# Boyfriend hasn't filed taxes for 10 years - help



## melissa9009 (Jan 20, 2015)

My boyfriend hasn't filed taxes for 10 years.
He hasn't been employed, he is a musician, and he makes minimal money per year, between $3000-$4000
He has lived primarily with friends or at home.
What will he be in store for if he goes to an accountant to catch up on his taxes?
Will he owe money? Will he have to prove the small amounts of money he did make? Will he get returns? Will he get fines?
What is the cost going to be to the accountant?
Thanks for all answers or anyone who has insight on the situation


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## nathan79 (Feb 21, 2011)

If he made that little he probably won't owe any tax. He won't have to pay any federal tax as long as he made made below the basic personal amount $11,327 each year. For provincial tax, each province has its own personal amount, which is similar to the federal one.

He should get back some money for the GST credit. If he lives in BC, he'll also get back his MSP premiums. He would have been paying this amount out of pocket, so it could be a substantial amount over the course of several years.


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## OhGreatGuru (May 24, 2009)

Don't make his problem yours. Find a new boyfriend.


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## WiseOwl (Jan 1, 2015)

Any accountant should be able to help your boyfriend paper file returns for those years. While every accountant prices the preparation of returns differently, your boyfriend's returns don't sound complex based on the cursory information provided. If you are price sensitive, find an accountant that will work on a fixed fee basis.

Just some FYI for you and other reader's benefit:

Your boyfriend will likely have refunds for the years missed if income is only $3-4k. If you are in a refund position for a particular year and are beyond three years from the taxation year in question, CRA doesn't automatically have to issue you the refund based on the way the legislation is written. You can however request the refunds be issued based on the "Taxpayer Relief" provisions of the Act. These provisions can go back to a maximum of ten years.

If circumstances were different and he owed for any of those years (and wasn't sent a request/demand to file an income tax return), it would be advantageous to submit under CRA's "Voluntary Disclosure Program". A submission under the VDP helps Canadian correct their tax affairs by minimizing penalty exposure (e.g., late filing penalties) that may otherwise be charged upon processing the returns. He would still be liable for any tax payable plus interest.

Cheers,
WiseOwl


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## melissa9009 (Jan 20, 2015)

Thank-you I appreciate all the helpful responses!
So it sounds like he will get some money back - if anything, but won't end up owing, assuming he made less than 11,000 each year?
That's great news.
Do you get backpay on all your GST credits no matter what?


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## indexxx (Oct 31, 2011)

Dtmf...


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## Janus (Oct 23, 2013)

indexxx said:


> Dtmf...


Seconded.


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

indexxx said:


> Dtmf...


+1 ^
DigiTone MultiFrequency..haven't heard that expression in years.:biggrin-new:


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## Just a Guy (Mar 27, 2012)

Common guys, sure he hasn't had a real job in 10 years, is a couch surfer when not living at home, doesn't seem to want to follow society's rules...but I'm sure he'll change and become a responsible, supportive husband who you can depend on...

Probably does community service on weekends.

People do 180 degree personality changes all the time...


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## melissa9009 (Jan 20, 2015)

Just a Guy said:


> Common guys, sure he hasn't had a real job in 10 years, is a couch surfer when not living at home, doesn't seem to want to follow society's rules...but I'm sure he'll change and become a responsible, supportive husband who you can depend on...
> 
> Probably does community service on weekends.
> 
> People do 180 degree personality changes all the time...



Thank you again to those who gave helpful responses to my ACTUAL questions
And to those who responded like the person above,
There are many different types of people in this world,
And I am the type of person who prefers to support someone who wants to make a positive change and take steps towards getting their life together!
And then there are people like you...and if everyone thought like you the world would be a worse place then it already is
Sometimes people are dealt bad cards (of which you shouldn't judge because you do not know him or his walk of life) and they just need someone to believe in them
Well the world keeps on spinning either way!
Best wishes to you guys, hopefully you will always stay in that place that you are in that you feel you are able to put others down =)


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## marina628 (Dec 14, 2010)

Just our of curiosity is he taking any initiative to get this cleared up or are you the one who will be left with the burden to get his taxes done?I have a friend and god knows I love him but I have seen how he has behaved for last 20 years ,going the 'under the table route/self employed route getting behind on taxes and burning through 2 relationships .About 7 years ago he got a good woman ,a saint really and she got all the back taxes done ,sorted out his bills ,made him keep a day job and pay his income taxes .About 3 months ago he quit a job paying $65,000 plus insurance etc to go off and be his own boss again , first clue he is going back to old ways is he has yet to save any money for the tax bill. Everyone has dreams but you need to balance it with a bit of reality too ,my kid made $5700 working part time as a stock clerk in 7 months while going to school full time so I think it is great he is dedicated to his music but he needs to make some extra money while he is waiting to make enough off his passion.Maybe private music lessons would be a start...


