Tax filing options still available if CRA goes on strike

Some of the people who have yet to file their taxes for the year might be panicking a little bit.

That’s because the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) says its members will go on strike Wednesday if a new deal isn’t reached between them and the federal government by 7 p.m. Saskatchewan on Tuesday.

The looming strike would impact directly those who work for the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) — and the work stoppage would come just under two weeks before the May 1 tax deadline for Canadians.

No extension is planned for the May 1 deadline.

While that’s a concern for some, Mike Tornopolski — an accountant with PWM Tax & Accounting in Saskatoon — says there are still ways for people to file with the number of tools at their disposal.

“What could occur when it comes to just income taxes itself is there could be a delay in receiving a copy of your notice of assessment or receiving a tax refund if it does exist. If you do owe money or think you owe money, you still should be filing by May 1 and hopefully getting in your payment by that deadline,” he explained.

Because a strike at the CRA has been speculated about for more than a month, Tornopolski says he’s noticed more people getting their taxes filed earlier than normal.

“We’ve had an unusually positive year when it comes to that,” he said. “I would say if there’s been any worries with the CRA strike, we’ve actually had people coming in earlier to get their stuff in on time.”

Despite the looming strike, Tornopolski says the important thing right now is for people to get their taxes filed and done with.

He notes as long as a person has verification that they filed their taxes before the deadline, they should be fine.

“As long as you’ve kept a record that you’ve filed (your return) on time, you should be OK on that front. Even if you’re paper filing, as long as that stamp is before that May 1 deadline, you’ll get credit. Certainly keep your conformation screens,” Tornopolski explained.

“I would not really panic (if it) has been received on time. As long as you filed it on time through Turbo Tax or your accountant provider, you should be fine on that front.”