Group items tagged

National News: Tax Tip: Tips for Preparing to File Your Taxes Online OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Market wired - Feb. 10, 2014) - Did you know? Filing your taxes online is increasing in popularity as Canadians discover how fast, easy, and secure filing online really is. Last year, over 74% of Canadians filed their income tax and benefit return electronically. Are you ready to join them? Get ready: following these steps will make filing your taxes easy! * Go to www.cra.gc.ca/getready to find out about non-refundable credits you might be eligible for to reduce your taxes this year. * Gather all your information slips and receipts (T4s, T5s, etc.), as well as a copy of last year's return to use as a reference for this year. No need to send your receipts in with your return! If we need to see them, we will let you know. * Have your social insurance number and date of birth on hand. * Sign up for direct deposit to receive your refund faster and any benefit or credit payments owed to you, deposited directly into your bank account. Go to www.cra.gc.ca/directdeposit to learn how to sign up for direct deposit. * To file online, you need to complete your return using certified software or a certified web application. This may even help you identify benefits and credits that you may have missed if you filed on paper! The CRA has a list of software options-some that you have to buy and some that you can use for free-at www.netfile.gc.ca/software. Accounting Tips by Hass Associates Individual and Business Tax Preparation

Reports say tax fraud victims have lost around US$15 million to cybercriminals since 2013. Fraudsters may come in many forms: - They can pretend to be an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agent, who tricked their victims into paying thousands of dollars each through phone calls. Call recipients were threatened to pay up or get charged. - Some often used malware such as Trojan spyware, banking Trojans or remote access tools (RTAs) to gain access to potential victims' computers or bank accounts. - And the brazen ones present themselves as IRS agents and show up in your front door. Over the years, the attackers' means may have evolved but their goal remains the same, and that is to deceive victims into giving out their personal information, including Social Security numbers, banking information and other private details. Tax-related identity theft occurs when attackers uses your stolen Social Security number to file a fraudulent tax return early in the year. You may be unaware that you are already a victim until you try to file your taxes and discover that a return has been filed using your number.