What Do I Do When I Haven't Filed Taxes in Years?
March 15, 2010 by Donna Carson
Q: I haven't filed taxes in ten years. Don't even have all the paper work. Owe about $50000 to the government and about $6000 in other debts. Just need to know where to start. Child support is 1305 and currently on unemployement
I would suggest that you meet or talk to one of our counsellors to determine if it is necessary that all these
outstanding tax returns be dealt with.

If you know that you owe them money, and they have notionally assessed the returns (IE:  Canada Revenue
Agency "CRA" has estimated what you owe them based on what they know about your industry), we may be able
to work with just these estimates.  If you agree that they are close and you aren't able to pay them, we can look
at your options with just these estimates.  (IE:  is a repayment plan or proposal an option based on your budget,
or is the amount too high no matter what the exact number is).

CRA for income tax, GST and payroll are debts that are included in a bankruptcy.  They may have different treatment
depending on which department it is, but they are all debts to be included.  If you own any assets, it's best
to get some advice before CRA files writs against your property.  Once they have filed writs, we may not be
able to get the writs taken off.

You may ultimately have to put together some estimates of your income & expenses for those 10 years in order
to get out of a bankruptcy.  But that is to be determined depending on the specifics of your situation.


As an FYI....the child support obligation will not go away in a bankruptcy.  If you need to vary those payments based on
your income, only the Family Courts can do that.

Our counsellors and Trustees are listed on our website at http://www.mnpdebt.ca/contact/alberta/default.aspx.  Give one of
us a call to talk about your situation.

Donna Carson, CGA, CIRP, Trustee
Calgary and Central Alberta regions
1.877.500.0792    donna.carson@mnp.ca    

Approved comments

There are currently no approved comments for this post.

Post a comment

Email Address:    



Your comments:
MNP Blog Privacy Disclaimer.