CRA Data Breeches Put Taxpayer Information at Risk

An important deadline is coming up, around the same time that Canadians get ready to file their 2026 tax returns at the start of tax season 2027. Since 2020, more than 42,000 data breaches have occurred at the CRA. A class action lawsuit was launched in 2020 and a $8.76 million settlement was reached.  Eligible Canadians affected by these security incidents can now submit claims through the KPMG Claims Portal until February 3, 2027.  

Knowledge Bureau is now accepting session proposals from sponsors interested in presenting to a national audience of highly engaged top advisors at the October 17 – 19, DAC 2021 in Niagara Falls. This is your best opportunity to get in front of a national network of thought leaders from the tax, financial services and bookkeeping industries who are highly engaged in growing their practices to meet the challenges of the times.    

"Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat." - F. Scott Fitzgerald

This week the government released the T4A form for 2020.  This is the first indication of how the various government assistance programs for 2020 will be reported on the tax return.

It’s a controversial subject that’s clearly lead to some divided results on our October poll. We asked: “Are government plans to introduce automatic free tax filing for the 12% of adults who don’t file tax returns to get benefits a good idea?” The results are in with 42% saying “yes” and 58% who shared some insightful thoughts and strong opinions with their “no’s”.

Back on July 17, the government announced that it would provide a one-time tax-free payment of $600 to more Canadians with disabilities.  These individuals will finally see payment of that amount beginning this week.  But there are more opportunities that qualified tax practitioners can help with before year end. 

Knowledge Bureau’s Income Tax Estimator, a sophisticated software tool used in teaching our certificate personal tax filing and planning courses, incorporates the most recent changes to tax brackets and known provisions including the calculation of the Canada Recovery Benefits.  We have now calculated the 2021 tax brackets based on CPI figures released last week to enable students and Knowledge Bureau Calculator subscribers to prepare projections for 2021 taxes payable as part of year-end tax planning activities.