The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) would like to thank you for helping us provide Canadians with important information that they need to file their income tax and benefit returns every year.
Filing deadline
We would like to remind you that the tax-filing deadline for most individuals is April 30, 2022. However, since April 30, 2022, falls on a Saturday, returns 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
Canadians have until June 15, 2022, to file their return if they or their spouse or common law-partner are self-employed.
Payment deadline
For Canadians who have a balance owing, their payment is due on April 30, 2022.
If they or their spouse or common law-partner are self-employed, their payment is still due on April 30, 2022.
Since April 30, 2022, falls on a Saturday, in both of the above situations, their 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 they filed their 2020 income tax and benefit return and qualified for interest relief, they 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.
Payment options
Canadians have a variety of options to pay their taxes online:
- Through their financial institution’s online or telephone banking service
- Using the My Payment service. This service lets them make payments to the CRA with their Visa® Debit, Debit MasterCard®, or Interac® Online card from a participating financial institution. They can access My Payment from My Account or MyCRA
- Using My Account and MyCRA to:
- set up a pre-authorized debit
- pay an overdue amount or make instalment payments
- make pre-authorized payments from their Canadian bank account to the CRA
- By credit card, PayPal, or Interac e-Transfer, through a third-party service provider
They can also make payments in person. Options include paying:
- At any Canada Post outlet using cash or a debit card with a QR code you can create using My Account or MyCRA
- At a Canadian financial institution with a remittance voucher
Please note, Canadians can still make a payment by cheque without paying any penalty imposed by the CRA. Under proposed legislation, tax payments in excess of $10,000 should be made electronically/online, unless the payer or remitter cannot reasonably remit or pay the amount in that manner. Failure to comply with the requirement, absent an acceptable “best efforts” argument, would result in a $100 penalty for each failure.
Reminder, supporting legislation is still not in place. This means that the fee mentioned above will not be issued to taxpayers who decide to pay by cheque this tax-filing season.
Other items still awaiting legislation
The draft legislation that includes the following credits has not yet received Parliamentary approval. We still encourage Canadians who are eligible to claim these credits to file their 2021 income tax and benefit returns on time.
Support for farmers – Beginning in the 2021 year, the Government of Canada proposes a new refundable amount, the Return of Fuel Charge Proceeds to Farmers Tax Credit, as a means to return a portion of the fuel charge proceeds from the federal carbon pollution pricing system directly to farming businesses in provinces that do not currently have a system that meets the federal requirements. These designated provinces are Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and Saskatchewan. The credit amount is proportional to the amount of eligible farming expenses attributable to the designated provinces. For 2021, if you’re a farmer in a designated province with eligible farming expenses of $25,000 or more, you can expect to receive a credit of $1.47 per $1,000 in eligible farming expenses increasing to $1.73 in 2022. Form T2043, Return of Fuel Charge Proceeds to Farmers Tax Credit, would need to be completed in order to calculate the amount of the credit.
Educator School Supply Tax Credit – To support teachers and early childhood educators in Canada, the government proposes to expand and enrich the Eligible Educator School Supply Tax Credit. The expansion of this credit will allow teachers and early childhood educators to claim a 25 per cent refundable tax credit, an increase from the previous 15 percent, for purchases up to $1,000 on eligible teaching supplies bought during the tax year. The government also proposes to expand the list of eligible teaching supplies to include electronic devices such as graphing calculators, digital timers, and tools for remote learning. These enhancements would take effect starting in the 2021 tax year.
Once the legislation has received Parliamentary approval, the CRA will process the returns with the above-mentioned refundable credits.
Northern residents deductions – Northern residents deductions are for those who permanently live in a prescribed northern or intermediate zone for a continuous period of at least six months, beginning or ending in the tax year. The residency deductions are based on how many days Northerners have lived in a zone during the tax year.
Note: In Budget 2021, the Government of Canada announced changes to the travel component of the Northern residents deductions, that allow eligible taxpayers to claim the travel component even if their employer did not provide taxable travel benefits to them.
Since this measure is a change to an existing deduction, as opposed to a new refundable tax credit or benefit, the CRA is administering the revised deduction based on the proposed legislation. The T2222, Northern Residents Deductions for 2021, has been revised to contain the proposed legislation. Therefore, since the CRA is administrating this deduction, the taxpayer will receive their Notice of Assessment as usual.
Stay connected
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