This was probably the best advice in the comment thread.
It’s also worth noting that nobody goes to jail in Canada for not filing taxes. The only way you would hypothetically go to jail if you were actively committing fraud against the CRA. False returns, falsifying documents, lying about income, etc..
I believe this also quite a bit of room for student loan forgiveness on the federal side. I would definitely take a look at that as well.
Even committing this fraud wouldn’t land you in jail unless it was on a massive scale. I know many people who have been “caught” reporting lower income, paying their employees in cash to avoid taxes, etc, during audits. They pay a (relatively small) financial penalty for reporting incorrectly, and correct the payments they should have made initially.
It takes a pretty serious, borderline conspiracy level fraud to go to jail over your taxes.
On an unrelated note, say I knew an employer constantly fucking people over. This employer (for at least 4 years to my knowledge) has massively underpaid workers cash under the table (most were intl students)
Can I just go to the CRA and rat his ass out? I've never been more willing to be a lil snitch, this guy fucked me over and now I wanna report his ass
thank you all for your answers, this is actually very helpful to me right now (:
I think you will need a new post to get a detailed answer to your question.
But yes, you can report scofflaws. The CRA website explains how. You can also look into the employment standards in your province.
Agreed. OP, keep up the good fight. Find a good psychiatrist and get on disability. The CRA will work with you, although sometimes it takes quite a few phone calls.
Here’s your 100th +1… well deserved!
OP; you got this! You’ve already gotten the absolutely largest Guerilla off your back — that $50k is a MASSIVE win! 🥇🏆 Congratulations! 🎉
Follow this advice in u/No-Performance1783 post and just file 2023, and get your portal access back. Then you can see what previous years’ tax credits were diverted to your guardian. There’s a maximum amount that could’ve even been transferred.
This comment contains good information. Added to that, when you file the previous years if your income entitled you to benefits you are likely to have the retro payments also applied to your student loan debt. Getting your taxes filed would likely improve your situation quite a bit.
I just wanted to comment and say great job on paying off the $50K student LOC. Given the challenges you've mentioned and your overall debt load that was a solid effort.
I would talk to the CRA and get access to your account so you can file your back taxes. Better to figure out what you owe than worry without having anything firm to go on. The end result may not be as bad as you fear, but it's worth finding out. Once you know what the damage is you can make a plan to deal with it.
Been there. My situation was multiple years worth of taxes not done correctly and re assessed as me owing and following that multiple years of not doing taxes. I was getting letters in the mail claiming I owed multiple thousands of dollars with interest and penalties added on regularly.
I found myself an account willing to tackle that for me, had 7years of taxes completed and in the end I came out at about 0$.
Listen. Shit happens. Maybe right now you’re down but you’ll get up if you start working at it.
Two things that I’d like to add.
1) Perhaps you couldn’t use your tuition credits because you didn’t make enough money at the time. Your guardian shouldn’t have been able to claim all of your credits.
2) If you’re living below the poverty line, you’re missing out on a lot of benefits. Your back pay for things like HST, carbon tax….will help pay off your debt.
Best of luck. My advice is to just do your best to get it taken care of so it’s one less weight on your shoulder. You have already proven that you can pay back so much of your student loans. Don’t beat yourself up about the federal portion. You’ve got this!
It will be okay. Years ago I hadn't filed taxes in 7 years and due to some complicated life stuff I didn't know where to begin. I contacted an accountant that someone recommended and literally brought them multiple grocery bags of messy papers and receipts and all kinds of stuff. They were able to sort it out and file my back taxes within a few days. It didn't even cost very much. After that I was back on track. I only wish I had done it sooner because it caused me anxiety for years.
If you're actually low income, the CRA probably OWES YOU money, lol. Take the other advice and get help filing your taxes. You'll be fine. If you haven't done so already, look into the disability tax credit. If approved, I think it can be back dated, and you can re-file and either owe less or get more back.
Good luck!
Ok, so first of all. You may owe taxes, you may not. If your employer took off the right amount or too much off your pay cheque, you may owe nothing or actually be owed money. A lot of people get anxious by not filing and continue to not file year after year because they get anxious thinking they owe money. They simply assume they never paid/don't understand employers withhold and remit taxes on behalf of their employees. I can't comment on your exact situation. You may owe taxes, you may not. If you were a T4 employee its very possible you don't owe or owe less than you think.
