Taxpayer relief measures for Canadians hit by disasters

The Honourable Gail Shea, Minister of National Revenue, today highlighted that Canadians who have been affected by devastating weather conditions can apply for relief from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) if they are having difficulty meeting their tax obligations because of extreme weather events.

“Our Government understands that severe weather events can prevent Canadians from meeting their tax obligations. Recently, Canadians from several regions, including British Columbia, the Yukon, and Saskatchewan, have had to rebuild because of events such as flooding and severe wind,” said Minister Shea. “The taxpayer relief provisions ensure that all Canadians receive fair tax treatment, while they are recovering from the damage resulting from natural catastrophes.”

All Canadians have access to the CRA’s taxpayer relief measures and will be considered for relief if they miss a payment or filing deadline because their lives were disrupted by uncontrollable weather events, including forest fires caused by lightning strikes, tornadoes, flooding, landslides and hurricanes.

The taxpayer relief provisions use a balanced approach to help taxpayers to resolve tax issues that arise through no fault of their own. Under these provisions, any taxpayer can apply to the CRA to have interest and/or penalties waived or cancelled in situations where they are unable to file a tax return and/or make a payment on time due to a natural disaster or other extraordinary circumstances beyond their control.. The CRA will consider these requests on a case-by-case basis.