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## Just a Guy (Mar 27, 2012)

Or, just maybe, we've seen this before...know many people who've lived through these exact experiences, seen what happens and try to warn people before they make the same mistakes...

Of course, those of us who have, probably also know what the response will be...

I admit that "this one is different", could possibly be true...however, the odds are not in your favour. As always, I personally, hope I'm wrong.


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## Rusty O'Toole (Feb 1, 2012)

If you don't have income you don't have to file or pay taxes. As soon as he starts making money he can start filing. He does not have to do anything about the last 10 years.

Any job he had that was on the books, tax was paid. He may have been entitled to a refund but if he didn't bother to file, that is velvet for Revenue Canada.


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## Eclectic12 (Oct 20, 2010)

^^^^

True ... unless CRA sends a request to file a return.

By not filing, he is forgoing any refunds or tax credits as well as building any RRSP contribution room.

There's other reasons listed on the CRA web site:
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/ndvdls/tpcs/ncm-tx/flng-blgtns/menu-eng.html


I also expect that for such small amounts, an accountant wouldn't be needed but I've never had an undocumented income.


Cheers


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## melissa9009 (Jan 20, 2015)

Well the reason this has all come about is because he just recently got in touch with a website called socan.ca And as it turns out, he had about 3-4000 dollars per year since 2008
That has been waiting for him from music royalties. He has 3 popular songs, of which I won't mention for privacy reasons
But in the agreement with socan it is required that he get up to date on his taxes.
As far as my part in it, really i'm just trying to encourage him that he is not going to be fined, or imprisoned, or in any trouble if he were to take care of his taxes
I am financially stable on my own, so i'm not overly worried about his abilities to provide for me.
And i'm sure I can spare 30min of my life to inquire on an online forum for him to get some information for him so he feels better about it.


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## melissa9009 (Jan 20, 2015)

Eclectic12 said:


> ^^^^
> 
> True ... unless CRA sends a request to file a return.
> 
> ...


Thank you!


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## Eclectic12 (Oct 20, 2010)

If the $3K to $4K is from music royalties ... then this income will be documented.

The only concern I can see that *might* need advice is to deal with any perception there's more income missing.
However, if there's little spending - I'd expect that a confident attitude would be enough.

The main reason I'm wondering about the accountant is that it's pretty simple to put the numbers into a tax program (there are free ones like studiotax) or a spreadsheet like what is available here at http://www.peeltech.ca/mytax.shtml.

It may be cheaper to get advice on how to deal with any misconceptions with CRA and do the returns on one's own as they are not complicated.


I have yet to need an accountant so if I'm missing anything ... maybe others could comment on the value of the accountant doing everything.


Keep in mind that if he is filing *before* CRA asks for a return and he has a reasonable explanation of why he wasn't filing (i.e. chose not to due to low income and now want to build RRSP room) ... CRA will likely be far less sceptical or hard on him. They are usually reasonable for voluntary types, even where money is owed.


Cheers

*PS*

Here's a comparison of tax software/spreadsheets.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_Canadian-tax_preparation_software_for_personal_use


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## Allan Madan (Jan 23, 2015)

*Filing taxes*

Hi, 
We have dealt with clients that were in a similar situations. 
If his income was $3000-$4000 each year, it is likely that he has no tax balance owing. 

We can prepare his taxes and provide expert tax advise. 
Please contact us. We would be glad to help you. 

Sincerely, 
http://www.madanca.com
Madan Chartered Accountant


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## tenoclock (Jan 23, 2015)

You should definitely file all the returns and get the GST/HST credits as well as the working income tax benefit (given that his income is so low) 
I guess he can easily get anywhere between $4-7 grand in refunds for the last 10 years.


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