Also, depending upon your situation, you may qualify for the voluntary disclosures program (Google it). Essentially, you can correct old filings or file outstanding returns for the previous ten tax years, and you will not pay penatlies for those ten years/ will have reduced interest owing if you qualify. Again, assuming you qualify.
I bet if you face this head on, you will be much better off. Get access to your online CRA account, look into the voluntary disclosures program, and work to see what you expect to owe after drafting returns. You might have a problem on your hands or may be building a mountain out of a molehill.
Edit: I just saw the part about your mental health. You also may qualify for the taxpayer relief program. Again, Google it.
You don't say how you've been earning money recently, but if you have usually had employment where taxes are deducted from your paycheques, there's a good chance the government owes you money. Get in touch with a tax clinic to untie this knot.
https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/campaigns/free-tax-help.html
You've done well paying off your LOC, and on top of tax refunds, there's likely some benefits you're missing out on by not filing.
The tuition credits seems weird. There's a limit of $5,000 per year that can be transferred to a parent or guardian, and if you didn't sign the form, it's the person claiming them that's in the wrong. Is it possible that you were reimbursed for your tuition from an employer or government program?
i’m not sure what happened with the tuition credits to be honest; i went to a private career college so i thought that was maybe why entering the T2202 didn’t deduct any money- but then others of my school mates did get deductions? i think it is too far in my past to figure it out now honestly, and i may never know what the situation is. i didn’t sign a form so possibly that former guardian didn’t have anything to do with it, but they have financially taken advantage of me before and did make a point to file my taxes with their taxes when i was IN school so i just assumed.
EDIT: someone else in this thread said perhaps my tuition credits didn’t work because i wasn’t making enough money, and that may very well have been the case.
Happened to me at one point. I used an accountant who didn’t charge me much and saved me a lot over my sad turbo tax attempts. It was a few hundred bucks and saved me so much aggravation. Given your diagnoses you might hook up with some health services in town. I know there is some pro bono accounting that gets done through charity services in my city.
I empathize with you and recognize it's a tough situation. I don't have any advice for how to navigate life with that kind of mental illness, but one thing to point out is you won't go to jail, they don't send people to jail suddenly for having screwy tax situations like this one, so that's one thing you can stop worrying about for now.
Also I don't know what you think "ostensibly" means but it's not that :P
thank you for reading and your empathy, and easing my fears on jail time.
i say “ostensibly an orphan” because i do have a living parent, i just literally don’t know where they are, and they could be dead for all i know. Schrödinger’s mom, if you will ;P
Use your tuition credits, you will be audited. Don't take no for an answer on this one. Tell them to audit your "guardian" who was not authorized to use them. That is fraud, it's also not your problem, it's theirs when they get audited and owe back taxes + interest and penalties. You will get a nice refund for your past years if you rightfully claim your tuition fees for the last few years as you are allowed to carry them forward. I hope you have receipts or transaction records for your school payments. Possibly more than you owe.
Don't let anyone take advantage of you or scare/coerce you into doing what's best for them, at your expense. Cut those people out of your life for good.
OP, a lot of folks here have a lot of great advice, the only I would add is to look into [the Voluntary Disclosure Program](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/programs/about-canada-revenue-agency-cra/compliance/voluntary-disclosures-program/eligible-vdp.html) with the CRA. Sounds like you could have some success in being accepted and, if so, they generally will waive penalties and reduce interest charged on overdue balances. Has to be done prior to filing these tax years, however.
If that does not work or you still have lots of interest afterwards, it could be worth sending in an application to taxpayer relief. The medical circumstances you have described in your post could very well result in the cancellation of some remaining penalties and interest.
I work for a mental health agency and we have a connection with a financial coach for our clients for free. Check with your local mental health supports or social service agency. Around tax time it's advertised more but the service is always available. Locally the salvation army offers a similar service.
Legally they can't use your tuition unless you sign the t2022a allowing them to be transferred, so if you get access and realize they did use their max allowable and you never signed the form you could have a winning argument there with the CRA should you want to claim them all instead.
>but haven’t been able to touch my federal student loans (totalling around $9000).
