Concessions announced on late payments and penalties, including some for existing tax debt
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is providing further relief to individual Canadians and businesses struggling because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The CRA said it is extending the payment due date for current-year individual, corporate, and trust income tax returns, including instalment payments, from September 1 to September 30, 2020.
“Penalties and interest will not be charged if payments are made by the extended deadline of September 30,” the agency said in a statement, adding that it is also waiving the associated late-filing penalty that would otherwise be charged in cases of returns filed by that date.
The CRA is also waiving interest on existing tax debts related to individual, corporate, and trust income tax returns from April 1 to September 30, 2020, as well as interest on debts for GST/HST returns from April 1 to June 30. The measure will not cancel penalties and interest assessed on a taxpayer’s account preceding April 1, the agency clarified.
And while it hasn’t changed the previously extended due dates for filing of individual, corporate, and trust income tax returns, the CRA said it will not impose late-filing penalties for current-year individual, corporation, or trust returns filed by September 30.
The CRA said it temporarily suspended interruptions for individuals who were not able to file their income tax and benefit return in time for the June 1 deadline. At the moment, it said that in instances where someone’s 2019 individual tax return has not been assessed, any benefits and credits for July to September 2020 payments are calculated based on information from 2018 tax returns.
“However, if 2019 individual tax returns are not received and assessed by early September 2020, estimated benefits and/or credits will stop in October 2020,” the CRA said, adding that individuals in those cases may have to repay the amounts issued to them as of July 2020.
