As you might have already heard, the Canadian government has extended the deadline for filing personal tax returns until June 1, and the deadline for taxes owing to September 1. However, this year, more than ever, it makes sense to file as soon as possible.
To begin with, the sooner you file, the sooner you will get your refund, plain and simple. So if you are part of the approximately 75% of Canadians who will be getting money back, it’s in your best interest to file now. The average processing time for a return filed online is two weeks. If you’ve signed up for direct deposit, you may have your refund in your bank account in as little as eight days. Note that if you have taxes owing, you can still file now and wait until September 1 to pay.
For this same reason, if you have outstanding tax returns to file, now’s a great time to play catch up. You can file returns from 2012 onwards with SimpleTax. For returns older than 2012, you’ll need to download paper forms from the CRA’s website and print and mail them to the CRA.
The Canadian government has launched several emergency relief benefits in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Eligibility for some of these benefits, including the additional GST and Child Care Benefit payment available to low-income Canadians, will require a completed 2018 tax return.
Additionally, a CRA My Account is probably the easiest way to apply for the Canada Emergency Relief Benefit (CERB) (Alternatively, you can apply through a My Service Canada Account or using the CRA’s automated phone service.) To apply for a CRA My Account, you will be asked to verify your identify by providing a line number from a past tax return. Again, another great reason to have your tax filings up to date.
On a somewhat related note, the CRA launched an “Uncashed cheques” feature in My Account this year. To see if any of the unclaimed money (totalling $1B !) has your name on it, log into your CRA My Account and click on the Unclaimed cheques link (you’ll find this link on the right hand side, under Related services on the Overview page).
To save you time, if you’ve used SimpleTax in the past, we’ll pre-fill some of your data and highlight the forms you used last year. If you have a CRA My Account, you can auto-fill most of your return in just a few minutes.
Whether this is your first or you eighth time using SimpleTax, we’re here for you. You can file from the comfort of your home, choose what you want to pay (including $0), and if you have any questions, we’re just an email away.