CRA Extends Taxpayer Relief in Wildfire Affected Areas

Evelyn Jacks

CRA is providing some relief from corporate tax filing requirements for businesses in wildfire zones in British Columbia and the Northwest Territories and some instruction on how to get access to tax benefits and manage tax collections and CRA audits during the disaster.  Detail appears below:

What tax returns are affected by taxfiling relief?  T2 and GST/HST returns with filing deadlines between August 15 and October 16,  will not be charged late filing penalties or interest on instalments or balances due.

CRA has identified 590 different postal codes.  If businesses are located in one of them, they will not be charged penalties or interest for filing late returns due in the period August 15, 2023 to October 16, 2023. Payments owning however must be submitted by October 16.

How do I locate the postal codes to which this relief will apply?   CRA has provided a list of affected postal codes. Check the list of affected postal codes here.

What if the business is not located in the postal code list but is still facing hardship in complying with CRA?  Businesses not located in those postal codes which are unable to meet  GST/HST or T2 filing obligations due to circumstances beyond their control,  should immediately make a request for relief of penalties and interest under the Taxpayer Relief provisions.  A professional such as a DMA-Tax Services Specialist or RWM™ can help.

What happens if government benefit cheques like the Canada Child Benefit or OAS can’t be delivered? People who are affected by wildfires may find their access to government benefit cheques may be affected to, especially if they count on mail services.  CRA has posted a series of payment dates and Canada Post delivery alerts.  Canada Post delivery interruptions alerts can be found here:  Delivery Service Alerts (canadapost-postescanada.ca).

If in a red zone, the CRA suggests a switch to direct deposit as the surest way to avoid interruptions in benefit payments.  A phone number is provided for immediate assistance: 1-800-959-8281.  Or if you can’t get through seek help from a professional such as a DMA-Tax Services Specialist or RWM™ can help.

Can CRA debt collections be stopped?  Possibly.  For those affected taxpayers who owe money to the CRA but can’t pay due to this disaster can call the Debt Management Call Centre at 1-888-863-8657.

Facing a tax audit but records are destroyed by fire?  Again, CRA has set up a phone number for different taxfiler profiles: 1-800-959-8281 for individual enquiries, 1-800-959-5525 for business enquiries, or 1-800-267-2384 for registered charities enquiries.

Make a Difference.  Tax and financial advisors can help Canadians affected by the wildfire to apply for Taxpayer Relief in these devastating circumstances and help to navigate the complex relationship and compliance requirements with CRA on their behalf.  To learn more about how to do so, please attend the September 20 CE Summit.

For personal, friendly assistance call us 1-866-953-4769