May 1, 2023, marks the deadline for the 2022 tax year, as the end of April fell on a weekend this year.
Though Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) workers remain on strike Monday, the work stoppage has not affected deadlines for filing your taxes.
If you’re reading this on Monday and haven’t filed your income taxes yet — you’ve still got time!
But if you’re not able to get your taxes before that deadline, you might not face any immediate impacts.
Small business owners, the self-employed and their spouses, for instance, have until June 15 to file their taxes for the previous year. The one caveat here is that for those who are self-employed but owe money to the CRA, they still must pay by the May 1 deadline.
Individuals who miss the tax deadline and owe money to the CRA will be hit with a late-filing penalty.
The penalty is equal to five per cent of whatever you owe on your 2022 taxes, plus an additional one per cent per month you’re late after the filing deadline.
In addition, the amount that you owe to the CRA begins to grow with compounding interest on the first day after the deadline. Even if you can’t pay this amount, the agency recommends you file by the deadline anyways to avoid the aforementioned late-filing penalty.
If you’re unable to pay the penalties or interest on your amount owing for reasons outside your control, you can also request the CRA waive or cancel these fees.
When you miss the deadline for filing your taxes but the CRA owes you money — meaning you would get a tax refund — you do not suffer any penalties or start accumulating fees to pay back to the agency.
But beyond the monetary impacts, failing to file your taxes can affect your eligibility to claim certain benefits in future years and can result in criminal charges for tax evasion.
You’re also just missing out on money you might get back from common benefits, such as the GST credit, which is set to be doubled again this year for qualifying Canadians.
Interest will not accumulate on the money you’re owed from the CRA — so if you want to make use of your money, there’s always an incentive to get your taxes filed by the deadline.
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