'Pretty rough year': Tax experts urge Calgarians to file tax returns ahead of April 30 deadline

Karina Zapata · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 24, 2025 8:43 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 minutes ago

With the taxation filing deadline little than a week away, taxation professionals and organizations providing escaped taxation clinics successful Calgary are urging residents to commencement that process arsenic soon arsenic imaginable to debar delays amid a bumpy taxation season.

Most Albertans person until April 30 to taxable their taxation returns, and certified taxation nonrecreational Sharon Numerow with Calgary's Choice Tax Services said she's been flooded with last-minute filings.

Numerow said immoderate radical are facing difficulties getting each the slips they need, owed to glitches with the Canada Revenue Agency's caller validation process. It's causing immoderate documents to not look connected CRA systems.

"Many employers and fiscal institutions were unsuccessful successful loading their slips into CRA's system…. And truthful what's happening is radical are waiting longer and longer due to the fact that present that they can't find it successful their CRA account, the onus is connected them to person the slips," said Numerow, who present besides operates successful Lethbridge.

That means it's taking astatine slightest treble the magnitude of clip for taxation preparers similar her, she said.

"It's a beauteous unsmooth year."

Numerow wants to punctual Albertans that missing the filing deadline could pb to penalties.

"If you bash not record by April 30 and you're an employee, you volition beryllium charged 5 per cent of the outstanding equilibrium oregon the income taxation you beryllium arsenic a penalty, and past 1 per cent … of the full equilibrium until you wage it off," said Numerow.

In a connection to CBC, the CRA said anyone whose taxation slips aren't appearing connected the CRA website tin get them straight from their leader oregon fiscal institution.

It's besides reminding Albertans that April 30 is the deadline to wage the CRA immoderate taxes owed — adjacent if they're self-employed and don't person to record taxes until June 15.

High request for escaped taxation clinic

Local foundation Carya Calgary has besides been busier than accustomed with their escaped taxation session this year. It offers that work to low-income seniors and Calgarians receiving income enactment oregon AISH who person nary dependents.

Manager Jocelyn Cuthbert Mora said they've completed 635 taxes truthful acold this year, and are expecting that fig to scope 700 by adjacent week's deadline — astir 50 much than their emblematic volume.

She said it's particularly important for low-income seniors and Calgarians with disabilities to record their taxes connected time.

If not, "they hazard getting the benefits and supports chopped off. For older adults specifically, if they don't file, they're not going to suffice for Old Age Security," said Cuthbert Mora.

"If you're utilized to receiving truthful overmuch a period and it doesn't travel due to the fact that you were precocious filing taxes, past it tin evidently person immense ramifications for your housing, for poverty."

Cuthbert Mora said different caller alteration by the CRA has besides been creating challenges this twelvemonth for seniors with debased machine literacy. Canadians who acceptable their penchant to "electronic mail" online nary longer person their notices of appraisal by mail, which contains accusation needed for the adjacent taxation year.

"[It] tin beryllium a spot much of a situation of having to assistance them bash the telephone telephone to get them connected."

She said eligible Calgarians who inactive request to record their taxes tin inactive driblet disconnected their documents astatine Carya's Bowmont Commons and Village Commons locations, which are unfastened from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. connected Monday to Thursday.