When it comes tax time it is not a topic that most people like to think about. Yet, often you will see the pop up tax return offices flowing with individuals who just can’t wait to get their taxes done. Are these good Canadian citizens who feel it is their duty to pay their tax debt to their country?
Actually in most cases these are the individuals who have a very simplified tax return that needs completing, and more often than not they know they are going to get a few dollars tax return, and they want it as soon as they can get it.
For those that are not in this situation they often end up making some common mistakes regarding their taxes that just creates more hassles for getting this task completed.
Mistake #1 Not waiting for all the T4s
With the economy the way it is many people end up working several jobs throughout the year, or hold down a few part time jobs. They often forget that they will need their T4’s for the applicable tax year. They end up doing their taxes without having received all of these, perhaps because they forgot about one place they worked at for a short time, or they figure they can just put it in next year. Then sadly after finally get their tax return done and over with, they receive notification from the CRA they didn’t receive the proper T4. What many people don’t realize is that employers are responsible for sending a copy of all the T4s they are responsible for to the CRA as well.
Mistake #2: Incomplete information
Being as tax time is an unpleasant time many tax payers try to avoid thinking about it as much as they can, and tend to put off gathering all of the information they are going to need to do their taxes properly. This creates a high risk of missing some important information that may be pertinent and for your benefit when it comes to your tax return. For example, knowing what your property tax is or receipts for your rent. Although you don’t have to submit these you do have to keep them on hand in case the CRA wants to see them, and you need the accurate figures for these to put on your tax return.
Mistake #3: Leaving it till the last minute
It is not uncommon to put off doing something that you don’t like. Completing the yearly tax return is one task that most people really have a distaste for it. Not only because they may owe money but because preparing the tax return is not all that easy of a job. Ideally especially if you are a business you want to have your accountant prepare your taxes for you as early as possible. One good reason for doing this is because often this expert can give you some good ideas for tax planning. You want to get these implemented as early as possible for the current year. If you leave your taxes till the deadline you are almost halfway through the current year and have lost the advantage of these tax tips for part of the year already.
Call us now here at Toronto Accountant and let us help you avoid these common tax mistakes, and also put your tax task behind you for another year.
