Читать книгу Tax Survival for Canadians - Dale Barrett - Страница 38

The CRA’s late filing penalties are designed to be tough, and I have heard of a great deal of taxpayers who have lost their homes or who have had to declare bankruptcy because of the penalties.

If a taxpayer has not filed his or her taxes, he or she will automatically be subject to a late-filing penalty. Late-filing penalties are applied automatically when late returns are processed, although they can be reduced after the fact through a request for taxpayer relief, but they are not discretionary and outside of the protection of the Voluntary Disclosures Program (see Chapter 10 for more information).

Penalties vary depending on whether the taxpayer is a repeat offender. If penalized for the first time, the taxpayer is penalized 5 percent of the balance owing in addition to 1 percent of the balance owing for every month it is late to a maximum of 12 months. If, however, the taxpayer is a repeat offender, the penalty doubles to 10 percent of the balance owing in addition to 2 percent of the balance owing for every month it is overdue to a maximum of 20 months. Furthermore, penalties are charged interest, which are compounded daily.