Updated Checked by the Tax-Services.ca editorial team How we check
Any tax software for self-employed Canadians should be certified by the CRA, and you can check that on the agency’s own list before you pay for anything. For the 2025 return, self-employed people had until June 15, 2026 to file, but the tax itself was due April 30.
Which tax software for self-employed people is worth paying for?
That depends on your return, and we’re not going to crown a winner. Prices, discounts and what each edition includes change all the time, and none of it is set by an official source. So here’s how to decide without a banner ad doing the thinking.
Start with the CRA’s list of certified tax software. Software that’s on it can calculate your return and send it through NETFILE. The CRA also says that if you have a modest income, most software will prepare a basic return for free. A self-employed return isn’t always basic, though, so expect the business edition to cost something. Software that isn’t on the list might still be fine for a paper filing, but why take that route?
Next, ask whether the edition you’re looking at handles business income at all. Some versions only cover jobs and pensions, and the CRA page doesn’t say which do. Check the product’s own description, and look for a line about self-employment or business income before you buy.
Names you’ll see in the search results include TurboTax, which the CRA lists among its certified software, and plenty of others. Treat every one of them the same way. Look at the price on the day you file, compare what you get, and don’t let a flashy ad do the choosing.
What should you ask before you pick one?
A short list beats a long feature chart. Does it let you enter income and expenses for a business as well as a T4? Can you import last year’s return so you don’t retype it? Will it let you file a return for a spouse in the same session? And does it show you the tax before you send it, so you can compare with a number you trust?
That last point matters more than any menu. Before you file, run your own rough figure through the self-employed tax calculator. If the software lands miles away from it, one of you has an input wrong, and it’s usually you.
When do you have to file and pay?
Two dates trip people up, and they aren’t the same date. Filing gets the extra six weeks. Paying doesn’t.
| Item | Date |
|---|---|
| Filing deadline for self-employed people, 2025 return | June 15, 2026 |
| Tax owing for the 2025 return | April 30, 2026 |
| NETFILE opened for transmission | February 23, 2026, 6:00 a.m. Eastern |
| NETFILE open until | January 29, 2027 |
If you owe money and file on June 15, interest has been running on the balance since May 1. The dates for the 2026 return weren’t out yet when we checked, so look at the CRA’s due dates page in the new year instead of trusting a blog, ours included.
What does self-employment cost in tax and CPP?
Here’s what the calculator shows for a sole proprietor in Ontario with $60,000 of net business income and nothing else. Income tax comes to $7,879.42, federal $5,155.43 and Ontario $2,723.99. CPP adds $6,723.50, because you pay the employee and the employer half. Together that’s $14,602.92, so you keep $45,397.08, and 24.3% of your income goes out the door.
Drop the income to $45,000 and the total falls to $10,060.99, or 22.4%. The percentage moves less than people expect, since CPP takes a big bite of the first dollars you earn.
That figure leaves out GST or HST, EI and your business expenses. The GST or HST you collect isn’t yours, so it doesn’t belong in the profit. The GST and HST calculator splits the tax out of a price. And if you’ll owe a large amount, the tax instalments calculator shows a quarterly schedule so April doesn’t hurt as much.
Do you need business software, or will a free one do?
If your self-employed income is a small side gig, say a few hundred dollars of tutoring, a basic edition that accepts a T2125 business statement may be all you need. If you have a vehicle, a home office, GST/HST or a partner, you’ll likely want an edition that walks you through those parts, because retyping them by hand is where errors creep in.
A fair test is the trial. Many products let you start a return before you pay, so enter your income and a handful of expenses and see whether the screens make sense. If you’re lost in ten minutes, a different product, or a preparer, may suit you better.
Mistakes that no software fixes
Software adds up what you type. It can’t know you forgot a client. Or that half your phone bill is personal.
Filing on June 15 and thinking you’re done is the classic one. The payment date was six weeks earlier. Another is mixing personal and business spending in one account, which turns a five minute job into an evening of guessing. Picture Dana, a freelance photographer, in late May: three shoeboxes of receipts, one bank account, and no idea which coffee was a client meeting. Her software was fine. Her records weren’t. And keep the paperwork behind every expense you claim, since the CRA can ask for it later.
Also, don’t chase a bigger refund by inflating expenses. A refund estimate from the tax refund calculator is a fine sanity check, but it only knows what you tell it. For a wider view of your bracket, try the income tax calculator.
Where this information comes from
Filing dates, NETFILE dates and the certification rule come from the Canada Revenue Agency‘s pages for individuals and self-employed filers, published for the 2025 tax year. The worked examples come from the calculators on this site, which use 2026 federal and Ontario figures. We’re an independent site, and nothing here comes from the agency or any software maker.
Frequently asked questions
Does my tax software need to be CRA certified?
To file through NETFILE it does. The CRA publishes a list of certified products each year, so check it before you buy.
When is the filing deadline if I'm self-employed?
For the 2025 return it was June 15, 2026. The tax you owed was still due April 30, 2026.
How much tax and CPP will I pay on $60,000 of business income?
In Ontario the calculator shows $7,879.42 of income tax and $6,723.50 of CPP, a total of $14,602.92.
Is one brand of tax software the best for a sole proprietor?
We couldn't confirm any ranking or price from an official source, so we don't make one. Compare the current price and the business income features yourself.
Can I file on paper instead?
Yes, but certified software with NETFILE is what the CRA lists as the electronic route. Paper is slower and gives you no check before you send.
- 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