Late Filing Penalties: Talk About It!

While most T1 returns are in the hands of the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) by April 30, we know many are not. In fact, millions of returns were still outstanding as of mid-May. Late-filing clients they need to know about the consequences, especially if they owe. Here’s a rundown to be aware of:

Back on July 17, the government announced that it would provide a one-time tax-free payment of $600 to more Canadians with disabilities.  These individuals will finally see payment of that amount beginning this week.  But there are more opportunities that qualified tax practitioners can help with before year end. 

Knowledge Bureau’s Income Tax Estimator, a sophisticated software tool used in teaching our certificate personal tax filing and planning courses, incorporates the most recent changes to tax brackets and known provisions including the calculation of the Canada Recovery Benefits.  We have now calculated the 2021 tax brackets based on CPI figures released last week to enable students and Knowledge Bureau Calculator subscribers to prepare projections for 2021 taxes payable as part of year-end tax planning activities. 

Today, even the smallest business requires timely and reliable information, if it is to succeed and thrive despite the pandemic and the constant threat of future CRA auditing. A new course from Knowledge Bureau, Budgeting & Forecasting for Small Business is designed to teach you how to use the information within bookkeeping systems to assist business owners to make sound business decisions throughout the year: an essential service during these times.

This is your last week to take advantage of early-bird tuition rates to attend the November 18 Virtual CE Summit, and we’ve introduced a second flex study option for those unable to attend the live event. But special tuition rates still apply until the deadline, with whichever study option you choose..so be sure to act by October 31 and save $100.

In 2020, a large number of taxpayers are working from home due to workplace restrictions imposed by governments due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The current requirements for claiming home office expenses are very strict, and the reporting is rather cumbersome.  But CRA is working on a solution.

The Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) has already been repaid by hundreds of thousands of recipients for various reasons:  program ineligibility, application errors, CRA processing errors and more. Some of the same issues now plague the new Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB), and it may be in part due to a computer glitch.