Why Is Filing Taxes in Canada Still This Hard?

Why Is Filing Taxes in Canada Still This Hard?

Published October 5, 2026 · Apprika Labs

Photo via Unsplash.

What the CRA offers today

And yet most of us still pay for software, or pay someone, to type that same information back to the government.

The technology to fix this exists. The CRA's own minister said as much. The real question is who gets to use it, and how soon.

To be fair, the CRA has made real progress.

• Auto-fill my return pulls your slips into certified tax software. More than 14 million people used it for their 2025 returns.
• SimpleFile lets some lower-income people with simple taxes file online, by phone or on paper, for free.
• Pre-filled returns are coming. Starting March 2027, about 1 million eligible people will be invited to review and approve a return the CRA has already filled in, inside their CRA account. That's set to grow to 5.5 million by 2029.

That last one is a big deal. It's also a clue to the problem.

The gate is still there

Look at who qualifies for the easy path: lower income, a simple, non-taxable situation, a CRA account, and electronic mail turned on. And for the first wave, a 2025 return filed by October 31, 2026.

If that's you, check your CRA account before the deadline. Seriously. It could save you hours next spring.

If it's not you, the picture looks like this:

• You have a side gig, a rental unit or a small business? You're off the easy path.
• You want to file online yourself? You still need certified third-party software to send it in.
• You live in Québec? You file a second return with Revenu Québec.
• You need help? You wait on hold, pay a preparer or find a volunteer clinic.

So the tools are being built, but they're opened one narrow door at a time. Everyone with a slightly messy life, which is most working Canadians, stays on the paid side of the wall.

Our uncomfortable part in this

We should be honest about where we sit. We're an app studio. Companies like ours make money when things are complicated. Clunky systems create demand for software that smooths them over. We've built bookkeeping and invoicing tools ourselves, and every one of them exists partly because the official path is hard.

So yes, we're a bit compromised writing this. But we also know what good software can do, because we've seen people use it. A plumber shouldn't need to understand tax forms to send an invoice. A family shouldn't pay a fee to tell the government numbers it already has.

Where software actually helps

We're not accountants, and we don't file taxes for anyone. Here's where a studio like ours fits:

• Tools for accounting firms. AI that sorts receipts, matches bank lines and drafts work papers, so accountants spend time on judgment, not typing.
• Assistants for small businesses. Clean books all year mean tax season is a review, not a panic.
• Plain-language help. Voice and chat tools that explain where a number goes, in English or French, before you're stuck on hold.
• Privacy by design. Tax data is the most sensitive data most people have. PIPEDA and Québec's Law 25 set the floor, not the ceiling.

How we work

Apprika Labs is a Canadian AI, app and software studio. We've shipped 50+ apps with about 931,000 downloads, mostly to everyday people. We're newer to business clients; Skolr, an education platform, is our first B2B contract.

If you're an accounting firm, bookkeeper or fintech that wants to make taxes less painful for Canadians, our forward deployed engineers can sit with your team and build it with you. We also run AI Training for staff.

The government is slowly opening the door. The rest of us can build the ramp.

Questions people ask

Can I file my taxes directly with the CRA for free?

Some people can, through SimpleFile, if they have a lower income and a simple situation. Most others file online through certified tax software, some of which is free.

What is the CRA pre-filled tax return?

A new service launching in March 2027. Eligible people will see a return the CRA has already filled in, check it and submit it from their CRA account.

Who is eligible for the CRA pre-filled return?

People with a lower income and a simple, non-taxable situation who filed a 2025 return by October 31, 2026, have a CRA account and use electronic mail.

Is Apprika Labs a tax preparer?

No. We build software and AI for the firms and businesses that handle taxes. Talk to a qualified accountant about your own return.

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