Hr Block: Canadians urged to file before April 30 deadline
Canadians are being urged to file before the April 30 deadline, and hr block attention is on a simple risk: missing slips, income or eligible expenses can reduce refunds or trigger penalties. John Natale, head of tax, retirement and estate planning services at Wealth at Manulife Investment Management, said the biggest mistakes start with incomplete information.
“Well, I think one of the biggest mistakes that people make is not having all their information, their tax slips, eligible expenses and so forth, and missing out on those,” Natale said in a BNN interview. He also said people should not miss reporting any income and should claim everything on the return to maximize deductions and credits.
John Natale on filing errors
Natale said filing on time can carry financial value beyond the return itself. “There can be significant value to filing your tax return,” he said, adding that a return can generate RRSP contribution room if a person has “a little bit of earned income” to use later when it is most tax advantageous.
The warning is aimed at taxpayers who may be close to the deadline but still sorting receipts, slips and income records. Natale’s advice centers on getting the return complete before April 30, rather than waiting until all paperwork feels perfectly organized.
Low-income earners and benefits
Natale said the government has introduced a program for low-income earners for automatic tax filing, but he said many people in that group may still be missing out on government benefits or tax credits if they do not file. He also said Canada is behind other countries on automatic tax filing and described the system as complicated.
“I think if we compare Canada versus other countries around the globe, generally speaking, we’re behind the curve a little bit on that,” he said. “Our tax system is very complicated.”
That leaves the practical choice for Canadians with income to report: file the return, include all slips and expenses, and make sure no income is omitted before the April 30 deadline closes the window on this year’s filing.
