The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) made recent tax administration updates for the 2019 tax year due to COVID-19 that you should be aware of. The following was produced based on information available as of April 3, 2020.
To access up-to-date changes to CRA services, including due dates and programs affected by COVID-19, please visit https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/campaigns/covid-19-update.html
Items impacting individuals
Tax filing deadline and payment due dates
| Taxpayer type | Filing date for current tax year | Payment date for current tax year |
| Individual | Extended to June 1, 2020 | Extended to September 1, 2020 – includes the June 15, 2020, instalment payment for those who have to pay by instalments |
The CRA recommends filing early and electing for direct deposit, to make sure your benefits and credits are not interrupted.
2020 Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF) minimum withdrawal
The 2020 RRIF minimum withdrawal has been reduced by 25% to minimize the impact of market volatility on many seniors’ retirement savings as result of COVID-19. The reduction applies to RRIFs and certain Life Income Funds (LIFs), where provincial legislation refers to the minimum withdrawal calculations in the Income Tax Act.
For example, if your 2020 minimum was originally $10,000, the new RRIF minimum withdrawal will be reduced by 25% to $7,500.
Is the reduction automatic?
To minimize impact to our clients that rely on the scheduled monthly RRIF income payments, ivari will only adjust the RRIF minimum withdrawal upon request. This approach is in-line with how the industry is handling this change.
If I already withdrew more than the reduced 2020 minimum amount, can I re-contribute the amount I took out?
No, the legislation change does not allow recontribution of amounts.
How will the withholding tax be applied?
Withholding tax will apply if you take out more than the original unreduced 2020 RRIF minimum, or in the example above, it will only apply if you take out more than $10,000.
Items impacting self-employed, corporations and trusts
| Taxpayer type | Filing date for current tax year | Payment date for current tax year |
| Self-employed and their spouse /common-law partner | June 15, 2020 | Extended to September 1, 2020 – includes the June 15, 2020, instalment payment for those who have to pay by instalments |
| Corporations | Extended to June 1, 2020 for Corporations that would otherwise have a filing due date after March 18 and before June 1, 2020 | Extended to September 1, 2020 – applies to balances and instalments under Part 1 of the Income Tax Act due on or after March 18 and before September 1, 2020 |
| Trusts | Extended to May 1, 2020 for trusts with tax year end date of December 31, 2019
Extended to June 1, 2020 for trusts that would otherwise have a filing due date in April or May |
Extended to September 1, 2020 – applies to income tax balances and installments due on or after March 18 and before September 1, 2020 |
ivari has sent all tax slip information for your 2019 tax filing period by mid-March. If you have not received yours, please contact Client Services at [email protected] or 1-800-846-5970.
This material is intended for general information purposes only and should not be considered specific or personal investment, insurance, estate planning, legal or tax advice. While reasonable efforts have been made at the time of publication to ensure that the contents of this material have been derived from reliable and accurate sources, including third party sources, ivari provides the information “AS IS” and ivari does not warrant the accuracy, completeness, usefulness, or timeliness of the information contained herein.