Your taxes might look a little different this year because of the pandemic. With special government assistance like the Canada Emergency Response Benefit and new deductions for people who work from home, this tax season promises to be unique.

The Canada Revenue Agency says it is expecting a flood of queries related to COVID-19 benefits.

To help those with questions, personal finance expert Shannon Lee Simmons sat down virtually with CBC’s Jacqueline Hansen to discuss how taxes are different this year.

Here are those answers, edited for clarity and length.

Q: Tax season usually kicks off when you get that T4 form from employers. This year, there are different forms. Can you walk us through what other forms Canadians could be expecting?

A: If you got government support last year (whether through CERB, CRB, or CSB), that’s going to show up on a T4A. And the most important thing you can do for yourself is have a my CRA account. You can go to previous tax years; you can make sure you have all your tax slips and find all your T4 documents.

For home office workers — there’s also the T2200 form. The T4A for government support and the T2200 for home office expenses are the two new forms you should be watching out for.

We’re also used to seeing T4Es. Those are the Employment Insurance forms and used for parental leave as well. If you were an employee and you were laid off this year, Service Canada changed it so that across the board — everyone got $500 per week.

Q: A YouTube user asked: Are there any indications that the CRA will delay the return filing due dates (like they did last year) beyond April 30 for personal tax returns, and June 15 for corporations?

A: I didn’t see any indication of that. It’s really important to know: There’s a big difference between filing your taxes and paying any balances owing. The big deadline that everyone usually talks about is this April 30 filing deadline for personal taxes.

And it’s June 15 for people who are self-employed, which would be if you’re a sole proprietor. But I worry about people thinking that they have until June 15 to file their self-employment taxes because the money is still due April 30.

How can you know necessarily what you might owe by April 30 if you haven’t filed yet? Try to figure out what you owe and get it done by April 30. Because then you don’t get charged any interest — that’s my blanket advice.

Q: Who doesn’t have to pay right away? Who has a year to pay the taxes that they owe?

A: Very specifically: if you made $75,000 or less in 2020 and you were on one of the government programs (such as CRB, CSB, the caregiver allowance, or CERB), you have an amount outstanding. You have until April 30, 2022 to pay those taxes without the government charging you any interest.

If you made over $75,000, you don’t qualify for that extension.

Q: What should people do if they can’t get into the my CRA accounts?

A: The CRA shut down 800,000 Canadian accounts recently. So the best thing to do if that’s happening to you is just reset it. It’s going to be annoying. You’re going to have to get on the phone.

I’ve had some clients say that they waited three hours to get through, so put your phone on speaker and maybe watch a show or do some work. Eventually when they pick up, they’re going to need last year’s tax information. Hopefully you’ve got your Notice of Assessment handy but they do have a way of asking other security questions in case you don’t.

Note: The CRA also says users can log in using their banking information or have a new CRA registration mailed to them.

Q: Stephanie on YouTube asked: My T4 for CERB is on my CRA account but I haven’t got the physical copy in the mail yet. Can I use that electronic file in order to file my taxes?

A: 100 per cent. That’s what it’s there for.

Q: Margaret via Facebook asked: My boss laid me off last March and still has not supplied me with my T4. What do I do?

A: Legally, your employer has to file that T4 by Feb. 28 of this year. You may not have gotten a physical copy, but it may still be posted to your My CRA account. Check there first. It should be there, even if you haven’t gotten the physical copy, because sometimes employers will forget or they’ll be lazy or something will happen administratively for small businesses. That’s the easiest solution.

Number 2 would be to call your old employer, speak to the manager, speak to somebody and see if they have that information. Ask them: “What did they file to the CRA?” They should have filed it legally with the CRA already, so that is a bigger issue if they haven’t.

Q: Saba from Facebook asked: Can you write off a portion of property tax (when working from home) if you’re a homeowner?

A: No, not unless you’re an employee who earns commissions. The homeowner here really is not set up for the best bang for their buck as far as the “detailed method” (for calculating home-office expenses) goes.

For a lot of the clients I’ve seen, the flat rate tends to be easier, faster and worth more for a lot of people who are homeowners.

