{"id":5198,"date":"2015-04-06T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-04-06T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev-ginsberg-gingras.flywheelsites.com\/income-tax-debt\/"},"modified":"2021-04-13T18:16:20","modified_gmt":"2021-04-13T22:16:20","slug":"income-tax-debt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ginsberg-gingras.com\/en\/income-tax-debt\/","title":{"rendered":"Income tax debt, recovery options, interests and penalties"},"content":{"rendered":"

As a Licensed Insolvency Trustee, year after year I see firsthand how much income tax debt come to represent a heavy burden for many Quebeckers and Ontarians<\/strong>. Furthermore, given the firm determination displayed by the Canada Revenue Agency\u00a0(CRA) and Revenu Qu\u00e9bec to recover the money they are entitled to, such debt may cause a considerable stress. Righteously, since the CRA and Revenu Qu\u00e9bec have several means to get repaid.<\/p>\n

Canada Revenue Agency and Revenu Qu\u00e9bec recovery options<\/h2>\n

If you have income tax debts with the CRA or Revenu Qu\u00e9bec, these organisations can take actions against you. They are not the only creditors to be entitled to recourses, but CRA and Revenu Qu\u00e9bec\u00a0are sometime the first ones to pursue their rights in this matter<\/strong>. This applies particularly to garnishments of wages\u00a0(see the section on this subject below).<\/p>\n

These organisations can also issue formal demands requiring an individual to produce various types of documents, including tax returns, reports and statements of account.<\/p>\n

The following actions may be taken against the debtor if tax debt isn\u2019t paid back.<\/p>\n

Garnishment of wages<\/span><\/h3>\n

If you have income tax debt, the CRA and Revenu Qu\u00e9bec can garnish your wages.<\/strong> Unlike the majority of creditors, they do not have to get an order from the court to garnish wages. They don\u2019t have to send you an ultimatum either. To do so, they just have to provide your employer with a requirement to pay notice. Such a legal notice compels your employer to remit to CRA and Revenu Qu\u00e9bec a part of the wages you would normally be entitled to. The requirement to pay remains in force until the income tax debt is completely reimbursed, or until further notice.<\/p>\n

Being self-employed does not shield you against such an action. The CRA and Revenu Qu\u00e9bec can in fact seize your accounts receivable.<\/strong> As in the case of a garnishment of wages, they will send a requirement to pay notice to your customers. They will then be required to remit to CRA and Revenu Qu\u00e9bec any amount they would have paid you for work you did.<\/p>\n

Seizure of property and assets<\/span><\/h3>\n

Your salary is not the only thing that can be seized by CRA and Revenu Qu\u00e9bec. They may also recover the amounts due by obtaining a writ of seizure or a memorial of judgement from the court to seize your property and assets, including:<\/p>\n