Why I Look at Wealthsimple Tax Plans in the Fall, Not in April

For years my tax routine was to dig up my slips in April and hope for the best. Lately I've started glancing at things in the fall instead, mostly because it's the one time of year nothing is due and I'm not stressed. I've filed with Wealthsimple Tax for a few years now, so I went back to its page to see how the plans are laid out today.

The three plans, as I read them

The Basic plan is pay what you want, and that includes $0. It covers two returns per account. Plus is listed at $40 plus tax and allows up to 8 returns, with priority support and audit protection added on. Pro is $80 plus tax, up to 20 returns per tax year, and adds expert guidance and one-on-one consultations. The page also notes that Plus is free for Premium clients and Pro is free for Generation clients, which I found interesting because it ties the tax plan to how much you already have with them.

One detail worth flagging for French readers: the page says Pro isn't available to Quebec residents or in French. That's on their page, not my opinion, so I'd double-check it if it matters to you.

What the page promises

Wealthsimple says it searches over 400 possible credits and deductions to get to a maximum refund. There's also a guarantee: if you refile with a competitor's software before December 31, 2026 and get a better result using identical information, they say they'll refund up to $50 or your original payment, whichever is greater. I haven't tested that, so I can't say how it plays out in practice.

Why I bother in the fall

What I like about filing with the CRA auto-fill is that it removes most of the slip-hunting, so in my case the fall check is really just about deciding which plan fits my situation: one return for me, and no need for the extras. My take is that plan choice matters more if you have several returns or want support, and less if you're filing something simple.

If you're thinking of opening an account with Wealthsimple, the link above gets you a $25 welcome bonus once the account is funded. That's separate from the tax product, which I just happen to use alongside it.