For the flat rate method, you just tally up how many days of your year that you were mandated to work from home (vacation days don’t count) and then make sure you do run that by your employer.

A lot of people are opting to do that, especially homeowners who work out their electricity, and their heat, and then once they take their time and square footage into account, it’s like well that’s only a $200 deduction.

Lee Simmons recommends checking out this calculator.

Q: Danny on Facebook asked: Is there anything different about this tax season that students need to know in particular?

A: Number one, if you’re a student and if you were on the Canada Student Benefit, it is considered taxable income. Just like CERB, it’s going to be treated the same way and you’re going to get a T-slip. So that’s something to watch out for.

However, as a student, you probably have tuition credits that are going to completely offset that.

So make sure that you’re applying those tuition credits and putting them in properly. And don’t forget to add any carry-forward tuition from previous years. The more tuition credits you have, the less tax you’re paying.

Q: This is a different year for parents. Are there any potential tax surprises for parents as typically child care would have been a big cost?

A: It’s a big change this year for parents. If you have child care, the typical amount if you have a child under seven — you can deduct up to $8,000 per kid. So keep in mind that most people are going to spend between $15,000-$20,000 per kid. And then to be able to write off $8,000 as a deduction is huge for families. If you’ve got two kids that would be a $16,000 deduction to your household.

It works the same as an RRSP deduction. Imagine you made a $16,000 RRSP contribution, it would have the same positive impact on your taxes.

This year, what I’m noticing is people may not have spent the full $8,000 because maybe for six months they weren’t paying child care or day camps weren’t running. So all the things that used to qualify for that now don’t; they may no longer have the full deduction amount. So that might be a surprise. But you also spent less, so remember, you were saving some money.

You might also like:

#AskMelanie: What are the new rules for this upcoming tax season?

My office is open and ready to serve you.

Hours are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday 9:00 am-5:00 pm daily, evenings and weekends are possible by appointment only.   I am excited to be reopened and look forward to meeting with clients in person. I am following recommended Covid-19 safety and cleaning protocols.  Masks are required to enter the office and I also ask that each person sanitize their hands upon entry.  I encourage clients to make appointments if they want to meet with me directly and so that I can manage the flow of individuals in the office at any one time.   However, as detailed below, there are a few different ways to get your information to me safely if you do not need to meet.

I am accepting personal and corporate tax information in one of four ways:

1. In-office – please see details above to drop off tax returns in-person;
2. Via email – you can scan your documents and then send them to me in an email (preferably send everything in one email).
3. Via a portal – I have a secure portal that I can invite you to. We can then share documents between us.  This requires that you send me an email requesting the portal.  I will then send you an invite to which you then accept and set up with your own password. We can then upload documents and receive notices whenever something changes.
4. Mailbox drop-off – there is a mailbox at the back of the building to submit your documents in.  It is a locked box that I check a few times a day.

When the tax return(s) are completed, I will be in touch with respect to delivery and pick up options.

Take care and stay safe.  If we all work together, this will be over faster!

The COVID pandemic has brought about many changes for individuals in 2020, one being the requirement to work from home as an employee. You may be eligible to claim a tax deduction for your home office expenses (office space, supplies, internet, cell phone, etc.) which were incurred but NOT reimbursed by your employer if you were required to work from home.

As an employee you are eligible to deduct home office expenses if you meet the following conditions:

• You worked more than 50% of the time from home for at least 4 consecutive weeks in 2020 due to COVID-19
• The expenses were directly related to your work

Eligible work from home expenses include:

1. Rent paid

2. Utilities paid

3. Internet paid

4. Supplies (administrative items normally provided by employer) purchased

5. Employment use of a Cell phone paid in 2020

NOTE that you cannot claim items such as mortgage interest, insurance, property taxes, furniture or computers as part of a home office claim.

You might also like: What are some financial lessons of covid-19

There are two ways of calculating the claim, the Flat Rate method (for 2020) or The Detailed method:

1. The Flat rate method was introduced for 2020 and if this method is used, you are not required to obtain a T2200 – Declaration of Conditions of Employment. You are also not required to maintain receipts. Under the Flat rate method, you are eligible to claim $2 for each day that you worked at home up to a maximum of $400.
2. The detailed method involves calculating the home office claim based on actual receipts and the square footage of your office. NOTE that under this method, you must obtain form T2200 – Declaration of Conditions of Employment from your employer and you must retain all receipts.

