Tax Tip 13

So the tax deadline has passed and you still haven’t filed your taxes. Not a big deal as long as you don’t have a balance owing. If you do have a balance owing, then you will be subject to penalties and interest on income tax returns filed late at a rate of 5% a month (with a cap of 12 months). For example, if you had a balance owing of $1000 and did not file until 6 months after the due date of April 30th, your balance owing would automatically be assessed a $340 penalty plus interest. 
The Child Tax Benefit program has also changed their rules. Prior to 2015, CTB would give a one month grace period for CTB benefits. If you failed to file your taxes on time, they would still provide those entitled to CTB (baby bonus) with their July payments. They no longer do this – if you don’t file by mid-May at the latest, you will not receive your July CTB.

Don’t forget, if you don’t file, you will not get your July GST benefit or your Ontario Trillium benefit. There are so many positive reasons to file your tax return each year and to file them on time.

If you haven’t filed your taxes in several years, remember that back filing is better than not filing so you can take advantage of all the benefits and credits that are available to you. If you haven’t filed for several years because you don’t have your slips, you can call Revenue Canada at 1-800-959-8281 and ask them for a copy of all your T-slips for the years you haven’t filed. Once you get them, you will be ready to file!

For more tax tips and tax related frequently asked questions, visit my website at www.sauvetaxservices.ca