Covid-19 benefits and your taxes

(NC) It’s been a challenging year, with the government providing financial support to many Canadians during the pandemic. As you prepare to do your taxes this year, it’s important to take these new income sources into account.

If you received COVID-related emergency benefit payments, you may owe taxes on this money. While the thought of owing money may be scary, if you delay filing you can miss out on helpful benefits and credits.

For example, by filing every year and regularly updating your personal information, the Canada Revenue Agency can determine if you’re eligible for things like the Canada child benefit, the GST/HST credit, or related provincial and territorial payments.

If they don’t have this info, your benefit and credit payments could stop. So, even if you have no income, are tax exempt or owe some money, not doing your taxes means you could lose out on cash you may rely on for rent or to help support your family. And if you still haven’t filed your 2019 tax return, you could already be missing out on benefit payments.

If you owe taxes and cannot pay the full amount now, the CRA will help you to find a way to pay. If you need help doing your taxes, you may be able to get them done for free by a volunteer at a virtual tax clinic.

Find more information at canada.ca/tax-clinics-free.