StudioTax

StudioTax is a Canadian personal income tax-preparation software developed by BHOK IT Consulting (operating under StudioTax brand) and certified by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). It supports NETFILE, ReFILE, Auto-Fill My Return and Notice of Assessment via tax software. The software is available for Windows, Mac, iOS and Android.

The key selling points are its affordability (free or very low cost for many personal users), local-data-storage philosophy (the software resides on your device and doesn’t upload your personal tax data to cloud servers by default), and wide support for typical Canadian tax situations (employment, investment, rental income, self-employment in many cases).

Strengths include the fact that the software is fully CRA-certified, supports multiple OS platforms including mobile, and offers the ability for users to handle somewhat advanced tax cases (for example rental income, self-employment) in a low-cost model. The offline-data approach may appeal to users concerned about cloud-based data privacy.

However, there are limitations: some complex or specialist tax scenarios are not supported (for example non-resident/emigrant returns, certain multi-jurisdiction forms such as T2203, T1134, or Quebec provincial returns via Mac version). The user interface is not as sleek or modern as some purely online competitors, and the support model is relatively limited (email-based, fewer live support options). Some users may find installation or updates less streamlined than browser-based tools.

In summary: if you are a Canadian individual taxpayer with a moderately complex but not extremely niche tax situation, and you prefer a certified, device-based tool (desktop or mobile) with low cost, StudioTax is a highly viable option. If your tax situation is very complex, you may treat it as a cost-effective starting tool but consider more specialized software or professional advice.