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TAX TIP It's tax time! You've got questions? We've got answers

Sunday, 27 March 2022 12:00.PM
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Employees of the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) are working hard to answer questions you may have about your tax affairs. We want to help you file your income tax and benefit return and ensure you receive the benefits and credits you're entitled to.

To help you, these are answers to the top questions we're asked at tax time. You can also check out our questions and answers about filing your taxes page for more answers to common questions.

The tax-filing deadline for most individuals is April 30, 2022
Since April 30, 2022, falls on a Saturday, your return will be considered filed on time in either of the following situations:

• we receive it on or before May 2, 2022
• it is postmarked on or before May 2, 2022

You have until June 15, 2022, to file your tax return if you or your spouse or common law-partner are self-employed.

The payment deadline is April 30, 2022
If you have a balance owing, your payment is due on April 30, 2022.

If you or your spouse or common law-partner are self-employed, your payment is still due on April 30, 2022.

Since April 30, 2022, falls on a Saturday, in both of the above situations, your payment will be considered paid on time if we receive it, or it is processed at a Canadian financial institution, on or before May 2, 2022.

If you filed your 2020 income tax and benefit return and qualified for interest relief, you have until April 30, 2022, to pay any outstanding income tax debt for the 2020 tax year to avoid future interest charges. This applies to the tax owing for the 2020 tax year only, and not for previous tax years.

We encourage you to file your taxes before the deadline. Doing so will ensure your benefit and credit payments are not interrupted. Even if you owe tax, don't risk having your benefit and credit payments interrupted by not filing. If you cannot pay your balance owing, we can work with you on a payment arrangement.

Learn about your taxes
This year, we've launched a new online learning tool to help you learn about taxes and empower you to do your taxes on your own. The free online learning tool provides you with lessons that help you understand what taxes are, why we pay them, how to read your pay stubs and income tax slips, and finally, how to do your taxes. Following each lesson, you can test yourself with exercises and quizzes. For more information, go to Learn about your taxes.

How to protect yourself from scams and fraud
The safety and security of Canadians and their information is a priority for the CRA. Being a victim of a scam, fraud, or identity theft can result in significant financial and emotional effects.

Know when and how we might contact you. The Be Scam Smart page provides information on the ways in which we may contact you, including by:

• phone;
• email;
• mail;
• text message.

We also provide information on securing CRA accounts and encourage you to:

• Use unique and complex passwords. Always use unique passwords for your CRA and online banking accounts. Do not reuse the same password for different systems.
• Create a PIN. We suggest you set up a personal identification number (PIN) in My Account or have one of our contact centre agents help you set up your PIN. Your PIN will be used to help confirm your identity on future calls with us.
• Sign up for email notifications. Sign up for "Email notifications" in My Account. You will receive an email if your address or direct deposit information has been changed on our records. These notifications can act as an early warning for potential fraudulent activity. Effective February 2022, we require that you provide an email address to access My Account. This will allow us to inform you in real time of changes made to your account.
• Monitor your account for suspicious activity. Check your online CRA accounts regularly for any suspicious activity. Look for changes to your address and direct deposit information that you did not make or request. Also, please watch for benefit applications made for you. It is important that any of these changes that you did not make are reported to us right away.

How to get your refund, benefit and credit payments faster
The CRA encourages you to sign up for direct deposit and to file online. Doing so will allow you to get any refund or credit you are eligible for faster. The CRA also encourages you to sign up for My Account. It is the fastest and easiest way to view and manage your tax and benefit information. If you own a business, you can also sign up for My Business Account.

Our service standard is to issue your notice of assessment (NOA) within two weeks of receiving your return online. Due to COVID-19 delays, the CRA may take 10 to 12 weeks to process paper returns. The CRA will process them in the order they are received. Canadians who file online and who are signed up for direct deposit may get their refund in as little as eight business days.

Our Get ready to do your taxes page has information on online filing, deadlines, and other helpful links.

How do you register for My Account?
To register for My Account, go to canada.ca/my-cra-account and select a convenient option for you.

