I Owe For Taxes, I Can't Pay...Now What??

The answer for the question of what to do when you owe the government and can not pay is often to hide the paperwork under another pile of paperwork and hope it goes away. The truth is that you are just putting off the inevitable and you know it.

We have discussed this topic before regarding GST, but I thought it pertinent to bring it up today as the tax deadline is swiftly approaching and many of you may be struggling with what to do.

Here is the right answer for what to do when you owe the government on your personal income tax...file on time! The CRA imposes an automatic 5% penalty on what you owe for filing late. Either way if your payment is late you will be paying interest, but if you file on time you can avoid the 5% penalty.

The other thing that I think most Canadians don't know about the CRA is that they are more than willing to work out payment options with you and the more proactive you are, the better they are to deal with.

So if your tax planning fell short and you are in the position of owing the CRA some money, be sure to file your taxes before the May 2 deadline and then give them a call to work out some payment arrangements. Trust me, you'll sleep better at night not having that hidden paperwork troubling you.

Have an amazing day!