But if you’re someone who hasn’t filed their taxes in a while, you might be wondering, what now?
There’s a late penalty fee of five per cent on the previous year’s balance that you owe, with an extra one per cent tacked on for every full month you file after the due date, up to 12 months. The CRA lets you file taxes as far back as 10 years, but you’ll need to submit paper returns for anything prior to 2017. For more recent returns, you can file using government services such as NETFILE.
If the CRA hasn’t contacted you about your late tax filing yet, you could also apply for the Voluntary Disclosures Program . This program grants relief on a case by case basis to those who come forward to declare errors in their tax filings, or funds that they owe. You’ll still need to pay the taxes owed, but you could potentially qualify for relief from prosecution and financial penalties.