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The Canada Revenue Agency does not automatically treat you fairly. There are times when you cannot help but file a CRA (Canada Revenue Agency) tax objection. It is your right to speak up when there is an obvious injustice. If you keep quiet the CRA will demand an unfairly large amount of money from you.
The role of the Canada Revenue Agency is to administer and enforce a system of tax laws made by the parliament. But when the interpretation of the law by CRA is impractical according to the taxpayer they can file a CRA (Canada Revenue Agency) tax objection.
This is the only way to challenge the decision of the tax collector. Your CRA (Canada Revenue Agency) tax objection may have a chance to work in your favor if the agency auditor misinterpreted some laws. On the other hand you might just be forced to pay the extra income tax that you dislike. This is particularly if the Income Tax Act law, as it applies to your CRA (Canada Revenue Agency) tax objection, was exercised correctly.
This may not leave you a better choice than to pay the extra amount of tax. This will definitely be a puzzle you can’t solve alone. A person like a tax consultant can be extremely helpful in your case. They can understand the interpretation that was applied when determining the amounts you owe the taxman. Should there be grounds for sending your CRA (Canada Revenue Agency) tax objection the tax consultant will tell you.
The tax consultant can figure out the discrepancies in your tax returns. For this reason you might want to use a reputable tax firm. By so doing you will be able to save money and get your matter solved. A CRA (Canada Revenue Agency) tax objection notice should be done in writing in order to have some tangible records.
Since most of the tax appeal matter is complicated we would recommend letting a tax consultant handle it. The notice of objection filings should be done within ninety days since you received the notice of assessment or reassessment. This is outlined in the Income Tax Act, subsection 244(14).
Filing the Notice of Objection form prior to the deadline is very important or else you will lose your right to appeal via the CRA (Canada Revenue Agency) tax objection. Six to twelve months waiting period should be expected after your notice is received.
Experienced tax consultant will get the best outcome for your tax objection. The Appeal Officer who reviews your CRA (Canada Revenue Agency) tax objection form is not involved in the Auditing process that leads to the issuance of the notice of assessment or re-assessment. It is therefore important to present your objection in a logical manner to increase the probability that the tax object result is in your favor.
To increase your odds of winning a tax appeal, it is important to work with a very experienced tax professional who can effectively assist you in navigating through the CRA appeal maze. At CRA Tax Rescue, we have the knowledge and experience to handle tax appeal of all kinds, be it a personal income tax appeal, be it a business income tax appeal, be it a GST/HST appeal, we have done them all.
So give us a call at 866.611.6482 or complete the contact form to book your Quick and Free meeting today!
Read MoreNo one is going to be happy when they hear that they are subject to tax audits, but knowing that there are people available to offer tax audit help will provide some comfort. It is easy to make mistakes and this can lead to issues with the CRA so making sure that you have all the information in place and the forms are correctly filled in will make life a lot easier.
Paying for tax audit help may not be something that you want to do but when the cost of this is considered against the penalties that the CRA can levy then it is clearly the sensible option. It can be soul destroying trying to work out what you need to do when you are about to be audited and simply having someone to talk to and get advice from can make the world of difference. Tax audit help is not just a matter of working around the law but also about making sure it is a gentle process – or as gentle as possible.
When you are being audited, you are bound to be stressed and you will be aware that the people carrying out the audit will not be looking for ways to save you money. They will want to make sure that they are able to come to a figure that means you pay as much as possible within the law. Tax audit help will make the figure as low as possible for you, but again it has to be within the law.
When you have tax audit help there will be very few times when you have to deal with the auditors since the responsibility can be passed on to a tax professional. It will leave you free to get on with your life, and carry on with your job. This will always be important, but even more so if you are running your own business.
The professionals will know the best ways to deal with an auditor and will be able to deal with them calmly. They will take the tax audit help they are giving you seriously, and will be able to stay calm and focused when faced with decisions or suggestions they don’t agree with. Their calmness will make the process quicker and much more pleasant.
