News release

April 30 filing deadline is fast approaching, reminds the Minister of National Revenue

Ottawa, Ontario, April 17, 2009... The Honourable Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Minister of National Revenue and Minister of State (Agriculture), encourages Canadians to file their income tax and benefit return early using the quick, easy, and secure electronic services available from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

"The Government is committed to providing Canadians with a full range of electronic services to help them meet their tax obligations as easily and efficiently as possible," said Minister Blackburn. "The majority of Canadians are already using and benefiting from the convenience and reliability of CRA's electronic services for faster processing, to receive their refund earlier if entitled, to eliminate the paper burden, and to save the mailing costs."

 You have until midnight on April 30, 2009, to pay any balance owing and to file your 2008 income tax and benefit return. You may do so electronically, using EFILE for authorized service providers or NETFILE for individuals, by phone, using TELEFILE, or on paper.

If you or your spouse or common-law partner carried on a business in 2008 (other than a business whose expenditures are mainly in connection with a tax shelter), you have until midnight on June 15, 2009, to file your 2008 return, but you still have to pay any balance owing by April 30, 2009.

Electronic filing continues to increase in popularity. Almost 58% of all income tax and benefit returns filed last year were sent using electronic methods, namely EFILE, NETFILE, or TELEFILE.

More information on CRA electronic services is available at the following Web pages:

• EFILE
  www.cra.gc.ca/efile
  
  
• NETFILE
  www.netfile.gc.ca
  
  
• TELEFILE
  www.cra.gc.ca/telefile

The Tax Information Phone Service (T.I.P.S.) is an automated telephone service that provides information to individuals and businesses. You can contact T.I.P.S. at 1‑800‑267‑6999. In addition, the CRA is offering extended evening and weekend hours for the Individual Income Tax Enquiries telephone service at 1‑800‑959‑8281.

For more information on filing deadlines, go to www.cra.gc.ca/dates-ind.

This document is also available for download in PDF format.

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