Filed jointly last year, cost me $40 total. it seems this year I have to pay $40 each. is this correct?

If you are doing a spousal return which is 2 returns being done at the same time, you would pay the price of 2 returns. Depending on the software you are using it will be that amount times 2. It seems you used the free version last year and if any of these below have changed, you were upgraded to a higher version.

There might be donations in box 46 of your T4 or Employee-paid premiums (medical) in box 85 of your T4 which would require an upgrade to allow you to claim additional credits not included in the free version. Please see the list below enumerating what is or is not included in the free version.

Simple tax returns include:

Employment income

Pension income

Other employment income such as tips

RRSP contributions

Child care expenses

COVID-19 benefits and re-payments

Unemployment (EI) and social assistance

Worker’s compensation

Disability amount

Worker’s benefit

Amount for eligible/infirm dependents

Tuition, scholarships, bursaries, grants, student loan interest

Caregiver tax credit

Disability transfer

Home accessibility tax credit

Tax on RESPs and RDSPs

Tax installment payments

Age amount

Income, credits, and deductions not listed above are not covered by TurboTax Free, including:

Employment expenses (meals, lodging, etc.)

Donations

Medical expenses

Investment income and expenses

Rental property income and expenses

Self-employed income and expenses

Thank you for choosing TurboTax.