You will need to provide:

• your social insurance number;
• your date of birth;
• your current postal or zip code;
• an amount you entered on your income tax and benefit return (the amount requested changes, so it could be from the current tax year or the previous one).

To have full access to My Accountt, you need to enter the CRA security code we issue to you after completing the first step of the registration process.

How do you register for direct deposit?
You have several options to register for direct deposit:

• Financial institutions – You can sign up through many Canadian financial institutions. This includes banks, credit unions, and trust companies.
• My Account – You can sign up yourself if you are registered for My Account. My Account can help you quickly and easily manage your tax affairs online.
• MyCRA mobile web app – You can start or update direct deposit information using MyCRA.
• By phone – You can sign up by calling the CRA at 1-800-959-8281. You will need your:
-- social insurance number;
-- full name and current address, including postal code;
-- date of birth;
-- most recent income tax and benefit return as well as information about the most recent payments you received from the CRA;
-- banking information: three-digit financial institution number, five-digit transit number, and your account number.

Visit our direct deposit page for more registration information.

Where do you get your tax slips?
Your employer or other payers prepare your tax slips for the filing year. You should have received your T4 slips from your employer by the end of February. You may get slips from other payers, such as pension providers and financial institutions. If you don't have all of your 2021 slips, ask your employer or payer for a copy. If you register for My Account, you may have access to online copies of your slips. If you're still missing information, use your pay stubs or statements to estimate your income to report.

If you're looking for slips from previous years, you can get them through My Account.

If you received benefits issued by the CRA in 2021, such as the Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB), Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB), or Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit (CRCB), you should have received a T4A information slip in the mail by the end of February. Residents of Quebec will receive a T4A information slip and an RL-1 slip.

T4A information slips from the Government of Canada for COVID-19-related benefits will also be available online if you're registered for My Account and have full access. To have full access to My Account, you need to enter the CRA security code we issued to you after completing the first step of the registration process.

Information slips, including information for COVID-19-related benefits, are also available through the Auto-fill my return service in certified tax filing software. This service automatically fills in parts of an income tax and benefit return with information that the CRA has on file. To use the service, you must be registered for My Account and have full access.

For more information, visit our COVID-19 benefits and your taxes web page.

What is your balance owing or where is your refund?
You can easily find your balance owing or refund amount by signing in to My Account or the MyCRA mobile web app.

If you have a refund, you will also find how it was refunded to you, the date it was sent, and the amount refunded.

How can you get a copy of your notice of assessment or reassessment?
The fastest way to get your NOA is through the Express NOA service. When you use Express NOA, you can view your NOA in your NETFILE certified software, right after your return has been received and processed by the CRA. The NOA is available in certified software right after the CRA has received and processed your return. In most cases, this is seconds after filing. To use the Express NOA service, you must be registered for My Account and have full access.

Once you're registered for My Account, you'll be able to view and print information about an assessment or reassessment of your income tax and benefit return. You can view NOAs for the current year, as well as the previous 11 years.

What are email notifications?
You can choose to receive your CRA mail online through My Account and get email notifications when you have new mail to view. You will be prompted to register for email notifications the next time you sign in to My Account or the My CRA mobile web app. You can also do this by entering your email address on your income tax and benefit return. If you want to receive your CRA mail online, make sure your correspondence preference is set to "Electronic mail". Through the service, you can receive an email when you have mail to view, such as your notice of assessment or reassessment and other CRA mail, and will receive an email if there have been changes to important information in your account, such as your address or direct deposit information.

Again, we'd like to remind you that as of February 2022, you are required to provide your email address to use My Account. These notifications act as an early warning about potential fraudulent activity. If you have not yet signed up for "Email notifications", we encourage you to do so right away.

How to get quick answers to your questions
If you need a quick answer to a question, you can use Charlie the chatbot. Charlie will help you find the information you need to file your income tax and benefit return! You can find Charlie on the CRA homepage and many other of our web pages on Canada.ca.

SOURCE: Canada Revenue Agency

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