The above is a general description of the tax deduction available which may or may not benefit you. I encourage you to discuss your situation with me to determine the availability of this claim and the maximum benefit available to you.

My office is open and ready to serve you.

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 9-5.  (Saturdays in April)

I am accepting personal and corporate tax information in one of four ways:

1. In-office –  TO ENCOURAGE INDIVIDUALS TO FOLLOW THE STAY AT HOME ORDERS, MY OFFICE IS CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC UNTIL THE PROVINCIAL LOCKDOWN IS LIFTED.  I AM IN THE OFFICE WORKING HOWEVER AND AM ONLY A PHONE CALL OR EMAIL AWAY.  UNTIL SUCH TIME AS TO LOCKDOWN IS LIFTED, I CAN MEET WITH YOU VIRTUALLY AND INFORMATION CAN BE PICKED UP OR DROPPED OFF USING THE CURBSIDE METHOD.
2. Via email – you can scan your documents and then send them to me in an email (preferably send everything in one email).
3. Via a portal – I have a secure portal that I can invite you to. We can then share documents between us.  This requires that you send me an email requesting the portal.  I will then send you an invite to which you then accept and set up with your own password. We can then upload documents and receive notices whenever something changes.
4. Mailbox drop-off – there is a mailbox at the back of the building to submit your documents in.  It is a locked box that I check a few times a day.

When the tax return(s) are completed, I will be in touch with respect to delivery and pick up options.

Take care and stay safe.  If we all work together, this will be over faster!

Are you having trouble keeping up with all the changed dates for tax deadlines (for both personal and business) because of COVID-19?

Us too!

The following details the returns that have been affected by COVID19 with respect to filing and payment dates. I have compiled a list of normal filing dates and revised COVID filing along with payment due dates. If you have any questions we are here to help. My contact information is listed below.

In these tough times, I am still working at the office to prepare your income tax returns so that you can get your money back!

However, the office is closed to visitors.

I am accepting information for tax returns in one of three ways:

1. Mailbox drop-off – there is a mailbox at the back of the building to submit your documents in.  It is a locked box that I check a few times a day;
2. Via email – you can scan your documents and then send them to me in an email (preferably send everything in one email);
3. Via a portal – I have a secure portal that I can invite you to. We can then share documents between us.  This requires that you send me an email requesting the portal.  I will then send you an invite to which you then accept and set up with your own password. We can then upload documents and receive notices whenever something changes.

When the tax return(s) are completed, I will be in touch with respect to delivery and pick up options.

Take care and stay safe.  If we all work together, this will be over faster!

In these tough times, I am still working at the office to prepare your income tax returns so that you can get your money back!

However, the office is closed to visitors.

I am accepting information for tax returns in one of three ways:

1. Mailbox drop-off – there is a mailbox at the back of the building to submit your documents in.  It is a locked box that I check a few times a day;
2. Via email – you can scan your documents and then send them to me in an email (preferably send everything in one email);
3. Via a portal – I have a secure portal that I can invite you to. We can then share documents between us.  This requires that you send me an email requesting the portal.  I will then send you an invite to which you then accept and set up with your own password. We can then upload documents and receive notices whenever something changes.

When the tax return(s) are completed, I will be in touch with respect to delivery and pick up options.

Take care and stay safe.  If we all work together, this will be over faster!

3. Open the safety deposit box (“SDB”). You may need to open the SDB if the will is in the SDB or to prepare a list of the contents of the SDB with the representative of the bank.

Key takeaway: Please always ensure someone has a copy of the SDB key or knows where to find the key.

4. Meet with your or your spouse’s lawyer to review the will and understand any legal obligations such as advertising for creditors. In general, most spouses leave all if not the majority of their assets to their spouse. This generally makes things easy for tax, but that is not always the case. In addition, specific assets may often be left to the children or a charity, and those assets need to be dealt with in the near term.