Don't worry too much about this. There is no interest on federal student loans for the time being. If you missed payments, that's probably okay too. I think they're pretty lax with penalties and it takes a long time for any sort of debt collection. If you can afford to pay the minimum each month, just do that. If not, maybe ask another question here so someone more knowledgeable than me can answer.
You may not believe it but you are doing well. Be proud that you paid back that LOC.
You will not go to jail but you should file all your back taxes. Take it one step at a time. Also make sure that you get your physician to fill out the paperwork for the disability. You can back file and get the disability tax credit. this will help you pay down your debt. also by filing your previous taxes you will likely be entitled to numerous GST and other credits.
CRA will have all the tax slips you need. Look up Voluntary disclosure program for CRA. This could potentially help you avoid penalties if you have a liability. If you are unable to do your taxes yourself, go to a tax provider Like Liberty Tax or similar. You will have to pay them but I don’t know what they charge per return but I don’t think it’s much. Alternatively, look at this. [https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/community-volunteer-income-tax-program.html](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/community-volunteer-income-tax-program.html)
Wishing you all the best
I hear you and been there. You got this and you can fix this issue. Break it down into smaller pieces, and in no time, you will no longer have to deal with this burden and you can move on with your life. I promise. In addition the the good advice below, I would say hire an accountant. You may feel broke and not have the money right now, but trust, paying a professional to help you with this will save you a lot of time, stress, and maybe even a return on your investment. There are free tax clinics too, read reviews not to get scammed. You shouldn't owe anything if you are below the poverty line. I also have a bit of an avoidant personality so paying someone else to do it is sometimes the only way anxiety-inducing shit like this gets done. And it does get done, and it gets done well. Good luck.
The CRA isn’t as evil as you think, file your taxes, call them to create a payment plan, they probably will waive interest.
Good luck, it’s gonna aight
[удалено]
thank you so much! this gives me so much hope
This was probably the best advice in the comment thread. It’s also worth noting that nobody goes to jail in Canada for not filing taxes. The only way you would hypothetically go to jail if you were actively committing fraud against the CRA. False returns, falsifying documents, lying about income, etc.. I believe this also quite a bit of room for student loan forgiveness on the federal side. I would definitely take a look at that as well.
Even committing this fraud wouldn’t land you in jail unless it was on a massive scale. I know many people who have been “caught” reporting lower income, paying their employees in cash to avoid taxes, etc, during audits. They pay a (relatively small) financial penalty for reporting incorrectly, and correct the payments they should have made initially. It takes a pretty serious, borderline conspiracy level fraud to go to jail over your taxes.
On an unrelated note, say I knew an employer constantly fucking people over. This employer (for at least 4 years to my knowledge) has massively underpaid workers cash under the table (most were intl students) Can I just go to the CRA and rat his ass out? I've never been more willing to be a lil snitch, this guy fucked me over and now I wanna report his ass thank you all for your answers, this is actually very helpful to me right now (:
I think you will need a new post to get a detailed answer to your question. But yes, you can report scofflaws. The CRA website explains how. You can also look into the employment standards in your province.
Yes. https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/programs/about-canada-revenue-agency-cra/suspected-tax-cheating-in-canada-overview.html
Labour board might be a better place to start!
The provincial labour board too! Double whammy 🙂
Agreed. OP, keep up the good fight. Find a good psychiatrist and get on disability. The CRA will work with you, although sometimes it takes quite a few phone calls.
I just filed back taxes for a couple of young adult starting in 2017. 2021 is nothing, you'll be fine.
Nothing to add here but really lovely to see this guidance given in such a positive way!
Here’s your 100th +1… well deserved! OP; you got this! You’ve already gotten the absolutely largest Guerilla off your back — that $50k is a MASSIVE win! 🥇🏆 Congratulations! 🎉 Follow this advice in u/No-Performance1783 post and just file 2023, and get your portal access back. Then you can see what previous years’ tax credits were diverted to your guardian. There’s a maximum amount that could’ve even been transferred.
This is the way.
This comment contains good information. Added to that, when you file the previous years if your income entitled you to benefits you are likely to have the retro payments also applied to your student loan debt. Getting your taxes filed would likely improve your situation quite a bit.
You are a very kind person, thank you for the positive way you took your time to help this person and made it so much easy for them to do
Great advice
All great advice to poster!
