June has begun, which means the extended tax deadline is officially here for Canadians.
Due to COVID-19, the Canada Revenue Agency shifted the deadline to file taxes to June 1, while the deadline to pay any amounts owed has been extended to September 1, 2020.
As there have been significant delays in processing paper returns, the CRA recommends filing taxes online and registering for direct deposit to get refunds faster.
Meanwhile, a national tax specialist is offering advice to those still needing to file their taxes.
Gerry Vittoratos of UFile says having a copy of the previous year’s return plus the notice of assessment handy is helpful.
He says sometimes there are “carryforwards.” Vittoratos explains that someone’s income may not have been high enough to claim the year previous; for example, someone with tuition credit that could carry forward.
Another scenario could be if somebody had capital losses in previous years and did not have capital gains, meaning they were not able to use them.
He says these amounts can reduce tax owing if they apply.