Justin Mastrangelo, partner of BDO Canada LLP

DO YOU REALLY HAVE TO FILE BEFORE NEXT TUESDAY?

Generally, your tax return for 2018 has to be filed on or before April 30. However, if you or your spouse carried on a business in 2018, then the filing deadline is June 15. If this date falls on a Saturday (like it does this year), the deadline is extended until a Monday.

If you’re filing a return for a deceased individual in 2018, the deadline is also generally April 30. But if the person died at some point between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31, you can file up to six months after the date of death.

For the self-employed, the deadline is June 15.

Taxes payable regardless of your filing deadline are due April 30 (except on the aforementioned case of an individual dying late in the year). This means that if you have not filed but have a balance payable, you need to make a payment before April 30.

PENALTIES FOR FILING LATE

If you file late and have a balance payable, there’s a late-filing penalty. The penalty is 5 per cent of the balance owing plus 1 per cent of the balance owing for each full month the return is late to a maximum of 12 months.

If you were charged a late-filing penalty in any of the previous three years, the late-filing penalty could be 10 per cent of your balance owing plus 2 per cent of the balance owing for each month your return is late to a maximum of 20 months.

3 DEDUCTIONS PEOPLE OFTEN FORGET ABOUT

INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT FEES AND INTEREST

Generally, interest paid on money borrowed to purchase investments as well as management fees associated with these accounts is deductible provided the money was used for the purpose of earning income. Interest borrowed to invest in an RRSP and a TFSA is not deductible.

MEDICAL EXPENSES

Generally, expenses paid to medical practitioners will qualify as eligible expenses. In most cases, medical expenses can be claimed even if they were incurred outside of Canada. Where expenses are reimbursed by an insurance provider, only the non-eligible portion can be claimed.

Some large medical expenses: Attendant care, fees paid to nursing homes or in-home care and reproductive technologies. Keep in mind that if you incurred these expenses in the past 10 years and did not claim them in the past, you should consider filing a personal tax adjustment.

CHILD-CARE EXPENSES

Personally, this is one of my favorite deductions during tax season as it helps absorb some of the daycare fees we pay throughout the year for our two kids, Emma and Carter.

Generally, this expense pertains to eligible childcare fees paid to daycare centres, before- and after-school care, nannies and so on. The expense, in most cases must be claimed by the lower-income spouse. There are limits as to how much you can claim based on your children’s ages: $8,000 for children under the age of seven, and $5,000 for children between the ages of seven and 16. If your child has a disability, the limit is $11,000.