Mar 13, 2017
Pattie Lovett-Reid: Time to review your tax vulnerabilities
You can’t control what goes on at CRA but you can control how you respond.
You may have a sense of unease filing your 2016 tax return online given the recent shutdown by CRA to address vulnerabilities in their computer system. Now might be a good time to review your own vulnerabilities when it comes to filing. Here are a few tips:
1) Always keep your tax records in a secured place. Whether you have them stored on paper or kept electronically, the same holds true for any financial documents.
2) Always retain a copy of your return and all the supporting documents. If you have filed a paper return, a copy should be kept under lock and key.
3) If you filed electronically, have a back-up in case your hard drive crashes. You should encrypt the files on both your computer and any back-up hard drives you have.
4) Dispose of old tax returns properly. Don’t simply toss them in the garbage.
5) If you dispose of an old computer or back-up hard drive. Keep in mind there is sensitive data here so you want to ensure stored tax files are deleted and all personal data is removed.
Still feeling a little uneasy about filing online? Maybe this is the year to file a paper based return. Sometimes it is better to be safe than sorry.
