T1 General Software for All Canadian Residents
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Taxman 2017
Version 1.3 is Ready!
If you used my program last year, then you will have already been surprised with the tax guide and forms delivered right to your door. Talk about service! Now there's no need to go to the post office — CRA is making it way too easy to use my program. You got to love them for that. (Yet if my clients keep bringing their tax packages to me, I'll drown in them.)
In other matters, CRA has been a bit slow off the mark this year. On their draft-forms website they apologize and say: "Due to a change in technology the process is taking a bit longer than expected." I've still yet to see the electronic filer's manual, but that shouldn't matter for us paper filers (yet how are the other guys coping without a manual?). Regardless, I'm already mailing in returns — it's time to rock 'n' roll.
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The most annoying fault in the program I use, MS Access, is that sometimes code disappears! I'll write code for an hour, saving every ten minutes, and then test things
out and there'll be a lockup and I'll have to shut it down and, somewhere unbeknownst to me, things won't get saved. So code I had previously tested out, now won't work. And though I do my darndest to double-check everything, I can never be certain. (Sounds like how the rest of life works too!) So I live in a perpetual state of anxiety. And should I find an error, even if I have a strong feeling of having fixed it before, I can never be certain it wasn't my blunder. So I'll blame myself again.
The irony that Trump's great victory in 2017 was a tax break for the rich, should not go unmentioned. Admittedly, there were a few crumbs thrown to his base, but how can reducing income tax rates be a victory? Victory over whom? This was nothing more than politicians voting themselves a raise. And who is paying for their wars? Instead, pile money on the rich so they can get richer and more powerful — they will save us. Yet last year showed us that those at the top aren't trying to save the planet. They're trying to bag more babes than Sinatra. And they're not spending a whole lot in the process because their cunning plan is to just expose themselves. That's why they're the smart guys in the room, because I wouldn't of thought of that!
And what about Trump's poor wife in all this. She doesn't seem happy. It looks like neither she nor I can last another three years. But you got to love the drama — wondering where the silver bullet will come from. I don't know how Trump handles the stress.
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Before mailing in that tax return, just to be safe, come back and download the latest upgrade.
If you already have the full Taxman program installed on your computer (it doesn't matter which year just so long as it works), then you only need:
 Taxman2017 Upgrade Version 1.3 (17setup3.exe, 1.8 MB)
Last revised Apr 15: Three bugs squashed (see below at Bugs for more)
Clicking the link below takes you to Google Drive where you have to press the 'Download' button. You then go to a page telling you the file can't be scanned for viruses — press 'Download anyway'. Then a pop-up appears and you hit 'Save File'.
Download Upgrade Version 1.3
from Google Drive!
After downloading, just double-click 17setup3.exe to install. A shortcut to run the program will appear on your Start Menu and your Desktop. Your data files are 17tables.mdb and taxbiz.mdb — back'em up! During an install your data files, if they already exist, are never replaced, but an uninstall will deleted them forevermore. If you used Taxman in the past, go to 'Tools\Data Transfer' on the menu and press 'Get Basics from past year' to update 17tables.mdb with the unlikely to change stuff in 16tables.mdb. After Get Basics runs you'll be asked if you want to update taxbiz.mdb, say No because the structure of taxbiz.mdb is unchanged so the best bet is to hide the new taxbiz.mdb and continue using the old taxbiz.mdb (look up 'Data Transfer' in the Help index for more).
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Otherwise you must get the full program, the El Gordo version:
Taxman2017 Full Version 1.2 (17txmf2.exe, 7.26 MB)
Revised Mar 3, 2018
Clicking the link below takes you to Google Drive where you have to press the 'Download' button. You then go to a page telling you the file can't be scanned for viruses — press 'Download anyway'. Then a pop-up appears and you hit 'Save File'.
Download Full Version 1.2
from Google Drive!