5. Notify any beneficiaries of their entitlements under the will and request their personal information.

6. Meet with your or your spouse’s accountant, to ensure you are clear on the income tax obligations and the income filing requirements. If you or your spouse do not have an accountant, engage one. As noted above, I will address this issue in more detail in two weeks.

7. If the executor is someone other than the surviving spouse, ensure you contact them and advise them of their duties and determine whether they accept the appointment. Hopefully, they are already aware they would be appointed.

Key takeaway: always inform the people who will be your executors and provide them an estate organizer or similar document to provide them a roadmap of your assets. They will need to have a list of all your assets for probate and to ensure a full distribution is undertaken.

8. Your lawyer will advise you whether you will need to obtain a certificate of appointment of estate trustee with a will (probate), a very important step in Ontario and most other provinces.

Key takeaway: If you own shares in a private corporation, in certain provinces you can have a second will that removes these assets from probate. Ensure you discuss this with your lawyer if you do not already have a second will.

9. Collect any life insurance benefits.

10. Meet with your and your spouse’s financial planner, insurance agent or any other relevant advisor.

Key takeaway: Make sure you and your spouse meet all family advisors while both spouses are alive to create at least a basic comfort level.

11. Where the deceased was a controlling shareholder or ran a business, find out if there was a succession plan/disaster plan in place and that it is being followed. If the deceased did not create a plan, take control of the business in the short term and start looking for a manager to take over running the business. Your accountant can likely assist you in this.

Key takeaway: As I’ve written before, many business owners do not have a succession plan. This is the quickest way to lose some or a significant portion of your family’s worth when you die. Ensure you have a plan in place now or take steps to put one in place.

12. Apply for any government benefits the estate is entitled to, such as the CPP death benefit, survivor benefits and possibly child benefits.

13. Notify CPP/QPP and Old Age Security – at Service Canada – of your spouse’s death so they stop making payments.

14. Cancel the deceased’s driver’s licence, health card and other provincial documentation. (See this page for Ontario; each province will have a similar resource online.) Also make sure to cancel the deceased’s Social Insurance Number, passport and Nexus account as applicable.

15. Cancel credit cards in your spouse’s name, email and websites attached to them, and memberships in fitness clubs and organizations.

16. Change the name listed on utility, telephone and other bills.

17. Cancel personal health insurance premiums, cell phones and possible “fall alerts” if the deceased was elderly.

18. Transfer RRSPs, RRIFs and TFSAs.

19. Update your will or power of attorney (POA) if your deceased spouse was the beneficiary of all or some of your assets or your POA.

Key takeaway: It is important to update your will and especially your POA as soon as possible. I have seen many situations where the stress (broken heart) of spouse’s passing often creates a medical issue for the surviving spouse, so updating your POA is very important.

20. If you have real estate holdings in your spouse’s name or in a joint name, review the legal ownership and transfer issues with your real estate lawyer.

21. If your spouse had a vehicle, sell or transfer it and cancel or transfer the applicable auto insurance.

22. If the deceased had a domestic caregiver and the payroll account was in their name, you will need to issue final T4s, and possibly set up a new account in your name.

23. A sometimes-troublesome issue is family members taking items, whether for sentimental value or for other reasons. They must be made to understand that all items must be allocated according to the will or other means, and nothing can be taken.

Key takeaway: This is a very ticklish issue and needs to be handled delicately, but a family member “grabbing” a sentimental item can sometimes cause more dissension than monetary allocations.

24. For any jewellery and art not noted in the will, please note there are tax and probate consequences. See this blog I wrote on “Personal Use Property – Taxable even if the Picasso Walks Out the Door.”

25. Depending upon whether assets were left to beneficiaries other than the spouse, you may have to deal with a passing of accounts – commonly known as an official accounting of the estate’s assets – and possibly request a clearance certificate.

The administration and tax issue burdens are immense upon the death of a spouse. We have now covered the key items that the surviving spouse needs to deal with from an administrative angle. Look out for our next post, which will get you up to date on the taxation issues. For both areas, I strongly urge you to obtain professional legal and tax assistance.