Frequently Asked Questions-Canadian Taxes
What is the filing due date for my 2019 personal tax return?
Generally, as an employee, your personalt tax return for 2019 has to be filed on or before April 30, 2020. When the due date falls on a Saturday, a Sunday, or a public holiday recognized by the CRA, your return is considered on time if the CRA receives it or it is postmarked on the next business day.
If you or your spouse or common-law partner carried on a business in 2019, our return for 2019 has to be filed on or before June 15, 2020. However, if you have a balance owing for 2019, you have to pay it on or before April 30, 2020.
If you do not file your return on time, your goods and services tax/harmonized sales tax (including any related provincial credits), Canada child benefit payments (including related provincial or territorial payments), and old age security benefit payments may be delayed or stopped.
What are the deadlines for deceased tax filers?
After a person has died, his legal representative must submit the individual’s final tax return. If the individual died between Jan. 1 and Oct. 31 of the previous tax year, his final return is due on April 30. However, if he died between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31, his return is due six months after the date of his death.
For example, if you are filing a return for your deceased mother who passed away on Nov. 15, her final return is due on May 15.
If the deceased person or his spouse or common-law partner was self-employed, the due date is June 15. However, again, the CRA begins assessing tax on any balances owed on April 30.
What is my corporate tax deadline？
For tax purposes, corporations can have fiscal year-ends that are not December 31st.
Corporate tax return filings are due 6 months after the fiscal year-end.
The due dates for balances owing are earlier than the due dates for actually filing the tax returns. The short version is that taxes owing are due 2 months after the fiscal year-end.
However, there is an exception that is very common. Corporate taxes are due 3 months after the year-end if the following criteria apply:
- The corporation is a Canadian Controlled Private Corporation.
- The corporation claimed the small business deduction for the current or previous year.
- The corporation and all associated corporations (if applicable) had taxable income less than $500,000 in the previous year.
The exception noted above is very common, so there is a good chance your corporate taxes are due 3 months after the year-end.
What are the GST/HST Deadlines?
There are a few common scenarios for GST return due dates:
Monthly Filers
When GST returns are filed monthly, the return and amounts owing are due 1 month after the end of the reporting period. For example, a June 1-30 filing period means the return is due July 31st.
Quarterly Filers
When GST returns are filed quarterly, the return and amounts owing are due 1 month after the end of the reporting period. For example, a July 1 – September 30 filing period means the return is due October 31st.
Annual Filers
When GST returns are filed annually by a business that is not an individual, the return and amounts owing are due 3 months after the reporting period end date. For example, a July 1, 2017 – June 30, 2018 filing period means the return is due September 30, 2018.
Individuals who file GST annually and have December 31 as their fiscal and tax year-ends have slightly different due dates. They mirror the tax due dates for self-employed individuals. Due dates in 2019 look like this:
- GST owing is due April 30, 2019
- Filing of the GST returns is due June 15, 2019
What are my payroll deductions deadlines?
As a business owner, your payroll remittances are due based on the type of remitter your business is, and your cheque date:
If you are a new employer, or your avery monthly withholding amount two years ago was less than $15,000, you are a regular remitter.
The CRA needs to receive your remittance before the 15th day of the month after the month you made deductions.
For example, if you paid your employees (the cheque date) on January 2nd, you would need to ensure the CRA receives your remittances February 15th or earlier.
Threshold 1 (Accelerated remitter):
You are Threshold 1 if your business’s total average monthly withholding amount two years ago was in the range of $15,000 to $49,999.99.
- If your cheque date is before 16th, your remittance is due by the 25th day of the same month. For example, if your employees are paid January 5th, your remittance is due the January 25th.
- If your cheque date is on the 16th or after, your remittance is due by the 10th day of the next month. For example, if your employees are paid January 17th, your remittance is due February 10th.
Threshold 2 (also known as an Accelerated remitter):
You are Threshold 2 if your business’s average monthly withholding amount two years ago was $50,000 or more.
If you are Threshold 2, you have four times due dates in one month. Please refer to CRA website for more details.
What are the tax instalments deadlines?
if your net tax owing will be $3,000 or more, you have to pay income tax instalments.
For individal, if you make instalment payments on your income tax, your payments are due four times throughout the year on the 15th of March, June, September, and December.
For Business, instalment payments are due on the last day of every complete month of your tax year, or of every complete quarter if you are an eligible small CCPC. The first payment is due one month or one quarter less a day from the starting day of your tax year. The rest of the payments are due on the same day of each month or each quarter that follows.
What are the rental expenses I can deduct for my rental property?
You can deduct any reasonable expenses you incur to earn rental income. The two basic types of expenses are current expenses and capital expenses.
The following is a list of expenses that are deductible:
- Advertising
- Insurance
- Management and administration fees
- Office expenses
- Prepaid expenses
- Professional fees (includes legal and accounting fees)
- Property taxes
- Repairs and maintenance
- Salaries, wages, and benefits (including employer’s contributions)
- Travel
- Utilities
- Interest and bank charges
- Motor vehicle expenses
Do I need to report capital gains on sale of my principal residence?
When a principal residence is sold, the gain is not taxable if it has been the person’s principal residence for the whole time it has been owned. This is because the principal residence exemption eliminates the capital gain.
In years prior to 2016, there was no need to report the sale on your tax return if the entire gain was eliminated. However, on October 3, 2016 the federal government announced that, starting with the 2016 tax year, the sale of a principal residence must be reported on Schedule 3 of the tax return, in order to claim the principal residence exemption. This change applies also for deemed dispositions, such as a deemed disposition due to change in use of the property.
There is a penalty of up to $8,000 for a late-filing penalty. If you fail to report the sale of your principal residence at all, you may be taxed on the capital gain.
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Frequently Asked Questions-US Taxes
What is the filing due date for my 2018 and 2019 personal tax return?
Tax Day for the 2018 tax year was April 15, 2019 (unless you lived in Maine or Massachusetts, where it was April 17, 2019).
Tax Day for the 2019 tax year is April 15, 2020.
Filing after the deadline can cost you. The IRS can assess a failure-to-pay penalty worth up to 25% of your unpaid tax. And if your return is more than 60 days late, the IRS assesses a minimum tax penalty of $210 or 100% of the tax you owe, whichever is less.
With an extension, the deadline to file your tax return for the 2018 tax year is Oct. 15, 2019.
With an extension, the deadline to file your tax return for the 2019 tax year is Oct. 15, 2020.
How do I file taxes for the deceased?
If you have a family member who died in 2018, you might be required to file a return for them.
A legal entity called an estate is automatically created at the time of death to file a tax return, even for deceased individuals with no estate prior to death. On the estate tax return (IRS Form 1041), report any income the estate got after the date of death. This includes income earned from bank accounts or stock while the estate is being managed through a process called probate.
If the deceased doesn’t owe taxes but had tax withheld, someone must file a tax return for the deceased to get a refund.