Freelancers and self-employed people and their spouses can take advantage of an extended tax filing deadline
Personal Tax Advisors:
Next Level Tax Preparation
Next Level Tax Preparation means we’re not satisfied until you’re satisfied.
We offer one-on-one appointments with your tax preparer, in person or by phone or email, and free phone consultations for 12 months. Moreover we guarantee continuing service until both you and CRA are satisfied with your return.
All our clients become members of the Personal Tax Advisors family and have access to experienced tax advice at any time during the year.
When it’s time to get serious about your taxes, it’s time to move up to Personal Tax Advisors.
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) knows that self-employed people have to do a lot more work in order to file their tax returns. You’ve got a lot of receipts to go through and a business to run at the same time. Consequently they make a concession and allow you an extended tax filing deadline to June 15*.
This applies even if some of your income comes from a regular salaried job. So long as you have any freelance or self-employment income, you have until June 15* to file.
Moreover, because your spouse’s return is affected by your return, your spouse (or common-law partner) is allowed the same filing extension.
One caveat: the extended tax filing deadline applies to filing your return, not to paying your taxes.
All income tax is payable on April 30* regardless of when you do (or can) file your return. Interest (currently sitting at 5% per year) applies to any payments made after that date.
But interest amounts tend to be much less than late filing penalties. In practical terms, if you file anytime between April 30 and the June 15 extended tax filing deadline*, your maximum interest on the tax payable is a little over half a percent.
So if you’re a self-employed person or a freelancer and you suddenly realize it’s nearly May* and you haven’t filed yet — don’t panic. There’s still time.
* The filing deadline is June 15 for self-employed people and their spouses, and April 30 for everyone else; the payment deadline is April 30 for everyone. Note that due to the Covid-19 pandemic, filing and payment deadlines have changed for 2019 tax returns (returns due in 2020). The April 30 filing deadline has been pushed back to June 1, 2020, while the payment deadline has moved to September 1, 2020. The filing deadline for self-employed people remains June 15, 2020.
Booking an appointment:
Contact us to set up an appointment. Let us know the type and number of returns you want to file, provide a little information, and we’ll get you set up in a jiffy.
IF You earn less than 30,000? I understand that you don’t have to pay GST. is that right?
I’m afraid that almost every word of that sentence is incorrect.
If you earn less than $30,000 via self-employment, AND you have not opened a GST/HST account, you don’t have to CHARGE GST/HST on your sales. If you earn more than $30,000 via self-employment, OR you have opened a GST/HST account, you must CHARGE GST/HST on your sales.
The only people who don’t have to PAY GST/HST are people located outside Canada, or registered aboriginal people (people with so-called ‘Indian Status) who are charging for work performed on a reserve.