Author Archives: BetCrooks

How Can I Check the Status of my 2012 Canadian Income Tax Return Refund?

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I’ll admit it. I’m impatient. We’re getting a (miniscule) tax refund this year and I’m curious when the $22.47 will land in our chequing account. We filed the return that’s generating the refund using StudioTax 2012 on April 12. I wondered if there was some way to check the status of our filing at the CRA office. There is, but it doesn’t tell you much. Even so, here’s how you can check the progress of your income tax return for this year.

What You’ll Need to Check the Status of your Tax Return

To use Quick Access, you’ll need

  • Your Social Insurance Number
  • Your date of birth
  • The amount you reported (right or wrong) for your Total Income on line 150 of your tax return

How to Check the Status of Your Tax Return Using Quick Access

  1. Go to the CRA website at http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/ndvdls/tpcs/ncm-tx/rfnds/stts-eng.html
  2. Click on the Quick Access link.
    1. If you want to review the rules, click on the Before You Start link.
    2. If you’re ok with them proceed: Click on the Sign in button.
  3. In the field, type your Social Insurance Number, then click on the Continue button.
  4. Type your year of birth, then select the month and day from the drop-down lists.
  5. Type in the amount you reported on line 150 of your tax return.
    For me, it wanted what I reported in 2012.
    If they haven’t processed your return, they will probably ask for what you reported in 2011. So this is a clue that they’ve looked at your return!Do not report any cents.
    I got confused. Should I report the amount rounded up to the nearest dollar or not? I’m going to try not rounding first.Interesting! It did not expect me to round up! I entered the value by truncating the cents, not by rounding it to the correct nearest dollar.
  6. Click on the Continue button.
  7. Read the Terms and Conditions of Use. If you agree, click the I agree link.
  8. Oh, way cool! Not only does it say our return has been assessed, but it tells us what date it expects to deposit the refund! Baby gets a new basketball next week!Because it’s Quick Access it does not tell you the amount of the refund. You need to use My Account to get the details on your tax return. My Account is a much more secure system and you have to apply for access to it.
  9. If you want, while you’re in here, you can check your 2013 RRSP contribution limit, if your tax return has been assessed. Click on the RRSP deduction limit link.
  10. WARNING: When you’re done, be sure to
    1. click on the Logout button.
    2. Then click on the Exit button.
    3. Then close your browser window.

When Will I Get my Money?

So we submitted our tax returns on April 12 and they are supposed to deposit our money on April 22. If that happens, it will have taken 10 days to get our money.

Related Reading

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Have you submitted your tax return? Are you getting a whopping return or do you have to pay a horrific amount? Please share your great news or grievances with a comment.

Sleeping Easily: A Money Management Roundup

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Recently I reviewed Sleep-Easy Investing a book I found that meshed well with many of my conservative investing ideas.

Then, earlier this week, Echo at Boomer and Echo wrote

a post about fixed versus variable rate mortgages. Despite his best efforts to sell us on the benefits of the lower cost of going variable rate, some of us readers insisted we’d rather pay more so we could sleep soundly. (I think he sleeps fine even with a variable rate but not all of us are wired that way.)

It led me to thinking about what financial achievements and decisions help us sleep better—and what financial difficulties keep us up nights.

The Blunt Bean Counter says that the government requirement to only have T3 and T5013s available at the end of March keeps many accountants up late every April. It’s not worry, though, it’s work.

An investor said that ““the clink, clink” of the cuffs may help him finally sleep through the night.” as his former investment advisor was led off to a 6-year jail term in The Star’s article Former Investors Group mutual fund seller jailed.

Joe at Timeless Finance, on the other hand, appears to be going to “forgo sleep in order to watch an entire season of TV episodes.” I regret to say I personally have never found any TV show that good.

In the Globe and Mail’s Lighten up on equities, sleep at night the financial advisors suggest reducing the amount of equities in an investor’s portfolio. In the comments, readers point out that taxation mistakes are costing the investor an unnecessary bundle.

Big Cajun Man, meanwhile, sleeps easily knowing his stash of gold bars is burglar-proof in his safe deposit box.

Some time ago, Michael James on money noted that it’s okay to allocate your assets in such a way that you can sleep at night but only if you stick with the allocation through the air pocket bumps.

In 14 Reasons To Be Debt-Free Forever, Gail Vaz-Oxlade lists the joys of sleeping in on Saturday mornings.

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Is there some aspect of finances that either costs you sleep or lulls you to sleep? Please share your insights with a comment.