Did you miss the filing deadline for your personal taxes?
Most Canadians should have filed their taxes with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) by midnight on April 30.
An exception to the deadline does exist for those who are self-employed or who have a spouse or common law partner who is self-employed, who have until June 17, though they still have to have paid any balance owing by April 30.
Navneet Kaur, spokesperson for CRA, said that those who don’t owe money to the CRA do not have to worry about filing late. “You don’t really have to worry much about interest and penalties that may get charged – you can, technically, file after April 30 using the same methods that you would have filed your taxes prior to April 30.”
She urged those who owe money to the CRA to file as soon as possible, as interest and penalties can be charged for those who file late. “It might also end up delaying your benefits, such as GST, Canada Child Benefit, etcetera that you may be entitled to.”
The penalty for filing late is 5 per cent of your balance owing, in addition to a further 1 per cent for each full month that you delay.
Those who are concerned because they don’t have the funds to immediately pay what they owe do have options. “You can give us a call and we can make a payment plan to make payments in installments if that works for you,” explained Kaur.
She said you can also contact them online through your CRA account.
Anyone who has not filed their taxes for several years should file their oldest return first. “You may be able to take advantage of carry forward amounts from previous years, such as tuition, textbooks, credits, any capital gains or losses that you might have, donations and gifts, or RRSP contribution room.”
Kaur said people should sign up for direct deposit, as they will receive any refunds within 8 to 10 days.