WATCH: If you haven’t filed your taxes yet, you have five extra days. It’s thanks to a human error at the Canada Revenue Agency. Jacques Bourbeau reports.
Canadian tax filers will have five extra days to submit their 2014 return because of an error from Canada Revenue Agency.
The CRA confirmed Tuesday morning it sent out an incorrect notification to tax filers late last week stating the deadline to file over the Internet is May 5, or five days later than the actual deadline of April 30.
The error said: “All returns transmitted electronically up until 3:00 a.m., Eastern Time, Tuesday May 5, 2015, will be considered as filed on time.”
‘Human error’
That was a mistake made as a result of a “human error”, Rebecca Rogers, director of communications for Revenue Minister Kerry-Lynne Findley said by email. Rogers said the minister found the error “unacceptable.”
READ MORE: 5 things you need to know about your 2014 tax return
An update from the CRA posted Monday suggested those who attempt to file electronically but are instructed to send their return by mail should still do so by April 30, or risk a penalty.
“If you receive a reject error clue indicating that you should file a paper return, and you file the paper return after April 30, 2015, a late filing penalty may be assessed,” the agency’s Website said. “You should therefore file the paper return as soon as possible.”
But the agency appeared to change its mind Tuesday, saying on social media the extension applies to all filers.
The CRA’s website was updated as well with a notice that said 2014 tax returns filed by midnight on May 5, 2015, will not incur interest or penalties. The update also stated the agency “takes full responsibility for the error and our first priority is to ensure that no Canadian is negatively affected.”
Four out of five Canadian tax filers submit their returns electronically, according to the federal tax-collection agency.
The extension granted to electronic filers is the second one forced on the CRA in two years. Last spring, the agency pushed the deadline to May 5 following revelations that a computer virus known as Heartbleed had compromised the CRA’s computer systems, forcing the agency to temporarily shut down its e-file system.
— With a file from Leslie Young
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