Just because you have tax audit help, it does not mean that you can avoid the auditors altogether. They may want additional information and it may have to be in writing. The tax professionals helping you will be able to assist in drafting the reply so as it is both accurate and in your best interest. All your questions will be answered and you will be helped to understand why the specific questions are being asked. It would be best to avoid a tax audit altogether, but if it cannot be avoided, do not go into it without tax audit help.
Read MoreWhen you face a CRA tax audit, the best kind of tax audit help that you can get is in the preparation for the audit. It is not a good idea to go facing auditor alone unrepresented. It is like going into a battle unarmed and unprotected.
An experienced tax consultant becomes your best defense against the unpredictable queries of a CRA auditor. More often than not, a CRA audit will bring with it an auditor’s personal biases and his or her own perspectives on your tax returns. It is important on your part to seek tax audit help from a reliable tax consultant who can stand by your side and show you your rights to go through a fair tax audit.
Experienced tax consultants are perfectly placed to offer you tax audit help as they are trained and have the necessary expertise in Canadian tax system and the internal policies of the CRA. They are expert in fighting for your taxpayer’s rights. They will make sure that the tax audit is conducted on a fair basis and without you getting intimidated and bullied.
Over the years, CRA Tax Rescue and its affiliated group companies have helped many businesses and individuals in surviving their audits. No audit is easy. Get professional help is your best course of actions in self-protection from the attack by the CRA.
Got an audit notice? Delay no further. Call us at 866.611.6482 or complete the contact form to your right to book a Quick and Free meeting today!
Read MoreQuite often you will be subject to a CRA audit because they feel there is a problem with the tax return you have filed. It does not mean there is a lot of trouble to come, but it will not always be easy and it will be hard to determine what has triggered the audit. It could be something very simple, so go through the account you put in and see if anything stands out. As they compare year on year they will be looking for inconsistencies and this could be the reason for the CRA audit.
It could be that you are claiming to have earned vastly less than you have in previous years. If this is genuinely the case then there is no need to worry, but the CRA will have details of your salary so can check. If it is found to be a incorrect and the CRA audit picks this up, you can be fined for making these false claims. Repeated offences will lead to greater penalties so always take care. If you are concerned that you have made a mistake, you can use the services of a tax consultant or company who will be able to guide you through the process.
It could be that there is not a full list of investments listed and the interest you have received has not been declared. You also need to give details about payments that are made towards your retirement. If you are running your own business you need to make sure that the figures are accurate and if there are regular losses, there may become an issue surrounding the business statements you submit. A CRA audit may not be held if the business is new, but losses year on year will be questioned.
When it comes to residency you need to pay taxes in Canada even if you are not living there all year. It does not matter whether your removal from the country is holiday or business related, you will need to pay tax if you are using a Canadian bank account or have a home there. A CRA audit will always pick up on spending habits and this will be when you are spending a lot. If there is suddenly a lot being charged to expenses there will be the need to explain, as will expenditure that seems to be high for your income bracket. There will be the suspicion that you are making money in addition to the salary that you are declaring and this could trigger a CRA audit.
When you work with a professional to fill in your form you are more likely to do it correctly and avoid the issues that can trigger a CRA audit. It can be easy to claim for something you should not and this is going to land you in trouble. Even certain expenses will come under scrutiny, so all receipts should be kept so as you can prove that the expenditure occurred. There is nothing wrong with admitting that you need help and hiring someone to help with the forms can help you avoid a CRA audit.
Read MoreWhen you are not paying your taxes on time and ignoring the notice letters from the CRA, you may find that your assets are seized for non-payment of overdue taxes. The first asset that will be affected is your bank account. The simplest reason for a CRA frozen bank account is to grab your attention. The CRA frozen bank account is not because of the amount of the tax dues that you owe the Revenue Agency but it is mainly because you have been ignoring the demand to pay notices that have been sent to you. It also happens when you have not filed your taxes for more than one year in the past and when the CRA feels that you have not been cooperating with them.
How do you deal with a CRA frozen bank account?
It would be in your best interest to seek help from professional tax consultants and deal with a CRA frozen bank account as fast as you can. Once your bank account has been frozen and you still continue to ignore the demands of the CRA, it is likely that other assets may also be seized. You may even find a lien on your house or a wage garnishment notice can be issued against you to your employer.
