Do you have tax problems? Tax Accounting4U understands that tax problems can have side effect on your business and/or personal life.
Tax Accounting4U can help you to take full control quickly, effectively and with dignity.
Doing nothing when you have tax problems is the worst thing, because it could have side effect such as:
- Sending a notice and asking for payment in a short period
- Sending an assessment and asking for payment.
- Imposing collection liens, such as withdrawal from your bank account, placing a lien on your property, garnishing your receivables and wage.
Tax Accounting4U specializes in protecting you from such problems when working for you to solve your tax problem. Whatever your problem, whether auditing undeclared income or wage garnishment, just call us.
The Types of Tax Problems We Deal With
- Income tax return & tax enforcement
- Interest and penalty relief proposals
- Payroll tax and source deduction
- GST/HST return and audit
- Disclosure of income
- Corporate tax return
- Past due returns
- Payment plans
The Tax Services
- Interim payment plan negotiation
- Interest and penalty relief program
- Final payout strategies
- Negotiation for payment plans
- Negotiation for wage garnishments
- Negotiation for cancellation of property lien
- and …
Our solutions for your problems
1. Clear up your Tax Debt
You have tax debt, and you cannot afford it, or you have cash flow problem and you think there is no solution. But with Tax accounting 4U, in most cases, there is a solution, because Tax Accounting4U offers a wide range of plans in order to help you to clear up your tax debt. We negotiate repayment agreements between you and the CRA.
Remember you should not directly negotiate with the CRA. Most times, when you contact the CRA directly, you are bound to give them unwanted details thereby changing your situation for the worse, which will make it more difficult to find the best solution for your problem, and sometimes it will be too late.
The CRA has the authority to permit the tax payer a repayment plan, but only under certain financial circumstances. So Tax Accounting 4U can make a win- win situation for both parties which allows the taxpayer to pay his tax debt and the other side, the CRA, will receive the tax.
Tax Accounting4U strongly recommends that taxpayers should stay away from direct contact with the CRA. We are experienced at negotiating with the CRA in order to get the best result for our clients.
2. Get Late Tax Returns Filed
Avoiding the tax by non filing is illegal, but remember owing money to the CRA is not illegal. So there is a big difference between not filing and not paying. You should file your tax return even if you don’t have records. Tax accounting 4U can get your returns (current and past due) prepared quickly and efficiently even under difficult circumstances. We will advocate on your behalf, then work with you to develop a strategy to combat your tax debt once your returns are filed.
Eluding the CRA and your tax return is the WORST inaction on your part. Don’t wait until it is too
3. Interest & Penalty Relief
In special circumstances, like medical or health problem, natural disaster, fire, financial hardship, etc., the CRA will relieve interest and penalty.
When we prepare your Relief Application we prepare all the required information and supporting documentation, in which case it will be hard for the CRA to say NO.
4. Postponed or removed Property Liens by the CRA
If you owe tax or didn’t file your tax returns, the CRA can file a lien against any property that you have, then they have the right to seize and sell your property after paying any prior encumbrances. A tax lien can be postponed or removed entirely if it is determined that it is in the best interest of the taxpayer AND the CRA. A forceful argument/proposal can result in the CRA’s postponing and removing a property lien.
5. Stop/Reduce Wage Garnishments.
The CRA will be able to apply a wage garnishment to your paycheck if you do not respond to their notice. Tax Accounting4U believes that the taxpayer who has not enough knowledge about the tax laws should not directly contact the CRA alone. Tax Accounting4U will negotiate with the CRA on your behalf to get the garnishment reduced or entirely removed.
Depending on your cash flow situation, an instalment agreement can also be arranged with the CRA. Then Tax Accounting4U may be able to negotiate with the CRA about interest and penalty relief.
If you receive a notice indicating that your wage is going to be garnished, contact us immediately. Tax Accounting4U has enough experience in dealing with various CRA issues. Tax Accounting4U has helped many Canadians like you to find solutions to their tax problems, whether you are being audited, have late returns, undeclared income or the CRA is garnishing your wages.
6. Voluntary Disclosure & Tax Amnesty
The Voluntary Disclosures Program (VDP) is administered by the CRA and promotes compliance with Canada’s tax laws. Through the VDP, the CRA encourages you to come forward and correct your tax affairs.
You may file a disclosure to correct inaccurate or incomplete information, or to provide information you may have omitted in your previous dealings with the CRA. More specifically, this includes information you have previously reported that was not complete, information you have reported incorrectly, or information you did not provide previously to the CRA. In such cases, VDP is the way to go.
This program waives civil penalties and avoids criminal prosecutions for those who are volunteering to act in accordance with their legal obligations. Through VDP, you will pay the taxes and interest owing, but the penalties will be waived. As well, policies exist that acknowledge uncontrollable circumstances and can provide relief from interest in certain situations. Also non-residents can use this program if they meet the requirements.
This program also allows for anonymous disclosure under the No-Name method, which protects the identities of the taxpayers.
No-Name Method
You can make a disclosure anonymously. A no-name disclosure is one in which you do not identify yourself on the initial disclosure submission. The no-name method requires that you demonstrate up front how you will meet the four criteria. You must also supply supporting information just as you would for a disclosure where the taxpayer’s identity is provided up front.
