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Originally posted by love_to_surf

What is the earliest date to submit tax return in BC? I needed to collect my balance amount and go back to India

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Most of us who are on payroll do have all of the stubs and interest figures and may also have investment account statements to work with as early as January of each year.

But during the January and February of each year we wait for the T-Slips to arrive. They are invariably delayed in receipt due the fact they are mailed. Hence we wait for their arrival. Knowing the total wage, we contribute to the RRSP's after January or top up the RRSP's after that. But we do get a receipt for the submission. Yet we wait for their official receipt. What we contributed at the start of the year enables us to swing the sum for the previous year and the balance to the next OR permits us to do the adjustments with the payments made during January and February. Also they do permit a small over contribution, so that eliminates the penalty.

The investment income and loss statement takes a few week ends to compile and prepare a P/L statement. With everything needing a completion, and the arrival of the T-slips etc., holds me up till the end of February. Some years it drags till the beginning of April. I finish around that time. If I owe them money, then I wait till the last day of April. If I am going to receive a refund from them I send it in as fast as I can. Some times by the end of February.

The Softwares currently available on the market makes the process simple as any correction in any column automatically gets adjusted and gets filled in the required columns all over and populates the appropriate Schedules and makes life a little easy. Printing and e-filing is made easy by this software too.

But if you want to send a hard copy, then it is only available after the start of the month of February at the Post Offices. Which means, we are also delayed in filing electronically till about the time the hard copy appears. Also they do not process the returns till about the end of February and so it gets shelved somewhere.

So, be guided by these time frames and if you are ahead of all of these with the use of the software, then file it anytime you feel you are ready and it could be as early as 15th of January of the year when the software appears on the shelves for sale. Call and find out if they are ready to accept the same electronically. If not, then, send a hard copy for your filing of the return.

If you are expecting a refund, then buy your ticket and travel and pay the same by installments or defray the payments till your return.

Have a happy holiday.

Hope this clears your doubts.

Freddie.