Your tax consultants could guide you on how to go about handling a CRA frozen bank account. There are several ways you can adopt to tackle such an event. You could open a new bank account as a backup arrangement so that your creditors would not make an attempt to seize your account there. If the CRA does not have the knowledge about your other bank accounts, it will not notify those bankers.
Another direct method is to contact the CRA collector and try to establish the reason behind the CRA frozen bank account. If the issue concerns missed tax returns, then the CRA will most likely agree to release the funds in your bank account when you consent to file the concerned tax returns within a stipulated period of time. It could be arranged as an understanding between the CRA and you.
After a CRA frozen bank account, it is important for you to come to terms with your tax consultants and work out the amount of tax dues that you are in a position to pay or can afford to pay. CRA will only consider a payment schedule once you have exhausted all possible options for raising the money to pay the tax dues including selling off your assets or borrowing. The amount CRA requires to pay is usually too high for taxpayers to handle on a monthly basis. No agreement leads to further legal actions. Help from a tax professional who has successfully negotiated with the CRA for clients in bank freeze situation can make all the difference.
Give CRA Tax Rescue a call at 866.611.6482 or complete the contact form to book your Quick and Free meeting today!
CRA Tax Rescue – We Rescue Troubled Taxpayers! We are great at solving your tax problems.
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Voluntary disclosure program in Canada (or in short or VDP Canada) is administered by the CRA. It allows taxpayers to revise or amend their previous tax filing returns while revealing fresh information to the CRA that was not provided earlier in their tax returns. The purpose of VDP Canada is to make the taxpayers come clean and come forward on their own accord to correct their tax returns without the apprehension of any criminal prosecution. It gives them a shot at reducing the likelihood of extra penalty charges that may be applied to the tax amounts that they owe to the Canadian government.
However, it is not compulsory that once a taxpayer is accepted into VDP Canada, his or her penalty charges will not be applied. There is no guarantee for the acceptance. In few cases, the additional penalties are charged even after the application into the VDP Canada program and this is as per the discretion of the CRA. All applications that are made to the CRA in connection with the voluntary disclosure program may not necessarily be accepted. There are few requirements that have to be met for the CRA to accept the taxpayers’ voluntary disclosure so that the benefits could be applied to their returns. The benefits will be translated in terms of waiver of criminal charges and reduction of penalties. This is left totally to the discretion of the VDP Canada agent and his or her authorization. It is this agent who decides whether or not the total requirements before disclosing voluntarily have been met so that the disclosure could be declared valid.
When the CRA accepts a voluntary disclosure after it meets all the per-requisite conditions, it is deemed a valid disclosure. The taxpayer will not face prosecution and possible penalties with respect to the voluntary disclosure. All requests are treated and reviewed on their own merit. The CRA will give full explanation to the taxpayer if the relief is partially granted or if it is wholly denied.
Before making a voluntary disclosure under the VDP Canada program, it is important to take the expert advice of tax professionals. The last thing you would like to expect as a taxpayer is to be accepted into the voluntary disclosure program only to be informed that the penalty charges are going to be waived only partially or not waived in entirety. Tax consultants are in a position to guide the taxpayers as to what they can expect from the disclosure proceedings.
Sometimes, you may have to take a decision on whether it is prudent to participate in VDP Canada program in the first place. It is better to go through all issues and address your concerns as taxpayers to the professional tax consultants before taking any steps.
There could be five possibilities after a voluntary disclosure is made to the CRA:
Possible criminal prosecution charges could be waived.
Interest charges and penalties could be waived partially after an investigation.
The agent could send a notice of denial stating that the application was denied.
The agent could send the disclosed information in the voluntary disclosure to another CRA department.
An assessment could take place as a result of the disclosed information.
For many individual taxpayers and small business enterprise owners in Canada, it is prudent to be prepared to deal with the CRA concerning tax disputes. Tax problems Canada are not easily manageable. You have to depend on professional tax help. Knowing a little basics of the process of tax disputes in Canada will help you understand your rights better when you have to deal with the CRA.
