Tax personality quiz – Deadline Dodger

If you consistently file your taxes past the deadline, you're a “Deadline Dodger.” You're not alone—historically between 3% and 5% of Canadians prepare their tax returns after the deadline each year. Missing deadlines is never fun, but life happens. Sometimes, it's hard to find the time on your never-ending to-do list. Or maybe you procrastinate on tax filing because you're not confident about doing it—or a combination of these.

If you want to get ahead this year, then circle April 30 on your calendar—that's the tax filing deadline for most Canadians (or June 15 for self-employed Canadians and their spouse or common-law partner). If these dates fall on a weekend, the deadline is extended to the next business day. For all taxpayers, taxes owed are due on April 30.

Finding the time is challenging, but with a mix of motivation, planning, and expert help, you can file on time this year—and every year after.

What happens if you file your taxes late in Canada?

Starting on your taxes early enough to meet the tax filing deadline is like a gift to your future self. Here's why:

• Certain government benefits—such as the Canada child benefit, GST/HST credit, and others—depend on you completing a tax return for the previous year.
• If you owe taxes, filing on time allows you to avoid a late-filing penalty. The penalty is 5% of your balance owing, plus another 1% for each full month that you file after the due date, up to 12 months. Note that if you have a balance owing, the CRA will charge compound daily interest on the unpaid amount starting the day after it's due.
• If you're getting a refund, filing your return late delays that money from landing in your bank account.
• Last but not least, having an unfiled tax return hanging over your head can be stressful, even if you don't owe taxes.

Why are you filing taxes late?

To change your approach to tax-filing, it can help to understand why you put it off every year. There could be a mixed bag of reasons, including psychological tendencies and lack of planning. Let's briefly look at each one, plus tips on what you can do differently this time around.

Biases that hold you back

Humans are wired with common psychological tendencies that can contribute to procrastination, such as:

• Avoiding tasks we don't want to do (task aversiveness)
• Underestimating how long a task will take (planning fallacy)
• Blaming external factors (attribution bias)
• Deceiving ourselves about why we don't do a planned task (rationalizing dissonance)
• Favouring short-term rewards over longer-term rewards (time discounting)

Being aware of these mental roadblocks can help you to start changing your approach—and, hopefully, avoid procrastinating to the point of panic at tax time.

Lack of planning

Sometimes missing a deadline comes down to inadequate planning and organization. Here are some ways to get ahead this tax season:

• Set up a system. Take a moment to organize tax slips, receipts, and other documents, both during tax time and year-round.
• Estimate how long tax prep will (really) take. Think about all the steps of previous years' tax returns, such as collecting tax slips, itemizing expenses, and double-checking your work. You may need to set aside a few blocks of time to get everything done.
• Use your calendar. Set deadlines, schedule dedicated tax prep time, and use reminders to stay on track with your tax filing. To make the process more manageable, consider breaking up tax preparation into smaller tasks, each with its own deadline, spaced out over a few weeks.
• Estimate your refund or taxes owed. TurboTax's Canada Income Tax Calculator can help you with short-term financial planning, such as setting aside funds for tax payments.
• Make tax filing easier with TurboTax tools. Gone are the days when you have to key in every figure and do calculations by hand. For instance, Auto-fill My Return will import tax information directly from your CRA My Account, saving you time and manual data entry. TurboTax also provides built-in checklists to help you get ready sooner. It also includes NETFILE-ready filing—no need to submit your return on a separate website.
• Let the pros handle it: If you're really crunched for time, you're not confident in your tax know-how, or you need expert help, consider hiring a tax pro. With TurboTax Expert Full Service, you can hand off your tax return to a TurboTax expert to prepare, review, and file it for you. The service is quick, easy, and fully supported: simply upload your tax documents and meet with an expert, and your taxes can be done in one day.

File on time with help from the experts

Filing your taxes on time can be easier and less time-consuming than you might think. With a few small steps, you can cross this off your to-do list for another year. And if you'd rather have the stress-free experience of TurboTax experts are here to help.

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