Strategies for Beating the April 30 Dread Deadline for Filing Income Tax Return in Canada

April 30,  is a day dreaded by most Canadians. It is a day that evokes anxiety and fear in many people who are in the habit of procrastinating in filing their income tax return.

I know.  I used to be one of the procrastinators in filing my tax return. Working for the government at the time and having my income taxes deducted before I even received my pay check, each month, I was confident that I did not owe the government any unpaid taxes. Therefore, I was never in a hurry to meet the April 30 deadline.

However, things changed after my retirement. I started a small business. I got paid by my clients who did not deduct my taxes before they paid me their fees. At the end of the year, I found that I owed the Canadian government  unpaid income taxes. After missing the April 30 deadline in submitting my income tax return, I was hit with a penalty  by Revenue Canada!


I have become smarter  as a small business owner over the years. In my kitchen drawer, I have a special drawer dedicated to keeping receipts, banking and visa statements.

 I keep all my receipts by categories in separate envelops e.g. one envelop each for gasoline, meals, teaching material, office supplies, computer and banking statement etc.

I also  track my expenses, photocopy and record cheques paid  to me by my clients. Most important of all I have found a good accountant who files my income tax  return and helps me to become organized in my financial matters.
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To avoid the anxiety and frustration of missing the April 30 deadline, I have learned to start preparing for the income tax return process early. I developed a strategy this year; I mentally gave myself  a deadline which was March 31.

In early March this year, as soon as we were back from our cruise trip, I started getting all my receipts and documentations ready for the 2017 tax return. I spent more than two weeks organizing and recording all my expenses and invoices, compiling them on separate excel sheets.

Since I started the process early, I have plenty of time to contact people who owed me official tax receipts and cleared the invoices as well.

A couple of weeks ago, around April 15, I finished all I needed to do for my tax return!  Last week, I heard back from my accountant who finished my return and submitted to Revenue Canada. That was only April 25!

While many Canadians will be burning their midnight oil tonight trying to meet the April 30 deadline, I can relax this evening as I am ahead of the deadline by one week!  No anxiety, no frustration nor losing sleep over my 2017 tax return.

It is an accomplishment for me and I am very proud of myself!

R.T.
Toronto
Not losing any sleep over my 2017 Tax Return tonight