2016 Tax Returns are Due Today


May 1 is this year’s due date to file most individual income tax returns as April 30 fell on a Sunday.
Generally, most personal income tax returns are due on April 30 of the following year.
Since April 30 this year fell on a Sunday, 2016 returns are due on or before Monday, May 1, 2017 – today. This “extension” is provided for under the federal Interpretation Act, section 26 which states as follows: “Where the time limited for the doing of a thing expires or falls on a holiday, the thing may be done on the day next following that is not a holiday.” “Holiday” is defined to include Sundays.
Tax returns should be considered filed on time if postmarked on or before May 1, 2017, due to paragraph 248(7)(a) of the Income Tax Act: “anything (other than a remittance or payment described in paragraph 248(7)(b)) sent by first class mail or its equivalent shall be deemed to have been received by the person to whom it was sent on the day it was mailed.”
Tax season is the busiest time of the year for many accountants as they work with their clients to meet the filing deadline.
To all the accountants out there: Congratulations on surviving another tax season!
Simon Thang, LL.B, LL.M (Taxation) is tax lawyer advising exclusively in the areas of Canadian sales tax (GST/HST, PST), and customs and trade. He is the principal of Thang Tax Law.