However, you will have 90 calendar days to provide the identity of the taxpayer involved. This 90-day grace period will not begin on the date you send in your original disclosure, but on the date the CRA sends you a letter advising you that the 90-day count has begun. You must provide the identity of the taxpayer on or before the 90th day or they will close the disclosure file without further contact.
What kind of information can I disclose?
Some of the types of disclosed information that you can submit include (please note this list is not exhaustive):
- Unreported personal or business income from sources within or outside of Canada
- Unreported source deductions
- Unreported withholding tax (Part 1 or Part XIII)
- Late-filed income tax returns (e.g. T1, T2, T3)
- Late-filed information return (e.g. T4, T4A-NR, NR4,T106,T1134,T1135)
- Expenses you were not entitled to claim
- GST/HST omissions or wash transactions
What is a Valid Disclosure?
A valid disclosure must meet all the following four conditions:
- Be voluntary (you make a disclosure before you become aware of any compliance action initiated by the CRA or Revenue Quebec—if you are a resident or business owner in Quebec—against you, an associated, or related party);
- May involve a penalty;
- Include information that is generally more than one year overdue; and Be complete (It must include the appropriate information to support your disclosure submission, including information that may be required for other business lines or associated or related parties. To avoid processing delays, this information should be provided with your initial submission. Failure to provide information upon request may result in your disclosure being denied)
7. Tax Audit Protection
Auditing is a way for the CRA to monitor and inspect GST/HST and income tax returns, excise taxes and duties, and payroll records. Although there is a high standard of compliance with the law in Canada, audits help the CRA maintain public confidence in the fairness and integrity of Canada’s tax system. Based on the definition of audit, it is very a stressful situation. And the CRA is seeking more details such as expenses that you claimed, such as meals, entertainment or travel, and all these items become subject to microscopic analysis.
Tax Accounting4U emphasizes to clients not to represent themselves directly in a CRA audit. Even if you honestly believe you filled out your entire tax return correctly, meeting with the CRA can be a very unsavory experience, and can lead you to your saying or doing things that won’t work in your favor. This is especially true if you have to experience a face-to-face audit. If you think filing your taxes is bad, try attending a face-to-face audit! Tax audits can be very dangerous if you go it alone.
How the CRA Selects Files to Audit?
Your tax return is recorded in a computer system that enables the CRA to select returns to be audited. Their system also allows them to sort returns into various groups to help with their selection.
In some cases, the CRA compares selected financial information for current and previous years of taxpayers engaged in similar businesses or occupations. From computer-generated lists of returns for potential audit, they then choose specific returns.
That is how most returns are selected. But there are four common ways of selecting files:
- Computer-generated Lists
Most returns are selected for audit review from computer-generated lists. For example, the computer system can compare selected financial information of clients engaged in similar business or occupations and generate lists of returns with audit potential. From these lists the CRA chooses specific returns to be audited. - Audit Projects
In some cases, the CRA tests the compliance of a particular group of clients. If the test results indicate that there is significant non- compliance within the group, they may audit its members on a local, regional, or national basis. - Leads
Leads include information from other audits or investigations, as well as information from outside sources. - Secondary Files
Sometimes the CRA selects files for audit because of their association with other previously selected files. For example, if you are in partnership with another client, and that person’s file has been selected for audit, it is usually more convenient to examine all the records at the same time
How the CRA Conducts Audits
If your return is selected, an auditor will review your records at a CRA office (office audit) or at your place of business (field audit). The audit usually includes an examination of the following documents:
- Information on file at the CRA, such as the returns selected for audit, financial statements, audit reports from any previous audits, and any other information on file.
- Your business records including your ledgers, journals, bank accounts, sales invoices, purchase vouchers, and expense accounts.
The auditor will contact you and either request that you send specific records to a CRA office, or arrange a convenient date and time to start the audit at your place of business.
If a field audit is required, upon arriving at your place of business, the auditor will present an identification card. Before examining your records, the auditor may want to discuss the general nature of your business, or tour the premises to get a better understanding of the transactions recorded in your records.
Throughout the process, the auditor may need to get information and assistance from your employees, particularly those who do your accounting
The auditor will ask the taxpayer to maintain proper books and records. To keep all invoices and other documents in a box is not acceptable by the government. Also the auditor will ask several questions even concerning several years ago and all the answer will be recorded. If the taxpayer answers the questions wrong, then the consequences can be disastrous. Tax Accounting4U will be between the taxpayer and the CRA, and if the auditor has any questions on the file they must go through Tax Accounting4U.
The auditor’s job is to verify your claims are accurate and correct and the taxpayer must be able to prove how the numbers were computed and provide books, records and supporting documents (the income and deductions).
If the auditor has all the receipts, and the books and the records are organized, then the audit will go quickly. If the books and records are a mess, then the auditor will have to increase the level of work because the taxpayer has lost credibility. In this area the taxpayer is guilty until proven innocent and must prove to the auditor the truthfulness of the numbers. Sometimes the auditor asks the taxpayer to provide personal and business bank account statements in order to compare all the deposits with the income declared in your tax return. If the auditor determines that there is unreported income, then the CRA can assess the taxpayer an additional 50% tax penalty. If charges are brought against the taxpayer, then, under summary conviction, there can be an additional 200% penalty plus a two year jail sentence. Furthermore, there will be interest added to the penalties based on Revenue Canada’s prescribed rates for each quarter.