There are, in fact, two methods by which online filing can be accomplished — NETFILE and EFILE. The first of those — NETFILE — involves preparing one’s return using software approved by the CRA and filing that return on the Agency’s website, using the NETFILE service. The second method — EFILE — involves having a third party file one’s return online. Almost always, the EFILE service also prepares the return which they are filing.
Most Canadians do seem to prefer having someone else prepare and file their tax return, as 55% of returns filed during the 2015 filing season came in by EFILE. About one-quarter of Canadians (26%) filed using NETFILE and the balance (19%) chose to file using the traditional paper return. A fourth option — TELEFILE — which allowed Canadians to file a tax return using a touch-tone phone was discontinued by the CRA a few years ago and so is no longer available.
The majority of taxpayers who wish to have someone else prepare and file their return can find information about E-FILE on the CRA website atwww.cra-arc.gc.ca/esrvc-srvce/tx/ndvdls/fl-nd/menu-eng.html. It’s also possible to do a search on that site, using one’s postal code, to locate an approved E-FILE service provider.
The one-quarter of Canadians who are comfortable with preparing their own returns and filing them using the CRA’s NETFILE service can find information about that service on the Agency’s website at www.cra-arc.gc.ca/esrvc-srvce/tx/ndvdls/netfile-impotnet/menu-eng.html. At one time it was necessary to have a NETFILE access code in order to NETFILE, but that is no longer the case. Taxpayers who wish to NETFILE will simply have to provide some personal identifying information including their name, social insurance number, and date of birth, in order to satisfy the CRA’s security requirements.
NETFILE can only be used where a return is prepared using tax return preparation software which has been approved by the CRA, and such software can be found for sale just about everywhere this time of year. It’s also possible to find approved software which can be used free of charge, as a listing of such software is provided on the CRA website at www.cra-arc.gc.ca/esrvc-srvce/tx/ndvdls/netfile-impotnet/crtfdsftwr/menu-eng.html.
For the still significant minority of taxpayers who wish to file a paper return, individual income tax return packages for 2015 can be obtained at Canada Post outlets or Service Canada locations.
Each of these methods requires that the taxpayer either complete the return himself or herself, or pay a fee to have someone else do so. Taxpayers who are not comfortable preparing their own returns but for whom the cost of third-party preparation is a barrier do have another option. A number of Volunteer Tax Preparation Clinics, where volunteers prepare returns without charge, operate during tax filing season. A listing of such clinics is available on the CRA website at www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/ndvdls/vlntr/clncs/menu-eng.html.
Finally, no matter who prepares the return or how it is filed, the filing and payment deadlines are the same. This year taxpayers get a bit of break, as the payment and filing deadline for the majority of Canadians falls on a weekend, and so is extended. Consequently, all individual income tax amounts payable for the 2015 tax year must be paid on or before Monday May 2, 2016. All individual taxpayers (except those who are self-employed and their spouses) must file their return for 2015 on or before Monday May 2, 2016. Self-employed taxpayers and their spouses must file on or before Wednesday June 15, 2016, but are required to pay any tax owing by the May 2, 2016 deadline. No exceptions and, absent exceptional circumstances, no extensions.