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FEDERAL TAX UPDATES AND DEADLINES
On March 27, 2020, in response to the global pandemic resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak, the Government of Canada released additional measures to support Canadians, including the extension for certain tax filing deadlines and payments.
Tax Filing Deadlines and Tax Payments
All Taxpayers
- Income tax payments (including instalment payments) due after March 18, 2020 can be deferred to September 30, 2020. No penalties or interest will be assessed during this period. Note this extension applies only to income tax amounts. It does not apply to remittances for taxes withheld, such as payroll, GST/HST and non-resident taxes.
- Unless otherwise noted, administrative income tax actions (including returns, elections, designations and information requests) due after March 18, 2020 and before May 31, 2020 can be deferred to June 1, 2020.
- Unless otherwise noted, administrative income tax actions noted above due after May 30, 2020 and before September 1, 2020 are extended to September 1, 2020.
- The administrative income tax actions extension does not apply to payroll remittances and NR4s, trust returns (T3) or partnership returns (T5013).
- NR4 information return filing deadline is extended to May 1, 2020.
- Objection requests due March 18, 2020 or later is extended to June 30, 2020.
Individuals
- 2019 filing deadline extended to June 1, 2020, however, penalties and interest will not be applied if returns are filed and payments are made by September 30, 2020.
- CRA will allow electronic signatures for T183 authorization forms as a temporary administrative measure.
- The CRA encourages everyone to file their individual, corporate and trust returns as soon as possible, even though payment deadlines are being extended. This is particularly important for individuals receiving credits and benefits, such as the Canada Child Benefit. If 2019 individual tax returns are not received and assessed by early September 2020, estimated benefits and/or credits will stop in October 2020 and individuals may have to repay the amounts that were issued as of July 2020.
Businesses
- General administrative filing extension to June 1, 2020 applies to corporations that would otherwise have a filing deadline after March 18 and before May 31, 2020
- Corporations that would otherwise have a filing deadline on May 31, or in June, July, or August, 2020 are extended to September 1, 2020.
- Penalties and interest will not be applied if returns are filed and payments are made by September 30, 2020.
- The extension of the filing deadline applies for all purposes, including any elections, forms and schedules that must be filed with the corporate tax return
- GST/HST remittances due between March to May 2020 are deferred to June 30, 2020
- Customs payments for statements of accounts for March to May 2020 are deferred to June 30, 2020
- CRA will allow electronic signatures for T183CORP authorization forms as a temporary administrative measure.
Please note that interest will continue to accrue on unpaid tax balances that were due prior to March 18, 2020. For example, a corporation with a December 31, 2019 tax year-end that had a balance-due day on March 2, 2020 will have interest accrue on its unpaid tax balance from March 3, 2020 until the balance is paid.
Trusts and Partnerships
- Trusts with a tax year end date of December 31, 2019, and partnerships information returns that would normally have a March 31 filing deadline are extended to May 1, 2020.
- Trusts and partnership information returns that would otherwise have a filing due date after March 30, 2020 and before May 31, 2020 are extended to June 1, 2020.
- Trusts and partnership information returns that would otherwise have a filing due date on May 31, or in in June, July or August, 2020 are extended to September 1, 2020.
- Penalties and interest will not apply on income tax balances and instalments due between March 18, 2020 and September 29, 2020 if returns are filed and payments are made by September 30, 2020.
- Charity information return (T3010) filing deadline is extended to December 31, 2020.
Note that the CRA does not administer Quebec tax nor Alberta corporate tax.
Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS)
May 22, 2020
On May 15, 2020, the Government of Canada announced further updates to the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS). The CEWS is intended to prevent layoff and to encourage the re-hiring of laid off employees. It provides a payment directly to employers who apply and qualify for it.
Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB)
The Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB) is a benefit of $1,000 per two weeks ($900 after taxes withheld) for up to 26 weeks. It is available to workers who are self-employed or are not eligible for EI and who still require income support.
You can apply for the CRB through the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) from October 12th, 2020 for one year for up to 13 two-week periods between September 27th, 2020 and September 25th, 2021.
Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS)
The Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS) will provide rent and mortgage support to small businesses affected by COVID-19. The subsidy will be administered by the CRA and will provide support directly to tenants.
We continue to update this information as new updates become available, but should you have questions about any of these government initiatives or programs, please Contact Us directly.
