For some, fall means cozy vibes and PSLs. For us here at Better Tax it's certification season, and we're busy at work on our 2026 edition. We're very excited to share two exciting new features.
Better Tax Desktop
You asked and we're doing it! This year, we're seeking certification for Better Tax Desktop. This downloadable desktop app will be available for both Windows and Mac (sorry Linux users, we asked but the CRA said no).
But Alex, isn't the desktop market shrinking every year? Sure, but we know many of our users don't want to store their data in the cloud. Since 2023 it's been our priority to give you control over your data.
Wait, don't you already have local storage? Yes, since the beginning, in fact. But our local storage version was limited to certain browsers and some events (like Auto-fill My Return and NETFILE) ran through our servers. Better Tax Desktop will run entirely from your machine.
Bring your own AI agent (MCP)
It's 2026 and we all know that AI is changing almost everything. We also appreciate that while some people love working with their agents, others want absolutely nothing to do with it. To respect everyone, we decided to build an MCP integration1. This means you can, optionally, connect your preferred AI agent to Better Tax and have it help you prepare your tax return.
Your agent can see and work with the inputs on your tax return and our (certified) tax engine will apply the tax rules and do the calculations. In our tests so far we've: asked our agents questions about something on a return, dumped in piles of slips and messy receipts and had an agent process and add them, had an agent comb through through rental expenses, and even asked an agent whether it thought we missed any credits. This integration is extremely cool. And entirely optional.
When will this be ready?
We're planning on publishing both Better Tax Desktop and BYO Agent in December as part of our 2026 pre-release. We'll do a full release once we get CRA certification—that generally happens shortly before NETFILE opens (February 22, 2027).
1. MCP stands for Model Context Protocol. It’s a way for an AI agent to connect to another app and work with information there. In this case, it lets your agent connect to Better Tax so you can ask it questions about your return or help you add information..