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The Government has begun issuing the official slips for those who received CERB and/or EI. These will come in either a T4E or T4A slip. If you rec'd any of these benefits please remember to include with your tax paperwork as they ARE taxable.

My annual tax package was emailed out yesterday in a PDF format. If you didn’t receive it, perhaps I don’t have a current email address for you. If you’d like to receive it please let me know. Tax season is just around the bend ....

Are you in the construction industry? If so, remember you are required to issue T5018 slips to all contractors you use in your business, and file a T5018 return as well (similar to the T4 system). The dates vary in this case and are based on your business end date, however if you are a proprietorship with a Dec 31 Year-End, you should have these filed within 6 months. more details can be found online ... https://www.canada.ca//cont/information-payers-t5018.html

UPDATE: CRA Efile online window access..... Efile will now remain open until the end of day on Friday, January 22, and then close for a month in order for the system to be updated in preparation for the new tax season.... The window will re-open on Monday, February 22. This week is the last week to get your 2019 (and/or prior years) efiled over to CRA before there is a month break.

Still needing to FILE a tax return? CRA will be closing their efile access soon in order to prepare the system for the upcoming season. It will close on January 17 (11pm EST) and not re-opening until February 24. If you are still needing to file a return, please ensure you do so before the Jan 17 date. (and that being said, with my backlog of work here already, please have all your paperwork to me soon so that I can fit it in). Once the system re-opens in February, another past year will be dropped by the efile window (this time Year 2016 returns will no longer be eligible for efile status and will need to be paper-filed).

Well here we are, a fresh new year is underway. First I want to thank each and every one of you who helped my small home-based business have another successful year, despite the challenges our world is going through. I finished Year 2020 with the completion of 562 personal income tax returns and quite a lot of bookkeeping that kept me going throughout the year. As we move forward into spring (yes, I'm already dreaming of warmer weather), I look forward to working with you aga...in to help you complete your annual taxes and with your company's books. There will be a few things to note as we move along, as CRA has made some changes to some areas, and I'll be sure to update you as we move along. I'm sure we can all say though, "Here's hoping for a better year!" Wishing you all good health, safety and success in your various endeavors. Diane

Update from CRA: Payment Deadline Extension The CRA has extended the payment due date for current year individual, corporate, and trust income tax returns, including instalment payments, from September 1, 2020, to September 30, 2020. Penalties and interest will not be charged if payments are made by the extended deadline of September 30, 2020. This includes the late-filing penalty as long as the return is filed by September 30, 2020.... The CRA encourages everyone to file their individual, corporate and trust returns as soon as possible, even though payment deadlines are being extended. This is particularly important for individuals receiving credits and benefits, such as the Canada Child Benefit.

From the CRA today: August 25, 2020 Last call! File your 2019 tax return to keep getting your benefit payments... Canadians who receive the Canada child benefit (CCB) and the Goods and services tax/Harmonized sales tax (GST/HST) credit need to complete their 2019 tax returns as soon as possible. As of August 22, more than 1.3 million Canadians who were eligible in 2018 for the CCB or GST/HST credits have not yet filed their 2019 tax return or have not yet received an assessment for their return from the CRA. If you’re one of these Canadians, you have to file your taxes to receive your benefits and credits. Filing as soon as possible will ensure you have as little disruption as possible to your payments beyond September 2020. If you’re unable to file, your estimated payments will stop in October and you may have to repay what you received in July, August, and September 2020

One-time payment support for Canadians living with disabilities The Government of Canada has announced a one-time payment of $600 to help persons living with disabilities, in recognition of some of the extraordinary expenses they have encountered during the COVID-19 pandemic. Individuals who are determined to be eligible for the disability tax credit (DTC) or certain other disability-related benefit programs, may be entitled to receive the payment. Canadians living with disabilities who are eligible for the DTC but who have not yet applied, will have until September 25, 2020 to do so. For more information on how to apply for the DTC, please visit: http://www.canada.ca/disability-tax-credit.

Update from the CRA for amounts due from your personal income tax filing ..... "The payment deadline for any tax amount owing on your 2019 income has been extended to September 30, 2020. Late-filing penalties or interests will not be charged if you file your return and make your payment by that date"

With majority of taxes now behind me .... some are LITERALLY still beside me. If you haven't yet picked up your tax pkg (and some are several years in the works), PLEASE make arrangements with me to stop by. I can leave outside my door if I know day/time or I can pass to you at the door, or I can mail it out if you can't make it in. Either way, need to make room on my shelves now. thanks ....

I'm calling it a night! ... and the "official final date of tax season" is done. I still work throughout the year but the pressure is now off. Phew. It's been a looooong season with the extension of personal taxes by CRA due to Covid-19 and carrying on with the self-employed taxes due by midnight tonight. I just want to send out a HUGE THANK YOU to each and every one of you who have supported my small home business. Our family truly appreciates you! With the close of today, I... literally l was working on return #500!! 63 new clients this year all from your generous referrals. Thank you so very much!! And thank you too for helping work together to take care of taxes in the safest way possible with the current world situation. I wish all of you good health and safety as we journey through the coming weeks/months .... Diane :)

Do you have a self-employed business? If so, today is the deadline to file yours (and your spouse if you're filing a linked spousal return) personal income tax return. If you have an amount owing the amount is still only due by August 31, however if you don't file by close of today, CRA will add a late filing penalty to your amount owing. That being said, if you have a refund coming then there is NO penalty for filing after today's date.... Happy "official last day of tax season" .... although I still carry on with many after today.

