A tax return is a report of taxpayers to the state about the income they received and the taxes they paid during one calendar year. In Canada, the tax system is based on the self-assessment principle, and both residents and non-residents of the country must submit this document. Taxpayers file the T1 tax return, which includes:

• information about the income received for the year;
• availability of benefits;
• request for compensation for taxes paid if there are grounds for this.

When to file a tax return

Before filing a tax return, everyone who has previously reported their profits will receive a notice of assessment from the CRA in February.

Among other things, the document includes:

• contact details;
• key information on the tax return preparation and submission;
• data on a taxpayer’s account.

The filing of completed tax returns starts on February 18th and lasts until April 30th. After that the tax office will begin to apply sanctions. The exception is self-employed people, they can extend the filing deadline until June 15, but they are also required to pay taxes by April 30.

Legal entities can file a tax return within six months after the end of the so-called tax period. It is a financial period established by the CRA, which includes preparing and submitting accounting reports on the results of activities carried out.

How to find a tax return

Each province has its own tax forms for filing a declaration. In general, the differences between them are minor, but the tax return in Toronto must be filled out on a special form. You can easily find it on the official government website. Residents of Quebec can find their tax return forms on the Revenue Quebec website.

If you are not sure how to file reports or have some doubts, you can contact tax companies in Canada. Experts will advise you on all your questions or fill out the reports themselves. The cost of taxation services is about 25 CAD.

Please note that mistakes made when filling out a tax return will be considered by the CRA as giving deliberately false information and will be punished with a fine. The fine is 50% of the amount of money that the state has not received, the minimum is 100 CAD.