According to CRA, the tax payer can go back up to 10 years to file tax returns. If you do not file your tax returns by the deadline each assessment year, you will be entitled to penalty as well as compound interest on unpaid taxes and also you might not receive the benefits you are entitled to even if you don’t owe the CRA any money. Late tax filing penalty is 5% of the tax year’s balance owing + 1% interest on balance owing each month your tax return is late up to maximum of 12 months. If the tax payer filed tax returns late in the past 3 years or if the tax payer fails to file taxes second time, these penalties will increase to 10% of balance owing PLUS 2% interest on balance owing for each month the return is late up to maximum of 20 months. It is always advisable to file the tax returns every year by the deadline even if the tax payer does not owe any money to the CRA.

You can claim the amount spent on Air Filter, Cleaner, Purifier if medically required*

It is generally preferred for the spouse with lower net income to claim the medical expenses as long as they have enough tax payable to offset it.

If you have received Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) payments last year, know that it is a taxable benefit. You may have to pay tax on them.

For your current year’s RRSP contributions, you can contribute up to your current year’s contribution limit plus any previously accumulated amount.

You can claim some expenses such as snacks for passengers, USB chargers/cables, or even separate cell phones for Uber.

QuickBooks and Xero are the two most common soft wares. They are easily available; they have a lot of features and apps that can get linked the software and they are cloud based which means you can access them from any where. Their down side is that they may not fit your business need without making some compromises or work around.

It depends on your source of income, nature of income and personal situation. In a very general speaking, ensure you have your T4 slip, if you have day care expenses, donations or medical expenses, ensure you have proper receipts. You can down load an income tax check list from our web site for more detail’s items.

For income tax purposes, you should keep all the receipts and documents for the income and expenses you are claiming. According to CRA, a bank statements does not substitute for a receipt regardless of how clearly the transactions is showing.

Tax should never be paid on an estimate. It is the responsibility of the tax payer to calculate their taxable income and report it to the CRA and the taxable income must be backed by invoices and receipts. If you prior year’s tax liability was over $3,000, you are required to make regular installment payments. These installment payments are an estimate for your current year’s tax liability but income tax act and CRA provides a guideline to calculate these estimated installment payments. A wrong estimate may create an interest.