The tax system in Canada is based on self-reporting. It means that every Canadian taxpayer carries the obligation to report the tax amount accurately each financial year. This is the main rationale behind the filing of the tax return on an annual basis. The CRA will process the tax returns and decide on whether it agrees or disagrees with the information that has been reported by the taxpayers. It will then provide the taxpayers with a Notice of Assessment. With the receipt of this notice, tax problems Canada will start to surface.
Disputes may take various shapes after you receive the Notice of Assessment from the CRA. It may ask for more information and audit the taxpayers to get more data concerning their tax obligations. An audit could be focused or narrowed down on micro issues or it may be a comprehensive one that reviews information about every aspect of personal finances or business transactions.
Tax problems Canada are not over with the completion of a tax audit. The CRA may decide that the tax return was accurate to begin with and it may agree with whatever that was reported on the individual tax returns. Conversely, it may disagree with whatever was reported on the tax returns. When the CRA disagrees with the taxpayers, the auditor will get a proposal letter issued outlining the position of the CRA on how it proposes to reassess the taxpayers. The current procedure is to give a thirty-day period for the taxpayers to make further submissions to the CRA auditor with respect to the proposal letter, compounding the tax problems Canada. If professional tax help is sought, the consultants will help the taxpayers in facing these tax problems Canada and they will even be able to represent their clients throughout the process of the tax audit by the CRA to make sure that the taxpayers are being treated fairly by the CRA auditor.
When the Notice of Reassessment is received by the taxpayers, it will inform them of the amount of tax that is due from them as a result of that reassessment. The date that is stamped on the Notice of Reassessment is important and it has to be noted down carefully. This is the beginning of the ninety-day appeal period. This letter contains all the information which is required by the taxpayers should they want to dispute the amount of the involved tax along with penalties and interest charges.
If there is something that the taxpayers want to dispute about, tax problems Canada continue and they have to take shape in the form of a Notice of Objection on their part. This objection notice has to be filed with the Chief of Appeals of the CRA. This has to be filed before the ninety day period from the date of the Notice of Reassessment expires.
Read MoreThe Canada Revenue Agency will not sympathize with you in every circumstance. If you have not filed your taxes returns for current year or previous years, for instance, the CRA demands to know why you have not. If your reasons are acceptable, the CRA might waive your penalty or interest amounts. It is not known to write-off unpaid taxes though. You will be required to pay your CRA late filing penalty if your Taxpayer Relief Application is rejected after a few months of thorough assessment.
The CRA late filing penalty can vary based on whether you normally report personal taxes or corporate taxes. In addition, repeated failure to file your tax return on time could cause a given form of penalty: the repeated failure to report income penalty. It is imposed on the taxpayer by the federal and provincial administrations (Quebec residents are exempted from the provincial/territorial penalty). You will be charged for this penalty if you failed to pay your current year taxes and you also did not report your taxes for three prior years. The federal and provincial or territorial government will each charge you ten percent of the unsettled amount for current year or any other previous year.
But the CRA also states that if you come out willingly and speak up about your undisclosed income it could cancel your CRA late filing penalty. If you are a non-resident of Canada, the CRA will demand the penalty for repeated failure to report income only if you are eligible to pay provincial or territorial taxes.
Another penalty that is different from the CRA late filing penalty is called the false statements or omissions penalty. If you submitted your most recent tax return for current year with omissions or false statements, you will be punished via a gross negligence penalty. You be charged a fine equal to the greater of one hundred dollars or fifty percent of the overstated or understated tax.
The penalty can be waived or cancelled however, as long as you can admit your mistake via the Voluntary Disclosures Program. If you run a big corporation, it should always file its T2 Corporation Income Tax Return on time. Failure to do so could trigger a penalty that will be applied to each month that you file your returns late for up to forty months. The CRA late filing penalty may apply if your company fails to file its Schedule 38, Part VI Tax (if applicable). The page 2 of the T2 return contains a line (line 233) that can help you identify your company as a large corporation.
If a corporation fails to report a given amount of income for a given tax year, and any of the previous three years, the CRA’s penalty for this one is ten percent of the undeclared income in that tax year. You may refer to subsection 163(1) of the Income Tax Act. There is a severe penalty that will apply if a third party assists another person in compiling and filing a false tax return or with full knowledge lets a taxpayer submit counterfeit tax data. There are other forms of penalties that will apply, including non-resident corporations, installment, failure to file penalties and failure to comply with the mandatory online-based tax return filing process.
