The CRA will charge you a late-filing penalty if you owe tax and fail to submit your tax return by the deadline. If the CRA wants you to keep records for a period longer than six years a CRA official will let you know how long to keep them either in person or by registered mail.

A Primer On Keeping Your Tax Records The Globe And Mail

Keep records for three years from the date you filed your original return or two years from the date you paid the tax whichever is later if you file a claim for credit or refund after you file.

How long to keep canadian tax returns. Keep for 1 Year Monthly Bank Statements. The CRA recommends keeping your tax records for at least six years. Keep records for 3 years from the date you filed your original return or 2 years from the date you paid the tax whichever is later if you file a claim for credit or refund after you file your return.

To be safe it is often best practice to keep all supporting documents for 7 years to avoid potential problems source. The CRA says As a general rule you must keep all of the records and supporting documents that are required to determine your tax obligations and entitlements for a period of six years from the end of the last tax year to which they relate. What Tax Records Should I Keep.

You should keep every tax return and supporting forms. You see the three-year statute of limitations applies only when you filed an income tax return. According to the CRA you only need to keep tax records and business documents for 6 years.

Updated December 19 2020 Most Canadian income tax refunds are issued in anywhere from two weeks to 16 weeks depending on the type of return and when you filed it according to the Canada Revenue Agency CRA. Then you can shred the receipt. Processing Times for Electronic Returns.

How Long To Keep Tax Returns In most cases you should plan on keeping tax returns along with any supporting documents for a period of at least three years following the date you filed or the due date of your tax return whichever is later. Tax records include your returns and the supporting. Paper returns usually take four to six weeks to process.

1 When you file your tax return on or before your due date CRA will send a Notice of Assessment and any applicable refund within. But what do you keep in what format and for how long. You can read more about paying your Canadian tax bill on the CRA website.

Keep these for 1 year unless you have your own business in which case you should hold on to them for 6. If you didnt file a tax return the statute of limitations never started to run. For paper tax returns filed before April 15 wait four weeks before you check on your refund.

The rule for retaining tax returns and documents supporting the return is six years from the end of the tax year to which they apply. This provides adequate support in the event of a review by the Canada Revenue Agency CRA. How long should you keep your income tax records.

However if you file your tax return late the six-year period also begins late. Youll need to keep your records for seven years if you claim a deduction of worthless securities or bad debts. Late tax returns in Canada.

Every person who does business or pays or collects taxes in Canada is required to keep records and books of account. For example if you lent a friend 10000 under. How long should you keep your records.

For paper tax returns filed on or after April 15 wait six weeks before you check on your refund. Even if you do not have to attach certain supporting documents to your return or if you are filing your return electronically keep your supporting documents for six years in case the CRA selects your return for review. If you file an income tax return late you must keep your records for six years from the date you file that return.

For example a 2015 return and its supporting documents are safe to destroy at the end of 2021. This six-year period starts at the end of the tax year to which the records relate. Overview Keeping your tax records is important to support the information you have provided to the Canada Revenue Agency.

Specifically you need to hold onto your tax information for six years from the end of the last tax year to which those records relate. Keep your receipt if you purchased something with a warranty keep it until your warranty expires or you no longer own the item. The fine is 5 of the balance owed plus another 1 of the balance for each full month that passes up to a maximum of 12 months.

The CRA may ask for documents other than official receipts such as cancelled.