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TAX TIP June 15, 2023, is the Deadline for Self-Employed Individuals to File Their 2022 Income Tax and Benefit Return

Tuesday, 13 June 2023 02:46.PM

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is here to support you and your business in meeting your tax obligations.

If you are a self-employed individual, or if your spouse or common-law partner is self-employed, you have until June 15, 2023, to file your 2022 income tax and benefit return.

In light of the recent forest fires and other climate issues, here is a special note on requesting taxpayer relief after an adverse weather event:

• Many individuals, businesses and first responders may be unable to meet their tax obligations as usual, due to circumstances beyond their control. In such cases, taxpayers can submit a request for relief of penalty and interest charged to their accounts. We will consider each request based on the specific circumstances for that request
• Note that even if you submit this request, the deadline for filing does not change

Protecting books and records:

• We recommend protecting your records against weather-related events with the following steps:
  •  Take extra precautions when storing your books and records if you live in an area prone to wildfires or floods
  •  Keep a back-up of your electronic records in a secure off-site location as an added precaution
  •  Register for direct deposit to avoid missing payments in the mail
  •  In the unfortunate situation that your books and records have been destroyed as a result of an adverse event, please call us at 1–800–959–8281 for individual enquiries, 1–800–959–5525 for business enquiries, or 1–800–267–2384 for registered charities enquiries

What are my tax obligations as a self-employed individual?

If you earned self-employment income from a business that you operate yourself or with a partner, you have to report that income by filing a tax return.

When you're self-employed and you operate your business, you must pay the following:

• personal income tax (if you are an Indigenous business owner you can find information on the tax benefits and requirements that apply to you at the Information of the tax exemption under Section 87 of the Indian Act)
• Canada Pension Plan contributions
• Employment Insurance premiums if you are eligible and have registered to participate

Don't forget to register for a GST/HST account if you make more than $30,000 a year in revenues and you will want to make sure that you file your GST/HST returns on time to avoid any penalties or interest.

Reporting your income also means that we will have the most accurate information on file to determine if you are eligible for provincial and territorial tax credits and benefits, the GST/HST credit and the Canada child benefit. Filing your return will help ensure you receive any benefits you may be entitled to, and that those you already receive are not interrupted.

Payments

Although your tax-filing deadline is June 15, 2023, your payment was due on April 30, 2023. Since April 30, 2023, fell on a Sunday, your payment was considered paid on time if we received it, or it was processed at a Canadian financial institution, on or before May 1, 2023.

If you still have not paid your taxes, we encourage you to do so as soon as you can to avoid additional interest charges on your balance owing. You can pay online in many ways:

• through your financial institution's online banking, mobile app or telephone banking service
• using the My Payment. This service lets you make payments to the CRA with your Visa® Debit, Debit MasterCard®, or Interac® Online card from a participating financial institution. You can also access My Payment on My Account or the MyCRA mobile web app
• Using My Account or the MyCRA mobile web app to:
  •  set up a pre-authorized debit agreement from your Canadian chequing account
  •  pay an amount due or make instalment payments
• by credit card or debit, PayPal, or Interac e-Transfer, through a third-party service provider for a fee

You can also make payments in person. Options include paying:

• at a Canadian financial institution with a remittance voucher. You can order personalized remittance vouchers and in some cases print your own. See Order remittance vouchers or payment forms
• at any Canada Post outlet using cash or a debit card for a fee. To do so, you will need a remittance voucher with a QR code. If you do not have a remittance voucher with a QR code, you can create a QR code using My Account or the MyCRA mobile web app

For more information and other payment options, go to Canada.ca/payments.

If you cannot pay your balance owing, we can work with you on a payment arrangement. Payment arrangement options have been expanded to reflect current realities. The Payment Arrangement Calculator has also been added to My Account and My Business Account. This self-service tool allows you to submit a potential payment arrangement without having to contact us. If the proposed payment arrangement does not meet our policy, a CRA officer will reach out to complete the arrangement.

Liaison Officer service

We offer a free Liaison Officer service to owners of small businesses and self-employed individuals to help you understand your business tax obligations. A visit from a Liaison Officer is 100% confidential; the information you choose to discuss with a Liaison Officer will not be shared with other areas of the Agency, or anyone else.

You can request a visit by phone or videoconference.

The Gig Economy

The gig economy is based on temporary and freelance work, or short-term contracts. As a gig worker, your contract services may range from a small task to a highly specialized service. If you are connecting with clients through online platforms or applications (apps) such as Clickworker, Crowdsource, Fiverr, UberEats or Skip the Dishes to provide them with your services, you are typically considered to be self-employed instead of an employee for tax purposes. Your work may be carried out anywhere, as online platforms can connect businesses and independent contractors from all over the world.

You can find more information about filing taxes as a gig worker in our gig economy tax tip.

You can find even more information on this topic at Taxes and the platform economy.

Filing your tax return electronically

If you choose to file electronically on your own, there are a variety of NETFILE-certified software products that meet your needs. Some of the software products are free.

For the 2022 tax year, prior to filing your tax return electronically with NETFILE, you will be asked to enter an Access code after your name, date of birth, and social insurance number. This unique code can be found to the right, beneath the notice details box on the first page of your previous notice of assessment (NOA). If you are registered for My Account, you can use Auto-fill my return in certified tax software to automatically fill in parts of your income tax and benefit return with information that we have available at the time of the request, including your NETFILE access code. Your access code will let you use information from your 2022 tax return when confirming your identity with us. Your access code isn't mandatory when filing your 2022 tax return, but without it you'll have to rely on other information for authentication purposes.

Online services for businesses and self-employed individuals

We have easy-to-use digital services for businesses and self-employed individuals. You can use these services to file, make payments, and get detailed information about your account.

Keep receipts and documents

It is important to keep complete records of the money you make and spend. Your records must give enough detail to determine the tax you owe and support any deductions or credits you are claiming. You need to keep all supporting documents as part of your records.

Sometimes, we review returns to make sure that income, deductions, and credits are properly reported. If we review your return, having your receipts and records on hand will make it easier for you to support your claims.

More help for your business

The Canada Business App simplifies access to government services for small and medium-sized enterprises in Canada. Designed with business owners in mind, the app puts government programs and services at your fingertips. Download it from the App Store or Google Play.

More filing tips

For more tips and helpful information, check out our tax tips for self-employed individuals.

SOURCE: Canada Revenue Agency

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