In order to provide greater flexibility to Canadians who may be experiencing hardships during the COVID-19 outbreak, the Canada Revenue Agency will defer the filing due date for the 2019 tax returns of individuals, including certain trusts. A summary appears below.
Please note that while we endeavour to update due dates in TaxCycle as information changes, please refer to Income tax filing and payment dates: CRA and COVID-19 for the latest information on these measures.
The deadline for businesses to pay any income tax amounts that become owing or due after March 18, 2020 and before September 1, 2020 has been extended to September 1, 2020. This means businesses will not be assessed any penalties or interest if their balance due is paid by September 1, 2020. The return filing due date remains at 6 months after the tax year end.
Alberta Finance also announced that corporate income tax balances and instalment payments will be deferred from March 19 until August 31, 2020. The return filing due date remains at 6 months after the tax year end. Please see the Alberta COVID-19 support for employers and employees page.
In order to reduce the necessity for taxpayers and tax preparers to meet in person during this difficult time, and to reduce administrative burden, effective immediately the Canada Revenue Agency will recognize electronic signatures as having met the signature requirements of the Income Tax Act, as a temporary administrative measure. This provision applies to authorization forms T183 or T183CORP, which are forms that are signed in person by millions of Canadians every year to authorize tax preparers to file taxes.
