What’s New And What To Remember When Filing Your Taxes In Ontario This year

Tax season is upon Ontario residents and the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is getting ready to answer questions from taxpayers and make it easier and quicker for them to file their 2022 income tax and benefit return.

The CRA wants to make sure each taxpayer receives the benefits and credits they are entitled to. There are many advantages of filing an income tax and benefit return every year.

The deadline for most Ontario residents to file their income tax and benefit returns for 2022 is April 30, 2023. Since this date is a Sunday, a return will be considered filed on time if the CRA receives it, or it is postmarked, on or before May 1, 2023. A payment will be considered made on time if the CRA receives it, or a Canadian financial institution processes it, on or before May 1, 2023.

Simplified Northern Residents Travel Deduction – The CRA is launching the Simplified Northern Residents Travel Deduction, a pilot project to make it easier for northern residents to determine the lowest return airfare, one of the three amounts required to claim the travel deduction come tax time. Available the week of February 20, 2023, on canada.ca/lowest-return-airfare, the simplified version features tables that identify the lowest return airfare amount found from airports with regularly scheduled commercial flights to a designated city. The airfare tables contain more than 135 airports, almost all of which are located in the prescribed zones.

Canada Dental Benefit – The new interim Canada Dental Benefit is available to eligible families earning less than $90,000 per year. It provides financial support for parents and guardians of children under 12 years old if they receive dental care in Canada and do not have access to private dental insurance. For more information, go to Canada Dental Benefit.

One-time top-up to the Canada Housing Benefit – The government introduced a one-time $500 payment to help lower-income renters facing housing affordability challenges. Applications are open until March 31, 2023. For more information, go to One-time top-up to the Canada Housing Benefit.

First-time home buyers’ tax credit – The amount used to calculate the first-time home buyers’ tax credit has increased to $10,000 for a qualifying home purchased after December 31, 2021.

Home accessibility tax credit – For 2022 and later tax years, the annual expense limit of the home accessibility tax credit has increased to $20,000.

Climate action incentive payment (CAIP) – If you are eligible, you will automatically get the CAIP four times a year. Since it generally takes two weeks to process electronic returns, we recommend that you and your spouse or common-law partner (if applicable) file your 2022 returns electronically by March 10, 2023, to help in receiving the April 14, 2023, issuance. If you don’t receive the April issuance, the payment will be included in a subsequent payment after your returns are assessed. For more information, go to Climate action incentive payment.

Organ and tissue donation initiative – Beginning with the 2022 tax year, you can indicate whether you want to receive information about becoming an organ and tissue donor if you are a resident of Ontario. By ticking the “yes” box in the consent section of your return, you authorize the CRA to give your name and email address to Ontario Health so that they may contact you or send you information about organ and tissue donation. For more information, go to Consent to share contact information – Organ and tissue donor registry.

Disability tax credit – For 2021 and later tax years, an individual diagnosed with type 1 diabetes is considered to have met the two times and 14 hours per week requirements for life-sustaining therapy. For more information, go to Disability tax credit.

Payment arrangements – If you cannot pay an existing debt in full, you may be eligible for a payment arrangement. Payment arrangement options have been expanded to reflect current realities. The Payment Arrangement Calculator has also been added to My Account and My Business Account. This self-service tool allows you to submit a potential payment arrangement without having to contact the CRA. If the proposed payment arrangement does not meet the CRA payment policy, a CRA officer will reach out to complete the arrangement.

You will be able to file your 2022 income tax and benefit return electronically starting on February 20, 2023. If you haven’t already, why not join the nine out of 10 Ontario residents who filed their 2021 tax returns online? When combining online filing with direct deposit, you can receive your tax refund in as little as eight business days. Last year, over 13 million refunds were issued by direct deposit to Canadian taxpayers, which was 78% of all refunds.

There are many advantages to filing your taxes. Canadians who had a tax refund in 2022 received an average of $2,092. Another advantage to filing is that you may be eligible to receive federal and provincial benefit and credit payments. Last year, eligible Ontario residents received an average of:

• $6,700 in Canada child benefit (CCB) payments
• $460 in goods and services tax/harmonized sales tax (GST/HST) credit payments
• $183 in Climate action incentive payments

To receive benefits and credits, you need to file an income tax and benefit return – even if you have no income to report for 2022 or if your income is tax exempt.

Steps to get ready for filing – Not sure where to start? Visit our Get ready to do your taxes page for the latest tax information. CRA has eight steps that will help you prepare to file.

Register for My Account – Over 6.4 million Ontario residents are already registered for My Account. My Account is CRA’s online portal for individuals where you can find your tax information and access many of the slips you need to file your income tax and benefit return.

You can also:

• change your personal information, such as your address, phone number, and marital status
• register for direct deposit
• make a payment
• track the status of your return
• apply for child benefits
• receive mail and email notifications
• view uncashed cheques
• and so much more!

You will also be able to access digital services such as Auto-fill my return and Express NOA in certified tax-filing software.

Learn about your taxes – The CRA has launched a free online learning tool to help you do your taxes on your own. This tool provides you with lessons that help you understand what taxes are, why we pay them, how to understand your paycheques, pay stubs, and income tax slips, and finally, how to do your taxes for the first time.

Need help doing your taxes? – If you have a modest income, a simple tax situation, and require assistance, a Community Volunteer Income Tax Program (CVITP) volunteer may be able to do your taxes for free. The CVITP helped over 186,400 Ontario residents complete and file tax returns last year. To find a clinic, please visit our Free tax clinics page.

Did you know that you can find most of the information you need online? We encourage you to find answers to your tax-filing questions through our digital services before calling us, as it will save you time. You can check out these resources:

• Benefit payment dates – Find out when you will receive your benefit payments.
• Tax tips – Find information that could help you with your tax questions.
• Ways to do your taxes – View several ways to do your taxes, including options that are free!
• Questions and answers about filing your taxes – Find answers to common questions Canadians ask us at tax time.
• Charlie the Chatbot – This service can be found on the CRA homepage and many other of our pages on Canada.ca to provide you with quick answers to your tax-filing questions.