And I'm off .... to what's about to be the busiest week of the season. With the tax season being extended due to Covid, I've seen the delay in taxes with people as well. I already have them flooding in. It's not too late ... but just remember that the more I get it the longer the turn around time. If you have a refund coming you will NOT be penalized by CRA for filing after the June 1 tax deadline.... If you owe, however, you will have a late filing penalty added to your account by CRA. Amounts due are still extended until August 31 before the interest will start on Sept. 1. Remember too, if you (or your spouse) have self-employment income, your deadline to file taxes hasn't changed and is still June 15. Have a great week! See you on the other side, lol :)

Just a reminder that the new extended deadline to file personal taxes is coming up on June 1. If you currently receive monthly child tax benefit payments, these could be delayed if taxes are not filed on time, and will be stopped if taxes not filed at all. Don't delay - if you're still in need of filing, let me know. :)

As I sit here preparing another return, and the bad news I'm about to tell a college student ... I thought this would be a good time to put a note out there about these RESP's. So, there are good and bad points when it comes to the RESP's. A lot of people deposit large sums into these funds, hoping that one day their kids will use them. There is the up side that the gov't does do some matching and tops up funds. The down side ... the STUDENT WILL BE TAXED ON THIS MONEY when t...hey pull it out to use towards schooling. And it's a lot. Students find it hard enough to balance school, work, raising funds for tuition etc... If they have these funds to help with tuition, that's great. But, there are tax consequences to it as well. And, if they can't pay it back before the tax deadline, then there is added interest by CRA. On the other side, IF they decided to go to post-secondary school and IF they need the money for the tuition, a student loan has much more flexibility with paying it back, and the interest earned (if done through the official student loan dept) IS deductible as a non-refundable credit on taxes. Win Win. I just see so many people putting a lot of hard earned money into these funds and then either the kids don't use them or they are taxed hard on them when they can't afford it. All I'm saying is .... do the research before you put your money there. You "might" want to check out other savings options. One is a high interest TFSA which you can pull if/when you need it to help your child out. Your choice, just saying ... do the research. I've seen it turn out in a negative way more than a few times.

Today is April 30. Usually this is a crazy day with a sense of relief coming for tomorrow and the days ahead. Not so this year. With the new extension from CRA, I have a feeling my May will be just as busy as my April. Again, a huge THANK YOU to all of you who have kept me working during these crazy times and worked with me to do as much as we can by electronics or social-distancing at the front door :) It's been a steady season and already I'm at the 400 mark and have 45 new... clients again so far this season. Thanks for you support! Our family appreciates each and every one of you. Stay Safe!! Diane

Another payment deferral to note: If you have a business with a GST return that results in an amount due at the end of March, the Gov't has now allowed a deferral of payment until the end of June 2020.

As the new benefits plan takes effect this week, there are a few key things to remember: Quoted from online news source ... "Canadians can begin applying for emergency income support benefits Monday, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the government is also working on ways to help people who aren't covered by the programs brought in so far, including students.... The Canada emergency response benefit (CERB) will give people who lose their source of income due to COVID-19 about $2,000 a month for 16 weeks. Canadians who are eligible for employment insurance (EI) can apply for that coverage, and will receive CERB benefits for four months before the EI benefits kick in. The public can start signing up for CERB as of 6 a.m. ET Monday, but Canadians are being asked to apply based on their birth month to avoid overloading the portal. Applicants born in January through March can apply on April 6, the first day the portal opens. Those born April through June can apply April 7, those born in July through September on April 8 and Canadians with birth months October through December can sign up on April 9. Trudeau said Canadians can expect to receive payments within three to five days via direct deposit, or within 10 days by mail. Trudeau also conceded that there are gaps in the program, including for students. To be eligible, applicants must have been working and lost all income." Key words at the end - You must have lost your job due to Covid and lost all income sources". In other words, if you've dropped hours and are only working part-time instead of full-time, it doesn't sound like you'd qualify (I could be wrong, but we'll see as this unfolds). This benefit is there for those that truly NEED it. If your personal financial situation hasn't changed from the consequences of Covid19, then be grateful and help those that aren't in your situation. I am not judging any one person's situation and needs; however, if you don't NEED it and you can live on a smaller budget, do. I know not all details have been outlined yet but we can be sure you'll be taxed on any income you receive now, in the next tax year. I'm sure it will be treated as any EI monies collected. A small portion (if at all in this circumstance) would be deducted for taxes and the rest is caught up at tax time. That COULD mean you'll find yourself owing next year. Just things to consider as this benefit comes into the works.