Good afternoon,

As the COVID-19 situation continues to evolve, the CRA has been working closely with government partners to establish measures to support Canadians who may have difficulties filing their income tax and benefit returns or with cash-flow in the coming months.

As the Prime Minister announced on Wednesday, fiscal measures are being implemented to help Canadians during this difficult period, some of which affect tax-filing and payment deadlines. The following changes are now in effect for this tax-filing season:

• For individuals, the deadline to file 2019 income tax and benefit returns has been deferred until June 1, 2020. For trusts having a taxation year ending on December 31, 2019, the deadline to file returns has been deferred until May 1, 2020.
• Taxpayers and businesses will be allowed to defer, until after August 31, 2020, the payment of any income tax amounts that become owing on or after March 18, 2020 and before September 2020. This applies to tax balances due, as well as instalments, under Part 1 of the Income Tax Act. No interest or penalties will accumulate on these amounts during this period.
• Electronic signatures will be temporarily recognized as having met the signature requirements of the Income Tax Act for authorization forms T183 or T183CORP.
• Outreach programs that support individuals will now be available over the phone and through webinar, where possible, rather than in person.
• Small or medium (SME) businesses will not be contacted to initiate post assessment GST/HST or Income Tax audits for the next four weeks. For the vast majority of businesses, audit interactions will be temporarily suspended.
• The Liaison Officer service for owners of small businesses will now be available over the phone, rather than in person, and information will be customized to ensure small businesses are aware of any changes to deadlines, relief measures, etc.

The Government is also proposing to provide a one-time special payment to low- and modest-income families by early May 2020 through the Goods and Services Tax credit (GSTC) as well as to increase the maximum annual Canada Child Benefit (CCB) payment amounts for the 2019-20 benefit year.

These measures will help Canadians meet their tax obligations while they may be experiencing hardships due to circumstances beyond their control.

Whether you are an employee providing critical services to Canadians or are currently at home, your efforts make a difference. With this in mind, the CRA has reduced staff, which is slowing down some of the services we still offer, such as at our call centres.

We invite you to stay informed not only through communications you will receive from your manager, but also through our social media channels. Subscribe to the CRA’s accounts on Facebook, Twitter, our RSS feed and visit the COVID-19: Information for Canada Revenue Agency employees page to find out about the latest developments.

We also encourage everyone to visit the CRA’s COVID-19 page on Canada.ca which has information on new measures put in place to help Canadians, important changes to deadlines, information on benefits, credits and support for individuals, and much more.

We understand that these changes will greatly impact the Agency’s work and processes and we wish to thank all of you for your continued dedication to help Canadians during this difficult and challenging time.