Why You Should File Your Taxes Even If You Have Missed The CRA Tax Deadline

This is the time of year when many Canadians, especially small business owners, find themselves scrambling to get themselves organized for the CRA tax deadline. As long as you are scrambling, it is a good sign because it means that you are committed to getting your taxes filed by the CRA tax deadline, even if you get totally stressed in the process.

If you’re not working hard on getting the accounting done and the taxes filed, it is either because tax time doesn’t get you worked up or it is because you have already missed a prior CRA tax deadline so you are not exactly motivated by the idea of having to have your return in on time – I mean what does it matter, you’re already behind, right? Wrong.

1.       Every day you are behind filing your taxes, interest compounds.

2.      When you are behind filing, in addition to incurring a penalty for filing late, you will also incur a monthly penalty for each month that passes that you haven’t filed. This will continue over a period of 12-20 months depending on your past history of missing the CRA tax deadline.

3.      Also, filing your taxes late can impact your ability to apply for a loan or mortgage. Many banks and financial institutions will want to see a copy of your most recent Notice of Assessment when applying for credit – if you don’t have it they may not approve your financing.

4.      CRA collection action. If you are behind filing, the CRA can place a lien on your home, garnish your wages and even freeze your bank account if they suspect that you will owe once filed.

It’s just not worth it, especially since there are programs out there that can help you deal with your tax problem that don’t involve bankruptcy. These include:

1.      A government program where you can declare income that was not declared or declared incorrectly on a past return or file returns that are past due. If you are approved the CRA will agree to waive all penalties associated with the re-filing.

2.      A government program where, under certain circumstances, the CRA may agree to cancel some or all the interest and penalties associated with your debt.

3.       Programs to borrow the money to pay the CRA.

4.       Programs to legally bind final payment plans with the CRA.

5.       A program that can freeze the interest accumulating on your tax debt and allow you to make a single manageable monthly payment and more…

See - there are options out there, so if you have missed the CRA tax deadline in the past, 2013 is the perfect year to get past due returns filed and put your tax problem behind you.

For more information about the 2012 CRA tax deadline or if you are behind filing returns and need help, please contact Tax Solutions Canada by visiting www.taxsolutionscanada.com or call 888-868-1400.

 

How Can I Get Taxpayer Relief?

If you have a tax debt then there is no doubt that you have thought about how you can get taxpayer relief (in other words treated fairly by CRA [Canada Revenue Agency] in a way that you can do the right thing and survive). There are different ways to get taxpayer relief and how you do it will depend on your personal circumstances. In this blog we will review the top 3 ways that you can get taxpayer relief
 

  1.  If you can substantiate that you have suffered extreme financial hardship, medical problems or a natural disaster (that contributed to your tax problem) to the satisfaction of the CRA, the CRA may grant forgiveness of interest and penalties under the TaxpayerRelief Program. This involves a lengthy approval process and you must be able to prove the claims in your application. This is a viable option to achieve taxpayer relief but not everyone is approved – this kind of application should be made on your behalf by a tax professional. But beware, there are no second chances, and if done incorrectly the first time your chances of success a second time are all but diminished.

 

  2.  You can also achieve taxpayer relief by coming up with a way to pay your tax debt. The relief you will experience once the financial stress of worrying about how you will pay your tax debt cannot be quantified. There are many financial solutions to raise the funds to pay your tax debt, such as mortgage products. A skilled organization that specializes in CRA negotiation can not only help you to raise the funds to pay your tax debt but can also negotiate a direct and final monthly payment plan with the CRA that you otherwise could not negotiate on your own.

  3.  You can also achieve taxpayer relief by making a proposal to the CRA. When making a proposal to the CRA, and depending on your personal and financial circumstances, you may be able to reduce the size of your tax debt. If your proposal is accepted, you will be able to make a low monthly payment that you can afford, the interest that has been accumulating on your tax debt will be frozen and CRA collection action in most cases will cease. 

Taxpayer relief can come in many forms – both financial and personal. Facing a debt you can't pay, especially to the government, comes with stress, anxiety, depression and a myriad of other health and relationship problems. Be fair to the CRA and to yourself. The best way to do this is to face your tax problem and get taxpayer relief!

To see if you qualify for taxpayer relief please visit www.taxsolutionscanada.com or call 888-868-1400.