NETFILE is an electronic tax-filing service provided by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). The service allows you to file your tax return directly to the CRA using the Internet.

If you use NETFILE, you won’t have the hassle of printing your tax return and mailing it to the CRA. If you are eligible for a refund, you could receive your refund in as little as two weeks.

Income tax preparation software companies must seek NETFILE certification from the Canada Revenue Agency (the "CRA") for tax preparation software products which are to be used in conjunction with CRA’s NETFILE electronic tax filing service. For the 2009 taxation year, NETFILE certification of GenuTax from the CRA has been obtained.

There are some types of tax returns that cannot be submitted electronically. These NETFILE restrictions are listed on the CRA's NETFILE website.

Limit of 20 Returns

The Canada Revenue Agency has imposed a limit of 20 returns that can be prepared with each copy of NETFILE-certified tax preparation software. In order for the Standard version of GenuTax software to be certified for use with the CRA's NETFILE electronic tax filing service, starting with 2007 tax returns, our company, GenuSource Consulting Inc., was required to respect this limit within GenuTax Standard software.

Therefore, you are only able to prepare and file up to 20 tax returns for 2009 using a purchased copy of GenuTax Standard. This limit applies to all 2009 tax returns you create, even if you are not using the CRA's NETFILE service to file your tax return.

This limit does not apply to tax returns for the years 2003 through 2006 that are being printed and mailed.

For 2007, 2008, 2009, and subsequent tax years, this limit applies on a per-year basis. For example, with a purchased copy of GenuTax Standard, you are able to prepare and file up to 20 tax returns for 2008, and you are also able to prepare and file up to another 20 tax returns for 2009, and so on.

For more information on the reasons for this limit, please see this page on the Canada Revenue Agency's NETFILE website.

Please note that GenuTax software is not approved for use by individuals that are in the business of preparing tax returns on behalf of others. Those individuals should be using software designed for use with the Canada Revenue Agency's EFILE service. Our company does not yet produce EFILE-approved software.

For individuals that personally require the ability to prepare more than 20 tax returns for 2008, a special paper-filing version, GenuTax Unlimited Printing 2008, is available. This version of GenuTax has no limit on the number of tax returns for 2008 that can be printed and mailed. However, you are not able to use the Canada Revenue Agency's NETFILE system with this special version, and this version is not eligible for free annual updates.

For 2007 tax returns, GenuTax Unlimited Printing 2007 is also available.

For 2009 tax returns, GenuTax Unlimited Printing 2009 should be available by the middle of March 2010.