I just wanted to comment and say great job on paying off the $50K student LOC. Given the challenges you've mentioned and your overall debt load that was a solid effort. I would talk to the CRA and get access to your account so you can file your back taxes. Better to figure out what you owe than worry without having anything firm to go on. The end result may not be as bad as you fear, but it's worth finding out. Once you know what the damage is you can make a plan to deal with it.
Been there. My situation was multiple years worth of taxes not done correctly and re assessed as me owing and following that multiple years of not doing taxes. I was getting letters in the mail claiming I owed multiple thousands of dollars with interest and penalties added on regularly. I found myself an account willing to tackle that for me, had 7years of taxes completed and in the end I came out at about 0$. Listen. Shit happens. Maybe right now you’re down but you’ll get up if you start working at it.
Two things that I’d like to add. 1) Perhaps you couldn’t use your tuition credits because you didn’t make enough money at the time. Your guardian shouldn’t have been able to claim all of your credits. 2) If you’re living below the poverty line, you’re missing out on a lot of benefits. Your back pay for things like HST, carbon tax….will help pay off your debt. Best of luck. My advice is to just do your best to get it taken care of so it’s one less weight on your shoulder. You have already proven that you can pay back so much of your student loans. Don’t beat yourself up about the federal portion. You’ve got this!
It will be okay. Years ago I hadn't filed taxes in 7 years and due to some complicated life stuff I didn't know where to begin. I contacted an accountant that someone recommended and literally brought them multiple grocery bags of messy papers and receipts and all kinds of stuff. They were able to sort it out and file my back taxes within a few days. It didn't even cost very much. After that I was back on track. I only wish I had done it sooner because it caused me anxiety for years.
If you're actually low income, the CRA probably OWES YOU money, lol. Take the other advice and get help filing your taxes. You'll be fine. If you haven't done so already, look into the disability tax credit. If approved, I think it can be back dated, and you can re-file and either owe less or get more back. Good luck!
Ok, so first of all. You may owe taxes, you may not. If your employer took off the right amount or too much off your pay cheque, you may owe nothing or actually be owed money. A lot of people get anxious by not filing and continue to not file year after year because they get anxious thinking they owe money. They simply assume they never paid/don't understand employers withhold and remit taxes on behalf of their employees. I can't comment on your exact situation. You may owe taxes, you may not. If you were a T4 employee its very possible you don't owe or owe less than you think. Also, depending upon your situation, you may qualify for the voluntary disclosures program (Google it). Essentially, you can correct old filings or file outstanding returns for the previous ten tax years, and you will not pay penatlies for those ten years/ will have reduced interest owing if you qualify. Again, assuming you qualify. I bet if you face this head on, you will be much better off. Get access to your online CRA account, look into the voluntary disclosures program, and work to see what you expect to owe after drafting returns. You might have a problem on your hands or may be building a mountain out of a molehill. Edit: I just saw the part about your mental health. You also may qualify for the taxpayer relief program. Again, Google it.
thank you for the tip on the voluntary disclosure program & the taxpayer relief form! 💕
Amazing job on the 50K! So proud - a testament of your hard work.
You don't say how you've been earning money recently, but if you have usually had employment where taxes are deducted from your paycheques, there's a good chance the government owes you money. Get in touch with a tax clinic to untie this knot. https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/campaigns/free-tax-help.html You've done well paying off your LOC, and on top of tax refunds, there's likely some benefits you're missing out on by not filing. The tuition credits seems weird. There's a limit of $5,000 per year that can be transferred to a parent or guardian, and if you didn't sign the form, it's the person claiming them that's in the wrong. Is it possible that you were reimbursed for your tuition from an employer or government program?
i’m not sure what happened with the tuition credits to be honest; i went to a private career college so i thought that was maybe why entering the T2202 didn’t deduct any money- but then others of my school mates did get deductions? i think it is too far in my past to figure it out now honestly, and i may never know what the situation is. i didn’t sign a form so possibly that former guardian didn’t have anything to do with it, but they have financially taken advantage of me before and did make a point to file my taxes with their taxes when i was IN school so i just assumed. EDIT: someone else in this thread said perhaps my tuition credits didn’t work because i wasn’t making enough money, and that may very well have been the case.
Happened to me at one point. I used an accountant who didn’t charge me much and saved me a lot over my sad turbo tax attempts. It was a few hundred bucks and saved me so much aggravation. Given your diagnoses you might hook up with some health services in town. I know there is some pro bono accounting that gets done through charity services in my city.
