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:

Tax season provides a trigger for advisors and their clients to have an important discussion: should the tax refund be used for debt reduction or savings? In some cases, the best strategy may be to do a little bit of both. But the big issue to uncover is whether taxpayers understand their credit health well enough.

Most people seem to understand that you can’t treat your business’ money as your own . . . or do they? How many small business owners expense personal items from the company general account? This can get you into trouble on a tax audit and worse; significantly erode personal wealth.

Beware the taxman, Uber drivers. The rise of the gig economy comes with its own unique challenges from a tax perspective, and an appeals case from Uber Canada Inc., currently with the Tax Court of Canada sheds light on the grey areas that exist.

It’s a potential administrative and tax filing nightmare. On January 15, the federal government introduced new draft legislation prompted by the debacle created by their Phoenix Payroll System. These changes are designed to reduce the burden on employees who are now required to repay amounts paid to them in error.

The Statistics Canada’s Individual Income Tax Report*released on January 8, highlighted just how much Canadians are being over-taxed by the CRA. With average tax refunds coming in at $1,757 for the 2018 filing season, many taxpayers are effectively providing the government with interest-free loans of approximately $150 per month for up to 16 months before they see their refund. Just how much is that really costing you?

Debt reduction could be the leading financial management strategy as 2019 begins, given the grim housing market forecast, where the biggest concern relates to housing affordability. RBC reports that this will remain a financial challenge for many Canadian families, as the cost of homeownership relative to median income levels will keep rising.