Basics, Wellness

Tax returns – what, where, why?

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altruWisdom

Filing a return isn’t only required when you have taxes to pay, it is also your path to accessing benefits and contributing to EI, CPP and your RRSP’s. Find out everything you need to know about tax returns here.

Filing your tax return every year doesn’t only give you an opportunity to pay your taxes, but also gives you access to government benefits, ability to contribute to CPP, EI and RRSP’s. It is also used when applying for mortgages, insurance and when accessing certain types of investments.There are some important rules you have to follow when it comes to storing your tax returns, you can find those rules outlined in our Filing Cabinet.

Why do you need to store your tax return?

The CRA website suggests that you keep your supporting documents for a period of 6 years, in case you are selected for review. This way you will have easy access to your receipts and documents to avoid having to locate new copies (which is impossible in many cases). If you have soft copies, and we recommend you do, then we recommend keeping all past filed returns. They are helpful for many reasons, visit our Filing Cabinet to understand how best to store them and when they might be needed.

When would you need to have access to your tax return?

Luckily, you won’t need to refer back to your tax returns too often. But they do come handy, when applying for benefits, a mortgage or loan and when contributing to your EI, CPP or RRSP.

Not a fan of filing and paperwork? File it once online, securely and into the correct folders in our Filing Cabinet, for easy access anytime, anywhere.

How can I get a copy of my tax return?

As we live in the age of technology, we have access to many more tools than the generations before us. One of the very handy tools the CRA offers in an online My CRA account, which gives you access to view and print your previous tax returns, as well as many other features which will save you time. We’ve put together an article which outlines all the great benefits of having an online My CRA account. Trust us, it’s the way of the future, it’s better to just get on board right now!

For faster processing and protection against tax fraud, we recommend that you always file your taxes as early as possible. Our Filing Cabinet has a Review Date feature, which allows you to set a reminder for renewals of your documents, and in the case of tax returns, to remind you to begin gathering your supporting documents and receipts. Set it and forget it!

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