Each year, the Canada Revenue Agency publishes a statistical summary of the tax filing patterns of Canadians during the previous filing season. The final statistics for 2023 show that the vast majority of Canadian individual income tax returns – just over 92%, or just under 30 million returns – were filed by electronic means, using one or the other of the CRA’s web-based filing methods. About 2.5 million returns – or just under 8% – were paper-filed.
At a time when Canadian households are coping simultaneously with ongoing inflation, especially food inflation, as well as interest rates which are at their highest point in decades, every dollar of income counts. And where that income can be obtained with minimal effort, and received tax-free, then it’s a win-win for the recipient.
The vast majority of Canadians view completing and filing their annual tax return as an unwelcome chore, and generally breathe a sigh of relief when it’s done for another year.
Fortunately for the Canadian taxpayer, most individual income tax returns filed result in the payment of a tax refund to the tax filer. Notwithstanding, a significant number of taxpayers find, on completing the annual tax return, that money is owed to the Canada Revenue Agency.
For many years, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has been encouraging Canadian taxpayers to file their returns online, through the CRA’s website. And that message has clearly been heard, as the most recent statistics show that just under 92% of returns filed in 2022 were filed using one or the other of the CRA’s web-based filing methods.
Dollar amounts on which individual non-refundable federal tax credits for 2023 are based, and the actual tax credit claimable, will be as follows:
Each new tax year brings with it a listing of tax payment and filing deadlines, as well as some changes with respect to tax saving and planning strategies. Some of the more significant dates and changes for individual taxpayers for 2023 are listed below.
Canada’s retirement income system is often referred to as a three-part system. Individuals earning income from employment or self-employment can contribute to a registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) and withdraw funds from that plan in retirement.
