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Senior tax pro and national spokesperson
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Canadians are not procrastinators
We recently asked Canadians to tell us about their tax filing habits. It turns out the majority of Canadians are responsible when it comes to filing tax returns before the last week of April. But 10 per cent of us wait until the last week, or even later, to file.
I have several friends in the U.S. and right now they are concentrating on getting their taxes done before the April 18 deadline – even if the government does shut down for a week. In the U.S., not filing by the deadline means a penalty even if you don’t owe money. If you want some extra time, you need to request an extension.
But in Canada, if you don’t owe money there is no penalty for filing late. We continue to get questions from Canadians who haven’t filed for three to 10 years and they want to know how to catch up. Very few ask about the penalties involved with late filing. Our tax system seems to be a little kinder than our southern neighbour’s.
However, it seems Canadians are responsible when it comes to filing their taxes. We asked Leger Marketing to conduct a poll in March asking when people were planning to do their returns. The results surprised us. Eighty-six per cent of Canadians have already filed their 2010 tax return or plan to do so at least a week in advance of the deadline. Only 10 per cent could be considered true procrastinators who plan to file just before or after the May 2 deadline.
Young Canadians were the most eager and organized, with 51 per cent likely to have already filed their return. People 45 or older were most likely to procrastinate (12 per cent) and plan to file last minute between April 25 and May 2. I think some of this can be attributed to slips for some investments not arriving until the end of March. You can’t file without all your slips.
It seems the main motivation behind our desire to file early is money. For taxpayers who have or plan to file early, one of the primary motivators is to get their money back as soon as possible. It is a good strategy, since your tax refund is money you overpaid the government and the Canada Revenue Agency does not pay interest on money it owes you.
If you are in the 10 per cent of procrastinators, you do have two extra days this tax season. With the April 30 deadline falling on a Saturday, the tax deadline moves to May 2 at midnight. But that is also the same day as the federal election, so you will need to make sure you have enough time to both file and vote.
Cleo HamelSenior tax pro and national spokesperson
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