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 New for 2017
The feds are throwing out deductions, which should be easy enough to code for, but unfortunately the provinces aren't all tagging along. There is no imperative to keep things simple, so we have a complicated mishmash.
Schedule 5 has been completely revamped. Line 306 is dead, but it's provincial cousin, line 5820, is still alive. Line 315 has been replaced by 307, and there's also a new line 304. The family caregiver amount is now called the Canada caregiver amount as are lines 304 and 307. And though the name's the same they all target different people.
Line 304 is for a spouse or eligible dependant 18 or older and Schedule 5 will automatically make the claim if you make a claim at line 5109 or 5110 — so you don't have to worry about Line 304 (Inch'Allah).
The old caregiver amount at line 315 demanded that your dependant lived with you and that a parent/grandparent didn't have to be infirm, just 65 or older. For line 307 the dependant doesn't have to live with you and must be infirm. Ontario follows the fed's new rules at its new line 5819, but every province with a line 5840 still uses the old rules. Also, a dependant claimed at line 307 or 305 could fit the criteria for either line 5820 or 5840. All this means I've had to add check boxes to Schedule 5 so you can indicate that you want the person claimed at line 305 or 307 also claimed at 5820 or 5840. And if you're claiming on your provincial tax form someone not on Schedule 5, then you'll have to override line 5820/5840.
Finally for Schedule 5, remember that a person claimed at line 305, an eligible dependant, can't be claimed at line 307, the caregiver amount. Provincially though, you can claim the caregiver amount for an eligible dependant. That's why there are 5820 and 5840 check boxes with the line 305 part of Schedule 5.
Likewise with Schedule 11, almost everyone has their own version. The feds and YT still allow tuition fees but not an amount for each month at school. NB got rid of everything except carryforwards from the past, and ON and SK are in-betweens. So be forewarned, the provincial Schedule 11 may not automatically fill in from the federal form.
The feds killed the children's art and fitness amounts, but again not everyone else. For BC, be warned, the fitness field was changed so if you use Missing on the Tools menu, to check last year's return, the code will miss a missing BC fitness amount.
On business/farming forms ECA is dead and a new CCA class 14.1 takes over. If you use Accounts and enter something as ECA, Taxman will convert it to class 14.1 when it gets the data.
And last but not least, you can now type in a date on Page 4 where you sign, and double-clicking brings in today's date.
 Bugs and Version History
- Version 1.3 lets the federal Schedule 12 print even if it's not open, and double-clicking Schedule 3 will now bring in the spouse's data, and any PE, NB, or NL unused low-income reduction won't be treated as a carryforward to the future, because they aren't carryforwards.
- Version 1.2 was created on Mar 3 and now the button on Schedule 2 will bring in spouse's home accessibility expenses.
- Version 1.1 was revised on Feb 17 because the BC Tax form was printing correctly.
- Version 1.1 (created Feb 7) puts default values into a new record, which 1.0 wasn't doing. Note that Version 1.1 won't fix a record you've already opened with Version 1.0. The first time you go to the forms the basic deductions are claimed and the page 1 and 2 checkboxes get fill in the same as the previous year. If that didn't happen, you can either delete the record and start over, or you have to manually enter the stuff that's usually already there (double-clicking will enter the max allowed in most places and be sure to use the Worksheet so the number of months to which CPP applies will be set on Schedule 8).
- Version 1.0 was revised on Jan 29 because, when printed, ON's or SK's Schedule 11 could contain the instructions of the other province (the numbers should all be ok). And revised again on Jan 31 because ON's new line 5819, the caregiver amount, wasn't working right.
- Data transfer doesn't work for some: they get Error 3163 ("field is too small"). For possible cures go to: 2011 Bugs
The Las Vegas shooter was a retired 64-year-old accountant. He had plenty of money — but that didn't save him.
I too am a 64-year-old accountant and I can take a pretty good stab at his mysterious motive. Lucky for you I'm too poor to retire or afford an arsenal.
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