, often yes. The CRA's volunteer program suggests income limits of $40,000 for one person and $55,000 for two, and each clinic can adjust them. Clinics do not take business or rental income or capital gains. Check the CRA clinic page for a clinic near you.
What is a refund discounter?
A discounter works out your expected refund and gives you one payment up front, before the return is filed. The CRA warns that you receive less than the actual refund. Whether the trade is worth it is your choice, but ask for the amounts in writing first.
- How to choose a tax preparer in Canada
Do you need a tax preparer in Canada? How to decide, what a preparer does, the questions to ask before you hire one and where to find free help