Individual and Personal Tax Filing Services

If you are a Canadian citizen, you are likely required to file a personal tax return each year. Any individual who makes money in Canada has personal tax obligations to the CRA.

Individual and personal tax filing differs from person to person - no two tax returns look alike. The requirements, calculations, and tax credits differ between provinces and territories, and your lifestyle and career add their own unique rules to your tax return. Tax regulations and deduction eligibility can change each year, and it can be difficult to stay up to date on Canada’s tax compliancy legislation.

However, all that doesn’t mean that filing your income tax needs to be endlessly complicated.

The tax accountants at Accountor CPA work with you to understand your specific needs and unique situations. Sometimes, an action as simple as the order in which you make investment withdrawals or large purchases can have drastic impacts on your personal tax return. We closely follow existing and proposed tax legislation to determine how it could affect your financial goals.

We ensure you have the necessary required documents, find tax credits you are eligible for, and meet all necessary deadlines so you get your personal tax filing done quickly - and accurately.

How can Accountor CPA help with your personal tax filing this year?

Individual and Personal Tax Filing Services

Personal tax filing is rarely as simple as filling in one form and being done. Our personal taxes touch on every aspect of our lives - employment, family structure, property ownership, investments, expenses, education, and more.

At Accountor CPA, we understand the importance of offering customizable and scalable personal tax filing services. We analyze the “what if?” scenarios to determine the best tax credits to apply for and the optimal ways to mitigate your tax burden and fulfil your tax obligations.

Our CRA personal tax filing services include:

• Individual income tax and benefits returns for individuals
• Income tax returns for couples and families
• Income tax services for students
• Private tax preparation for self-employed persons
• Personal and business tax preparing for individuals with foreign income, investment income, and/or rental income
• Personal tax return services for new immigrants or emigrants from Canada
• Non-resident income tax services
• Personal tax consulting and advising for non-residents and dual residents of Canada
• Income tax preparation services for deceased individuals
• Back filing personal income tax
• Voluntary Tax Disclosure and Tax Appeals
• Filing amendments as necessary
• Liaising with CRA and other officials as necessary
• Individual tax planning
• Tax compliance
• Asset protection
• Integration of small business taxes to drive efficiencies
• Providing personal tax advice and consulting throughout the year for you and your family

What is the Personal Tax Filing Deadline?

The personal tax filing due date for the previous year’s taxes is April 30th. As long as you file and pay any tax owed by then, you will not incur any penalties or interest. If April 30th falls on a weekend, the official due date is pushed to the following business day.

If you, your spouse, or your common law partner are self-employed, you have until June 15th to file your tax returns, however, any balance owed must still be paid by April 30th. To avoid incurring interest or penalties on your tax owed, it is advised to complete your self-employed tax return by April 30th.

Have you missed your personal tax filing deadline? A tax accountant can help you file as soon as possible to minimize the late filing penalties.

Personal Tax Late Filing Penalty

The biggest benefit of working with an experienced tax accountant for personal tax filing is that you meet your deadlines and can avoid penalties and interest.

If you miss your deadline and file your personal tax return late, the CRA charges a late filing penalty of five percent of your balance owed, plus 1% for each month the return is late. This fee is added to the compound daily interest that begins accruing on the balance beginning on its due date.

If you are concerned about being able to pay your tax on time, it is still always recommended to file your paperwork by the due date. That way, an individual will only be charged interest on the amount owed, as opposed to interest and late filing penalties. In certain situations, the CRA can provide extensions for payment or other concessions that may help an individual. Your tax accountant can help you navigate these options.

Personal Tax Online Filing

For personal tax filing, we prefer to use virtual filing systems to minimize the risk of error and ensure full tax compliancy. With regulations and tax legislation changing year on year, completing individual tax filing online ensures these updates are automatically included in all our clients’ tax returns.

Most taxpayers in Canada can file their individual tax return online through NetFile. When you use NetFile, you do not need to mail anything to the CRA directly and you are also able to receive your tax refund or pay your tax owed much more quickly, allowing you to plan your finances with greater ease.

Not all individual tax returns qualify for NetFile. Individuals who have gone bankrupt, non-residents, or those with an address outside of Canada may not be eligible. See the full list of restrictions at Canada Revenue Agency.

What Personal Tax Filing Software Is Best?

The best personal tax filing software depends on the person. There are many personal tax filing software programs available on the market with different price tags. Some are free to use, which can seem appealing until you discover your tax return is too complicated for their options. Some come with a hefty price tag that have options the average person or family will never use.

At Accountor CPA, we are dedicated to providing customizable and fully scalable personal tax filing services that suit your needs right now. If your tax return becomes more complex in the future, from adding dependents, being eligible for more tax credits, changing your career, or expanding your investments, we update your services to reflect this.

We use many types of tax filing software depending our clients’ needs and will always use the software that best corresponds to your unique personal tax filing needs.

Benefits of Personal and Individual Tax Filing Online

How can Accountor CPA’s personal income tax online filing services improve your financial control? There are a number of benefits to working with a CPA over filing your own income taxes.

• Reduce the overall taxes and costs you pay
• Find eligible tax credits you may have missed
• Get higher tax refunds and maximize your earnings
• Minimize the risk of making errors in your tax return
• Avoid missing deadlines for filing and payment
• Use the benefits of our state-of-the-art tax preparation software
• Income tax planning and analysis to find the optimal scenario for your tax return
• Get financial planning and custom tax strategies for you and your family
• Get advice about how major financial decisions will affect your income tax at year-end
• In the event of an audit, have the support of a personal tax CPA to liaise with the Canadian Revenue Agency

Most importantly, working with tax accountant to meet your individual tax filing requirements removes the stress that can come with tax filing yourself each year. We take away the stress, the headaches, and the confusion, and replace it with peace of mind.

Individual Tax Filing Forms and Requirements

You are required to file an individual income tax return if:

• You owe tax to the CRA
• You are self employed and have to pay CPP premiums or EI premiums
• You and your spouse/common law partner want to split your pension earnings
• You participated in the Home Buyer’s Plan or Lifelong Learning Plan and have repayments oweing
• You disposed of capital property
• You have to repay Old Age Security or EI Benefits
• You received a CWB advance payment in the tax year
• The CRA has sent you a Request to File or a Demand to File
• You are eligible for tax credits

If you meet any of these requirements, you will have to file a personal tax return.

The specific forms that are required for personal tax filing differ depending on the province you reside in and the tax credits you are eligible for. Below are example individual tax filing forms for a return in Ontario.

Work With the Personal Tax Filing Experts

Individual and personal tax filing is a pain point for people across Canada year after year. It doesn’t have to be this way!

The team of CPAs (Chartered Professional Accountants), tax experts, and financial professionals at Accountor CPA help you meet your tax deadlines, minimize your tax burden, and fulfil your tax obligations - without the headaches.

Keep more of your hard earned money and self employed revenue for you and your family’s future and leave the personal tax filing to us.

Contact Accountor CPA for a free consultation of your personal income taxes and learn how they can be used to help achieve your financial goals.