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Effective March 1, 2018, CRA made changes on the Voluntary Disclosure Program or short for VDP, and the levels of penalty and interest relief available under the new VDP.
Elimination of No-Name Disclosures
Under the new VDP, a taxpayer is able to start preliminary discussions on a no-names basis with the CRA; however, the discussions will be non-binding in nature. The intention is to provide the taxpayer with preliminary information such as the risks of non-compliance and the possible relief.
Under the New VDP, the taxpayer’s Effective Disclosure Date will be the date on which the taxpayer files the new VDP form providing detailed information including the taxpayer full identities. Additionally, a taxpayer will be required to disclose the name of any consultant or other service providers who provided assistance in respect of the disclosure.
Tax Payment is Now Required
Under the old VDP, a disclosure must be voluntary, complete, report is at least one year past due and involve the a penalty in order qualify as a “valid disclosure” that is eligible for relief.
The new VDP adds a fifth requirement for a “valid disclosure”, meaning that the disclosure must also include payment of the estimated taxes owing to qualify.
When a taxpayer is unable to pay the estimated taxes owing in full, a payment arrangement must be made to address the tax debts supported by evidence of the taxpayer’s income, expenses, assets and liabilities.
General and Limited Programs
Under the new VDP, there will be two categories of disclosures: the “General Program” and the “Limited Program”.
General Program
Limited Program,
Additional Restrictions
CRA put additional restriction on under the new VDP. To just name a few:
Since CRA only allows taxpayers to utilize the VDP program once in their life time. Canadian taxpayers are all faced with more strict conditions and much higher risks when considering VDP to get protection from prosecutions, penalties and interests. It is thus more important than ever to make sure every step is done properly and professionally so they do not lose the only opportunity to correct their mistakes.
When dealing with the VDP, experience does matter. We have helped many clients, who were in serious tax troubles such as misreported foreign assets, under-reported income, over claimed credits, late tax filings, etc. to get the settlement and protections. We can do the same for you.
Contact us at 866-611-6482 or click to complete the Contact Form now for a free consultation!
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Do you work in Canada? The Canada Revenue Agency who is the administrator of income tax return Canada is interested in your taxable income. This is usually an amount that starts at fifteen percent of your gross pay. If you make more than four thousand dollars per year, your tax rate will be higher than fifteen percent.
If you have just got a new job in Canada, you should know that Canada’s taxation period/year begins from January to December. Usually, tax returns deadline is April 30th. Hence, if you started working in Canada in a calendar year, the Canada Revenue Agency expected you to file your tax return Canada by April 30th of the following year.
How income tax return Canada filing is done
Before you can begin to file your tax return Canada, you must know your residency status. If during the taxation year you lived and worked in Canada for more than six months, you can file your income tax return as a resident. The International Tax Services Office can also be called upon to help if you are unable to determine whether you are a resident or a non-resident. It is also possible that your home country has tax agreement with Canada and this will definitely affect your income tax return status.
Canadian T4 Form
This will automatically be collected by your Canadian Employer. It will sum up your total income and expected deductions for the current taxation year. To get T4s from your employers on time, ensure that you give them your full identity and contact details so they send all forms before the deadline for tax return Canada submission.
Non-resident special forms
If you are a Canadian non-resident, you will be required to file your taxes via: Schedule 1 Federal Tax, the 428 form, Schedule A under Non-Residents of Canada and T1234. A resident of Canada will skip Schedule A.
Filling your forms
As soon as you grab your forms for tax purposes, you can give them to a tax consultation or tax firm to know what to do with it. This is if you do not have time or expertise for this kind of work. A tax firm can be of great help when you are trying to file your Canadian taxes from overseas. Before you submit your income tax return Canada forms, gather all your original copies of your T4s and send along with return to the CRA International Tax Services Office.
Conclusion
If you have to file your tax return Canada forms as a non-resident, declaration of your prior income while outside Canada will not be necessary. However, if you qualify as a resident of Canada, you must report any income you have earned within Canada and outside of Canada.