Have you filed your taxes yet?

The Canada Revenue Agency says that everyone should file a tax return, whether or not they have any income, in order to not miss out on any benefits from the government.

While many people took the time earlier this year to file their income taxes, there will inevitably be a number of people who will be heading into tax offices in Calgary to file before the deadline at midnight.

Those who don’t file by the deadline will be facing a penalty of five percent on top of whatever is owed to the government.

The self-employed or those with spouses who are self-employed get a bit of a break; they don’t need to file until June 17.

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has also made things easier than ever before for Canadians by removing the need to mail returns and relying chiefly on their online services.

A software package, which has been fully certified, is available on the CRA website. Canadians are also free to purchase any other third party tax filing program to complete their returns.

According to their website, the CRA says that the method you choose to file has no impact on your chances of being audited. The agency may sometimes request receipts to support claims made in online returns, but this is just routine.

Everyone should be filing a return, even if you don’t have a job.

If you don’t, you may be missing out on benefits like the HST credit or Child Tax Benefit.