Are you self-employed? Know your tax obligations

As a self-employed person, you and your spouse or common-law partner have until midnight on Thursday, June 15, 2017, to file your 2016 income tax and benefit returns.

The legislated date for paying an income tax balance owing is April 30. Since that date is a Sunday in 2017, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) will consider your full payment as made on time if the CRA receives your payment by midnight on May 1 or if your submission with the payment is postmarked no later than that date.

If you have amounts owing and the CRA receives your return after the June 15 deadline, the CRA may charge you a late-filing penalty.

Important facts

You have to report your income from any business you run yourself or with a partner. For more information, go to cra.gc.ca/selfemployed.
If you own a business or are engaged in a commercial activity, keep complete and detailed records. Your records should be detailed enough to calculate the tax you owe and to support any deduction or credit you are claiming. They also must be supported by original documents.
Keep your supporting documents for six years after the end of the tax year to which they relate. Even if you don’t have to attach certain supporting documents to your return or you are filing your return online, keep them in case we review your return. We may ask you to prove your claims for deductions or credits with documents other than official receipts, like cancelled cheques or bank statements.
If you get income that has not enough or no income tax withheld during the year, you may have to pay tax by instalments. Some of the situations where this may happen are if you have rental, investment, or self-employment income, certain pension payments, or income from more than one job. For more information, go to cra.gc.ca/instalments.

For more details on preparing your 2016 income tax and benefit return, visit cra.gc.ca/getready.

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