Personal taxes are the bane of everyone’s existence, but they don’t have to be painful. In the modern day, it can all be done virtually, which simplifies the process significantly.
One thing to remember is that because everything is so digital, the CRA doesn’t get your pile of receipts anymore. They don’t see the prescription receipts, donations to the SPCA, or bills from the daycare. But periodically, they *do* want to see them – in that case, you’ll receive a CRA Review letter. Let us know that you’ve received a letter, and we should be able to find it in your CRA account.
Don’t Panic! This is absolutely nothing to worry about. The CRA even has a very welcoming page that describes the process.
You’ll want to read the letter carefully, as it has a lot of information in it. The link above will help you know what to do. If you want assistance, your tax preparer should be able to help you understand it, and even assist, depending on their policies.
At Cheques & Balances Bookkeeping Services, we make a point of getting a CRA authorization from our clients, so that we're ready for this kind of thing. We know what they’re usually looking for: receipts for medical expenses, donations, childcare, and overseas investments are the common ones.
If it’s a simple review, and we don’t need any more information from you, we can upload what they need right away – this type of simple review is included in our tax preparation price. If it’s more complicated, we’ll let you know that it might cost you some bookkeeping time to follow up with the CRA and gather the information.