Tag Archives: Tax Relief

The Best Way To Apply for CRA Tax Relief

However difficult it may be for you, it is important that tax debt is paid before anything else. If you miss payments there are a lot of penalties that could be imposed, but one major problem is that fact that interest can be added, and this will make it even harder to pay it off. It is possible to get CRA tax relief but there is no guarantee that everyone who applies will be successful.

 

You can apply for CRA tax relief if you are a business or an individual, and if accepted you will be able to wipe out some of the interest and charges that have been added to the account. It will not reduce the amount of tax you legitimately owe, so you need to be prepared to pay the initial bill you will have received. CRA tax relief will make things easier for you, but it will not wipe out your tax debt completely. These charges could have built up over a number of years, and at times could double the debt you have.

 

It is not just a case of asking for CRA tax relief, you must be able to prove that you are a special case and need to have the charges removed. The factors that will go in your favor will be financial hardship and a variety of medical conditions that includes an addiction or mental health issues. Natural disaster will be taken into account as will death. It is also likely that you will receive CRA tax relief if the bill has increased so much as a result of mistakes made by the CRA.

 

Even if you fit into one of the categories indicated above, the process is not easy and there will be a long road ahead of you. To make the journey easier, you could take professional advice and allow an organization to make the request for CRA tax relief for you. For you, this may be the first time that you are going through the process and you are not aware of the nuances of the law. For them it is a regular occurrence and they will know what is important and what is not when requesting CRA tax relief.

 

The difference between success and failure could be the way that the application is worded and presented. The CRA will not want to lose money and while they will work within the law, if possible they will not grant CRA tax relief unless they have to. If the case put before them is flawless and makes it clear that you are a deserving case, you will find it easier to have the penalties lifted.

 

As applying for CRA tax relief is a detailed process, a professional will always be able to get you better results than you would get by applying yourself.  Free consultations are available for you to know if you have a chance of having your debt reduced without having to pay out any more money. Your consultant will let you know if you are likely to be successful before you proceed.

Eligibility Criteria for the Taxpayer Relief

If you want to consider sending out an application under the Taxpayer Relief Program in Canada, you have to first think in terms of hiring some professional consultants who can help you go through with it. This should be done even when you find a lot of information on the web around CRA’s Taxpayer Relief Program which was previously referred to as the Fairness Program.

Not everyone who reads the information on taxpayer relief scheme can understand it thoroughly. The information could turn very easily into misinformation around this program. It is the experienced tax accounting firms who can interpret all the details concerning the taxpayer relief program.

The important objectives of the taxpayer relief program are worth going through after investing time and effort into their application. It is better, still, to employ the service experts who know the program, in and out.

The Taxpayer Relief Program in Canada was created to enable the Minister of National Revenue to offer relief schemes from penalty and interest charges when certain circumstances held a taxpayer back from meeting the tax obligations. The taxpayers could be individuals or business corporations. The term `taxpayer’ also includes employers or payors, partnerships, organisations, trusts, estates, Goods & Services Tax (GST) and Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) claimants or registrants.

These exceptional situations could be broadly categorised as:

  1. Inability to pay the taxes on account of financial hardship.
  2. Certain actions taken by the CRA; those were of an erroneous nature.
  3. Extra ordinary circumstances such as acts of nature of Force Majeure.
  4. Other Circumstances.

 

The taxpayer relief program makes a distinction between the cancellation and the waiver of the penalties and interest charges. The justification behind this was provided by the CRA as it understood that the granting of relief to a taxpayer was redundant if the same taxpayer was burdened by interest and penalties, making the whole relief scheme a futile exercise. The term `cancellation’ refers to penalties and interest amounts after they are assessed or charged, towards which the relief is provided in whole or in part by the CRA.

The extraordinary circumstances cover penalties and interest charges that are either cancelled or waived in part or in whole when they are affected by circumstances beyond the control of the taxpayers. These extraordinary circumstances may prevent taxpayers from paying their taxes when they fall due, preventing them from filing their tax returns in time or complying with the tax obligations. These circumstances include natural or man-made disasters like a fire or a flood. They may include civil disturbances with services being disrupted. There may be circumstances like a serious ailment or an accident that causes partial or permanent disability. The circumstances also include severe emotional and mental distress that may arise out of certain events that occur in a family such as a death in the immediate family.

A response from the CRA concerning the Taxpayer Relief Program may take anywhere from three months to a couple of years depending on the number of request applications that fall due. It is, therefore, advisable, to engage the services of tax professionals as they will be in the best position to assess whether your request is adequate or not. This makes it worthwhile before you file the application for the review and consideration of the CRA.

Tax Payer Relief by CRA’s Taxpayer Relief Program

CRA has been training all their agents, such as auditors or collection agents, to use the buzz word “Tax payer relief” when communicating with tax payers as if that is an easy and simple request to make to get a big reduction of the tax debts

The matter of the fact is that every tax payer wants to have their tax debts reduced. To not open a gate of flood, CRA’s criteria for tax payer relief are quite strict to say the least.

CRA normally grants tax payer relief from penalties and interest due to extraordinary circumstances, actions of the CRA and inability to pay or financial hardship. Penalties and interest may be waived or cancelled in whole or in part where there are circumstances that are beyond the taxpayer’s control.

The following are typical examples of situations that may merit for tax payer relief:

Natural or man-made disasters such as, floods, fires, hurricanes, civil disturbances, Serious illness or accidents,  Serious mental or emotional distress, such as a death in the immediate family.

Mistakes of CRA: you can apply under taxpayer relief if actions of the CRA caused the penalties and interest including:

–  Processing delays within a reasonable time whereby the taxpayer was not informed of the amount owing;

–  Errors in materials by CRA which led to a mistake.

–  Incorrect information provided to the taxpayer in writing;

–  Errors in processing,

–  Delays in resolving an objection or an appeal.

Tax payer relief provision enables the taxpayer to settle their account with possible financial relief. The result of successful taxpayer relief includes:

– Waive or cancel penalties and interest,

– Extend the filing-due date for making certain elections or grant permission to amend or revoke certain elections.

– Authorize a refund to an individual even though an income tax return is filed outside the normal filing period;

– Authorize a reassessment or re-determination for an individual beyond the three-year normal reassessment period to allow a refund or a reduction in an amount payable.

You have 10 years from the end of the calendar year in which the tax year or fiscal period at issue ended to make a request to the CRA for tax payer relief.

We have gained special knowledge that CRA does not share with public about tax payer relief approving factors that we have achieved great success over. Just see yourself what the satisfied client say about their tax payer relief results in their testimonials. You can be the next.

You many think that you are not qualified, if you do not ask, you lose 100%. By asking the help from experienced professionals, you chance of getting tax payer relief is much increased.

What You Need to Do Now to Get Tax Payer Relief

Hire someone who is qualified and has the experience to help you to get your tax reduced. Many people try to handle the tax payer relief themselves, resulting in frustrating results because they do not understand the how tax payer relief system work. Keep in mind the tax payer relief is more than just a simple request. You need strong support from various aspects.

Why Choose Tax 911 Now Team for Tax Payer Relief

We have helped clients in reducing their tax debts by filing tax payer relief and negotiated excellent settlement for them. See what happy clients say about our Tax payer relief service in the testimonial.

Tax 911 Now tax payer relief services are offered across Canada in:

  • Toronto
  • Markham
  • Vancouver
  • Calgary

Our initial consultation is FREE and CONFIDENTIAL. You will get comprehensive analysis of your tax situation and recommended solutions in the first meeting. Then you can decide what to do from there.