Self-employed? Here are tips from TurboTax Canada for filing taxes

If you started a small business during the past two years, you’re in great company! Two million Canadian entrepreneurs – including a large percentage of “mompreneurs” – created businesses during COVID-19. Lifestyle expert Lena Almeida shared tips from TurboTax Canada for self-employed filers.

We may all know someone who has a side hustle or identifies as self-employed. Almeida says she has mom-friends with interior design companies, home-based bakeries and more.

With so many self-employed workers in the past two years, she says many are not up to speed with what to do when it comes to filing their tax returns.

Almeida consulted a friend at TurboTax Canada to provide a few quick tips for self-employed individuals.

The self-employed tax filing deadline for Canadians is June 15. However, if you owe money to Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), that amount is still due by May 2nd, despite mid-June filing deadline. Almeida says unless you are sure you’re going to get a refund, you can avoid interest or late payment penalties by ensuring you get your taxes in order by May 2.

Almeida suggests getting organized now. In addition to your usual tax receipts, such as T4s, childcare, investments, etc., you will also need to collect the receipts for your business. Not sure what to include? TurboTax has a Self-Employed Checklist which you can download and use every year. It can be found at TurboTax.ca under the “self-employed” category.

Almeida then suggests using technology to your advantage. She recommends leaving your taxes to the experts and go with TurboTax Live Full Service Self Employed.

This is a white-glove service. A TurboTax expert who knows everything about filing a self-employed income tax return accurately will do your taxes for you. If you’re registered for GST/HST, they will handle that return for you as well at no extra cost.

You can schedule a time to connect with the tax expert when it is most convenient for you, from the comfort of home. She says to simply set up a phone call or one-way video call to review your tax documents before they file for you.