Dear Peak Money,
I filed both my 2021 and 2022 returns in April. I owed about $1,400 for 2021 but in 2022 I got a $1,500 return.
A notice in My Account said I had until May 29, 2023, to pay 2021’s balance so I did it right away, but now it seems like the return I was expecting for 2022 has been applied to what I owed meaning I paid my tax bill twice.
Will I be returned money automatically if I overpaid my tax balance? Or is there something I should be doing to get the process started?
Sincerely,
Troubled with Taxes
Dear Troubled With Taxes,
If you have direct deposit set up with the CRA then the money should automatically be returned to you with interest. If you do not have direct deposit setup then you should look at doing so, but it also might be worth a call to the CRA to see if they have mailed your cheque already.
Things may have been delayed slightly because of the strike that happened at the beginning of May, but if you call at off-peak times you may not have to wait very long.
The other thing you can check on your CRA online access is whether or not you have any uncashed cheques. When you log in to your CRA account there is a button on the right-hand side where you can check this. This will ensure you aren’t leaving any money on the table.
Janine Rogan is the Founder and CEO of The Wealth Building Academy, an award-winning Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA), TEDx speaker, and the author of The Pink Tax. She also publishes weekly videos on Youtube and shares financial tips and tricks on Instagram.