Today, April 30, marks the deadline for Canadians to file their taxes. It also marks the deadline for those owing payments on 2024 taxes.
Key dates at tax time include the start of March when people made their final contributions to an RRSP, a PRPP, or an SPP. Fast forward and we have the April 30 deadline for most Canadians, the next deadline for people who are self-employed being June 16 this year, with the usual date of June 15 being on a Sunday.
There are exceptions for certain people at tax time. In a 2024 interview with a spokesperson for the Canada Revenue Agency, they shared that people 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.”
On the other side of the coin, anybody that does owe money needs to know that filing late results in a 5 per cent penalty related to your balance owing, that along with another one per cent each full month that the payments are delayed. There are payment plan options available that people can access through either their CRA account online or over the phone.
For anyone that hasn't field taxes for several years — it's ok. Just make sure that when you do file to submit your oldest returns first for the ability to access credits from previous years regarding things such as tuition, textbooks, credits. That also goes for any capital gains or losses, donations and gifts, or RRSP contribution room.
More on the important dates surrounding tax season can be found through the Government of Canada website here. Let us know how you treated tax time this year in the poll below: