taxes

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The CRA Has Me Tearing Out My Hair

I realize this is a little late in terms of writing about the CRA and taxes, but recently I was helping someone secure some tax forms. 

The CRA has me tearing out my hair

When dealing with CRA (Canada Revenue Agency), it’s much like dealing with someone who is a brand new employee in a department store. 

When you ask a seasoned employee at, say, Canadian Tire, “Where would I find 4 stroke engine oil for my lawnmower?”, he or she will be able to tell you. “Oh that’s in Automotive, aisle 34, about half way down on the right side.”

That’s helpful. That’s information that will get me right to the product I’m looking for. 

When asking the same question to a brand new employee, you might get, “Oh, that’s over in Hardware, by the lawnmowers.”

The new employee can only give you a general area and, even then, he or she sends you to the wrong part of the store. 

That’s like CRA. 

You can phone in, ask a question and get a different answer every time. And every time the answer will prove to be unhelpful.

Even their websites are not helpful. I tried two or three different websites to get the documents I needed and each URL had the same incomplete documents.

What I was trying to do is get a paper copy of the income tax package. Remember those things? You got a booklet that contained all the instructions. Included were two copies of the actual return form in case you made a mistake on one of them. 

And, of course, you got an envelope in which to mail your return.

It’s been a long time since we’ve seen them, hasn’t it? The reason it’s been a long time is because no place has them anymore. You used to be able to pick them up at the post office. Well, now you can’t even get them from Service Canada. 

What you can do is order a tax package from a CRA website. It takes about ten days to arrive. … I think when they receive an order they must send an office boy out to a print shop to have one printed. 

The CRA website had a link to where you could “download and print” the complete tax package … which made sense to me. I mean, why not make it downloadable for people to print off at home, on the spot, rather than ordering it online and having to wait 10 days for it to arrive by mail. 

But when you click the link to the downloadable tax package, the first thing they tell you is you can fill it out online. If I wanted to fill the form out online I wouldn’t be looking for the downloadable print version!! 

With the link, you can only print the 8 page tax form. If you want schedules and guides, each one has to be downloaded individually.

I wasted hours searching and in the end my friend will have to wait another 10 days before she can get her hands on a paper copy of the tax forms. 

Here’s the thing: Would it be great to have one place where you can find the help you need for what you are facing in life? Well, we do have a single source to go to and it’s God. You can reach Him by prayer and by His Word, the Bible. God does have the help we need for what we are facing.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What is it that you need help with right now? Leave your comments and questions below.

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What Fall And Taxes Have In Common

Well, it’s late fall and you know what that means . . . winter is coming soon. Well, for most people that’s what it means. For me, it means running around and gathering information to send to Revenue Canada.

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It seems that every year or so at this time I’m politely asked to explain some of the deductions on my income tax.

I know it’s kind of late in the year. I submitted my tax return in March, received my notice of return back in April, and now in November I get a letter saying “wait a minute, we’d like to see some documentation to support your claim”.

I’ve had my refund for months. It’s pretty much been dispersed by now to savings, vacation and my children’s support fund.

That’s right, my kids are in their twenties but it doesn’t mean I’m not still doling out cash to them when needed.

Anyway, the revenue department usually wants to see my charitable receipts. They want to make sure I have receipts to back up my claim.

Coming up with receipts is not the problem, but because I claim receipts for previous years, I have to send them all the receipts I’m claiming and have claimed in those previous years. It is an aggravation I could really do without!

But this year is different. They want proof that I still have a son in university to claim his tuition.  Though he’s taking his sweet time finishing his degree, I don’t think 23 is an unlikely age for a son to still be wandering down the hallowed halls of higher education.

It’s an easy response – just one form to send in and I have it all ready to go. It’s the other request that bugs me: they want me to prove my claim for travel.

At one time a pastor would live beside the church and only have to walk next door. For that matter, his whole parish might be within walking distance and he wouldn’t have to drive his car very much.

But we live in the 21st century. I have appointments, meetings, visits, conferences, things to pick up, all that take place around the city and beyond … of course I use my car for work!

But the problem is they want all the receipts categorized, all my kilometres driven, and those that were driven for work, including the purpose of the mileage.

I have all that info, but it’s a pain to have to organize it all the way they want it.

Sometimes I wonder why they go after me so often. Every single time I’ve given them the documentation they asked for and it’s satisfied them.

But I have to remember it’s not some six foot, 250 pound, middle-aged man with dark grey hair and thick curly eyebrows stewing over my tax form. It’s some mainframe computer without a brain that spits out requests based on the number of 7’s or something I used in my tax return.

Next year I’m rounding everything up or down to eliminate those 7’s!

Here’s the thing: Occasionally, I don’t want to take the time to spend time with God because other things are pressing, or I’m in a hurry. Time with God then feels like an inconvenience – like having to send documents to Revenue Canada. If I keep delaying that I will be penalized. And if I make excuses for not spending time with God, I will miss out on what He has for me that day.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What gets in your way of spending time with God? Leave your comment below.

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The Season I Hate The Most!

When we think of seasons, we think of spring, summer, fall and winter. But there are other seasons too, you know. Some I really look forward to, like golf season, biking season, and hockey season that is nearing an end. Then there are seasons I don’t really like – tax season is one of them.

Seasons all have prevailing weather patterns associated with them. Tax season definitely has a weather pattern: prevailing dark clouds with an 85% chance of rain!

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It starts in January when you get your T4 slip (Canada), charitable receipts etc. You also start to think about making that late RRSP contribution before the end of February deadline.

The information starts to churn in your stomach and nag at the back of your mind, reminding you to get moving on your taxes. There are also constant promptings in the malls, with partitioned booths set up everywhere offering to do your taxes for a fee.

I should be glad for tax time because I get a refund. But the thought of a sunny refund is clouded over by the thought of having to prepare my taxes in the first place. It’s like a clash of high and low pressure fronts creating barometric pressure that would give anyone a headache!

My wife wants me to get someone else to do our taxes, but I don’t like the idea of spending my money, just to get my money back from the government.

I wouldn’t say the CRA (Canada Revenue Agency) picks on me, but about every two years I get a letter asking for more information or they will take some money back. I would think there are other people who make a lot more money than me with possible errors to hunt down.

I have completed my daughter’s taxes for her and she is now experiencing the bright, warm weather of a coming refund … even though Calgary is facing spring snow and cold temperatures.

I’ve got all the paperwork together to do my wife’s and my taxes. I’ve even started to enter in some of the information. There’s just one hitch: my son. He’s keeping the clouds from moving on. I need him to do his taxes before I can complete mine, so I know what I can claim for his education.

So here I sit under an umbrella in my own house, trying to stay dry, trying to put on a happy face in the midst of my depression and looming tax clouds!

I know tax season will be over soon; I know there are sunny days ahead. But I must have a bit of farmer in me. I feel like heading down to the coffee shop to chew the fat with the boys. You know, complain that if it doesn’t stop raining the crops aren’t going to be any good this year.

Hey, I’ll make it through.

Here’s the thing: We can stay in a state of hopelessness because of circumstances or sin. We can complain about it, worry about it, even fuss about it to others as to how we are hard done by. Or we can take our sorry state and do something about it. Take it to God, and allow Him to work on it for you and with you. … Maybe I should take my taxes to H&R Block.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you tend to complain about instead of taking action towards? Leave your comment below.