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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.

What can be claimed as Taxpayer Relief Help?

Taxpayer relief help can be given in conditions where some actions of the CRA have come in the way of the taxpayer’s obligations. Other conditions that apply for seeking taxpayer relief help could be inability to pay on part of the taxpayer due to financial hardship and through circumstances arising out of natural calamities or civil disturbances and disruptions.

CRA may cancel or waive certain penalties and interest charges when they affect a taxpayer’s ability to pay the taxes resulting mainly from actions of the Agency itself such as delays in processing. Such delays may result in the taxpayers not getting informed within a reasonable time period, stating the amount of tax to be paid. The delay in the relaying of information can result in the taxpayers not being able to pay their taxes within the time limit allowed.

The actions of CRA could also be erroneous, leading a taxpayer to file the tax return or make payments, guided by information which may be incorrect. The errors also could be in the processing of the notices. Other actions of the CRA that could have an impact on the taxpayer relief help would be a delay in the resolution of an appeal or a Notice of Objection or in the completion of a tax audit.

CRA also considers waiving or cancelling the interest charges and penalties where an inability is proven and confirmed by the taxpayer who may be experiencing financial hardship. In these cases, the penalties could be waived or cancelled in part or in whole towards their tax obligations. CRA reviews the case if the taxpayer is not able to make the tax payments or negotiate payment plan schedules as the interest charges make up a considerable portion of the payment amount.

As a part of the taxpayer relief help, CRA will assess that the accumulated interest payment would result in an extended inability on the part of the taxpayer, resulting in financial hardship and a burden on the provision of basic necessities like food, medical help and conveyance or shelter expenses. In such cases, taxpayer relief help is provided by considering cancellation of all or a portion of the entire accumulated interest amount.

It has to be noted that CRA would not consider a cancellation of a penalty as a result of the taxpayer being unable to pay the taxes because of financial hardship, unless it can be proved that it was due to extraordinary circumstances which prevented tax compliance. This could be because of natural disasters or in special cases where a business experiences severe financial difficulty. Enforcement of penalties would affect the continuity of that business’ operations, resulting in the employees losing their jobs or the community’s welfare being jeopardised. In these cases, penalties could be waived as taxpayer relief help.

It is a wrong notion on the part of some Canadians that the taxpayer relief help is a program that is allowed on a one-time basis. This is not true, as all residents who have been charged interest or penalties carry the right to seek relief every time that it is warranted. The taxpayer relief help group does not maintain any inventory of collections and it will review cases on their submission merit and not by any influence of a collection diary.