Tax Alert - Taxpayer relief deadline is December 31, 2015 for requests related to 2005

November 30, 2015      Ottawa, Ontario    Canada Revenue Agency

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) reminds taxpayers and registrants (for both GST/HST and non-GST/HST purposes) that they have until December 31, 2015 to make a taxpayer relief request related to 2005.

The deadline applies to taxpayer relief requests for:

• the 2005 tax year;
• any reporting period that ended during the 2005 calendar year; and
• any interest and penalties that accrued during the 2005 calendar year for any tax year or reporting period.

The law allows the CRA to cancel penalties or interest when taxpayers and registrants are unable to meet their tax obligations due to circumstances beyond their control. The CRA may also accept certain late-filed, amended, or revoked income tax elections, and issue income tax refunds or reduce income tax payable beyond the normal three-year reassessment period.

Taxpayers and registrants or their authorized representatives can make a request to the CRA to cancel penalties or interest by filling out Form RC4288 Request for Taxpayer Relief - Cancel or Waive Penalties or Interest.

For information on all types of taxpayer relief requests, go to www.cra.gc.ca/taxpayerrelief.

Quick facts

• Taxpayer relief is limited to tax years or reporting periods that ended within 10 calendar years of the year the taxpayer relief request is made.
• The CRA may also cancel interest and penalties that accrued within 10 calendar years of the year the taxpayer relief request is made, regardless of the tax year or reporting period in which the debt originated.
• If you are involved in a tax process with the CRA, including an audit, objection, or appeal for the 2005 tax year, or are subject to a reporting period that ended in 2005, and are not sure if you need to make a taxpayer relief request, you should be safe and make a request before the December 31, 2015 deadline.