5 Things to Consider When Filing Your Tax Return

Written by Shannon Warawa, CPA, CA on Jan. 14, 2020

Here’s a list of some things to avoid when filing your tax return.

Follow these tips; they could save you time and money!

Filing an income tax and benefit return even if you have no income

If you have no income to report, you should still file a return. You may be eligible for a refund and credits and benefits such as the goods and services tax/harmonized sales tax credit and the Canada child tax benefit.

Reporting all your income

When filing, it is important to make sure you report all your income from all your slips, such as T4s. Slips are prepared by your employer, payer, or administrator. You should have received most of your slips and receipts by the end of February. If you have not received, or have lost or misplaced a slip for the current year, you can ask your employer, or the issuer of the slip, for a copy. There is a good chance that your KWB tax preparer will have access to electronic copies of your slips via the CRA website. However, if you are missing information, use any documents you have and enter estimated amounts.

Filing late

If you have a balance owing and do not file your return on time, the CRA will charge you a late-filing penalty. The penalty is 5% of your balance owing on the due date of your return, plus 1% of your balance owing for each full month your return is late, to a maximum of 12 months. Even if you cannot pay your balance owing by the filing deadline, you can avoid the late-filing penalty by filing on time.

Missing out on new tax credits, benefits, and deductions

New credits, benefits, and deductions could be introduced each year, some of which may apply to your tax situation

Keeping receipts and records

Keep any receipts and documents for at least six years after you file for a particular year. If the CRA chooses to review your return, you will need to submit your receipts to support your claims.

If you would like more information or have any questions, feel free to contact us at 780.466.6204, or click here to send us an email.

Shannon Warawa, CPA, CA

Shannon Warawa, CPA, CA

Manager

Shannon Warawa joined KWB in September 2005. She received her Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Alberta in 1999. After articling with PricewaterhouseCoopers for three years, she was employed with Howard Kirkpatrick Associates during which time she obtained her C.A. designation. Shannon is the first point of contact for the majority of clients handling the affairs of a deceased parent or spouse and would be happy to answer any questions and assist in the preparation of their final personal tax return.

In 2017, her name was added to the coveted Bunnock trophy when her team took 1st place in KWB’s 10th Annual Bunnock Tournament. In 2018, she defended her title with her office partner Haley.

Shannon works part-time, is married and has 3 children. Away from work, she enjoys camping trips with her family, reading, cheering at basketball, hockey and lacrosse games, book club and her weekly boot camp classes. She served as Parent Council Treasurer for many years at her children’s elementary school and continues to volunteer in her children’s schools whenever possible.

Shannon's Contact Information

Other Posts by Shannon

Mar 21 2017
CRA Fraud Protection

Canada Revenue Agency and police again warned taxpayers of randomly targeted fraudulent telephone calls and e-mails that are being sent out as CRA fraud.  These phone calls and e-mails are not from the CRA. Annually the number of CRA fraud scams rise near the April 30th tax deadline. The phone call scams are imposters trying

Mar 19 2019
Applying for a trust account number or asking for a clearance certificate

Asking for a clearance certificate A clearance certificate certifies that all amounts for which a deceased taxpayer is liable to Canada Revenue Agency for have been paid.  If a clearance certificate is not obtained upon a taxpayer’s death, as the legal representative, you can be liable for any amount the deceased owes.  A

Apr 26 2016
Estate Planning Gifting Strategy

An estate planning gifting strategy is basically when you start to give away some of your assets prior to death in order to optimize taxes within the family. Usually, an estate planning gifting strategy refers to how we will distribute our assets when we die.  But you might be overlooking significant tax savings by not

Aug 30 2016
Graduated Rate Estates – New Rules for 2016

Starting for 2016 taxation years, inter vivos trusts, trusts created by will and certain estates will be subject to the top taxation rate. There are two exceptions to this change: graduated rate estates and qualified disability trusts. Graduated tax rates will still apply to these types of estates and trusts. Income earned and retained in

Nov 15 2016
Top 4 Financial Tips for the New Parent

Here are our top 4 financial tips for the new parent: Apply for a Social Insurance Number (SIN) for your child: It’s a good idea for you to apply for a Social Insurance Number for your child as soon as they are born. This way, you will not be left scrambling to obtain one when your

Mar 28 2017
EI, OAS and CPP Rulings

Employment and Social Development Canada (“ESDC”) is responsible for EI, OAS and CPP rulings, not Canada Revenue Agency. On April 1, 2013, the Social Security Tribunal (“SST”), an independent administrative tribunal operating at arm’s length from ESDC, was introduced to review appeals on EI, OAS and CPP rulings made by the ESDC. The process to

Feb 12 2019
Direct Beneficiary Designation - RRSP or RRIF

If you are considering a direct beneficiary designation for either a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) or a Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF), you should be aware of some negative consequences that can occur. A direct beneficiary designation can result in unintended tax consequences to the estate, the inequitable treatment of heirs or the distribution

Jan 16 2018
Advance Income Tax Rulings

Advance Income Tax Rulings are written statements providing assurance on the income tax treatment of a specific proposed transaction or transactions that you might be contemplating. Subject to any disclaimer or qualification stated in the ruling, the ruling is considered binding with respect to the specific taxpayer making the request and the specific proposed transaction

Aug 7 2018
Form T1135 Foreign Income

Form T1135 Foreign Income Verification Statement must be filed if you, your corporation, trust or partnership, owned or held foreign property with a cost amount of more than $100,000 at any time in the year even if some or all of the property was sold before the year of the year. The form is

Sep 24 2019
Receipt Bank

If you would like to spend less time organizing your records and more time growing your business, you should automate your document retention with Receipt Bank. Receipt Bank is a website application that extracts key information from your invoices and receipts and publishes it directly into Quickbooks Online (QBO). Integrates with QBO Some of the