A few months ago, I wrote about the implications of not filing your income taxes. I yelled and screamed (I even used a whole bunch of CAPITAL LETTERS so it would seem as though my voice was raised) to try to motivate those who hadn’t filed their taxes on time (if at all). Sorry if I was a bit rough on you…but my intentions were good. I want nothing but the best for my clients, especially YOU “awesome-person-who-is-reading-my-blog-right-now”!

That being said, if you haven’t filed your income taxes for awhile, I’m here to tell you that there’s absolutely nothing to fear.  Our beloved Governments will not come after you and will not show up at your house with raised pitchforks if you send in your taxes late.

They won’t mind at all if you file for those 2, 3, 4 or 10 years that you didn’t send in your papers. In fact, they WANT you to file your back taxes.  They want all the information they can get about what their citizens were up to during those years, even if it means shelling out some cash to you.  Which brings us to my next point:

9 times out of 10, when a new client comes into my office with 1 or more years of back taxes to file, they’ll have a significant amount of cash coming their way from their income tax filings.  Sometimes, it will come from a tax refund, sometimes from the GST credit or the Solidarity tax credit (a credit available to all Quebecers earning under roughly $50,000). Don’t even get me started on how much cash you’re leaving on the table if you have kids (a lot)!

I  guess what I’m really getting at is this – the only one you’re hurting by not filing your taxes is yourself.  Now, before I get all emotional on you, I’ll end this blog post gracefully with the story of a client who came to me 5 years ago to file 5 years of back taxes. He recouped the following from the Provincial and Federal Governments:

• GST credits for 5 years, total = $1,300
• Energy and Property Tax credits for 4 years, total = $2,555
• Trillium tax credits = $845
• Income tax refund for 5 years, total = $13,650

So the total cash he received within 3 months of filing his 5 years of back taxes?……$18,350.  He used the money to fund his start-up and has since built a thriving business.  A feel-good story you can also take to the bank!  Now, wipe away those tears, get those back taxes filed and have a great week!

Sincerely,

The Funny Accountant.

As always, if you have tax questions, need advice on your personal taxes, corporate taxes or anything else accounting or business related, please contact The Funny Accountant/President of MK & Associates at mitch@mkassociates.ca