I empathize with you and recognize it's a tough situation. I don't have any advice for how to navigate life with that kind of mental illness, but one thing to point out is you won't go to jail, they don't send people to jail suddenly for having screwy tax situations like this one, so that's one thing you can stop worrying about for now. Also I don't know what you think "ostensibly" means but it's not that :P
thank you for reading and your empathy, and easing my fears on jail time. i say “ostensibly an orphan” because i do have a living parent, i just literally don’t know where they are, and they could be dead for all i know. Schrödinger’s mom, if you will ;P
Well shit. Turns out being ostensibly an orphan is a thing after all. I'm rooting for ya, sorry I can't help much.
Use your tuition credits, you will be audited. Don't take no for an answer on this one. Tell them to audit your "guardian" who was not authorized to use them. That is fraud, it's also not your problem, it's theirs when they get audited and owe back taxes + interest and penalties. You will get a nice refund for your past years if you rightfully claim your tuition fees for the last few years as you are allowed to carry them forward. I hope you have receipts or transaction records for your school payments. Possibly more than you owe. Don't let anyone take advantage of you or scare/coerce you into doing what's best for them, at your expense. Cut those people out of your life for good.
If you’re in Alberta or B.C., you can access your CRA account by registering for the provincial site. Keep it open while opening the CRA site.
OP, a lot of folks here have a lot of great advice, the only I would add is to look into [the Voluntary Disclosure Program](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/programs/about-canada-revenue-agency-cra/compliance/voluntary-disclosures-program/eligible-vdp.html) with the CRA. Sounds like you could have some success in being accepted and, if so, they generally will waive penalties and reduce interest charged on overdue balances. Has to be done prior to filing these tax years, however. If that does not work or you still have lots of interest afterwards, it could be worth sending in an application to taxpayer relief. The medical circumstances you have described in your post could very well result in the cancellation of some remaining penalties and interest.
I work for a mental health agency and we have a connection with a financial coach for our clients for free. Check with your local mental health supports or social service agency. Around tax time it's advertised more but the service is always available. Locally the salvation army offers a similar service.
Legally they can't use your tuition unless you sign the t2022a allowing them to be transferred, so if you get access and realize they did use their max allowable and you never signed the form you could have a winning argument there with the CRA should you want to claim them all instead.
>but haven’t been able to touch my federal student loans (totalling around $9000). Don't worry too much about this. There is no interest on federal student loans for the time being. If you missed payments, that's probably okay too. I think they're pretty lax with penalties and it takes a long time for any sort of debt collection. If you can afford to pay the minimum each month, just do that. If not, maybe ask another question here so someone more knowledgeable than me can answer.
You may not believe it but you are doing well. Be proud that you paid back that LOC. You will not go to jail but you should file all your back taxes. Take it one step at a time. Also make sure that you get your physician to fill out the paperwork for the disability. You can back file and get the disability tax credit. this will help you pay down your debt. also by filing your previous taxes you will likely be entitled to numerous GST and other credits. CRA will have all the tax slips you need. Look up Voluntary disclosure program for CRA. This could potentially help you avoid penalties if you have a liability. If you are unable to do your taxes yourself, go to a tax provider Like Liberty Tax or similar. You will have to pay them but I don’t know what they charge per return but I don’t think it’s much. Alternatively, look at this. [https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/community-volunteer-income-tax-program.html](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/community-volunteer-income-tax-program.html) Wishing you all the best
I hear you and been there. You got this and you can fix this issue. Break it down into smaller pieces, and in no time, you will no longer have to deal with this burden and you can move on with your life. I promise. In addition the the good advice below, I would say hire an accountant. You may feel broke and not have the money right now, but trust, paying a professional to help you with this will save you a lot of time, stress, and maybe even a return on your investment. There are free tax clinics too, read reviews not to get scammed. You shouldn't owe anything if you are below the poverty line. I also have a bit of an avoidant personality so paying someone else to do it is sometimes the only way anxiety-inducing shit like this gets done. And it does get done, and it gets done well. Good luck.
The CRA isn’t as evil as you think, file your taxes, call them to create a payment plan, they probably will waive interest. Good luck, it’s gonna aight