Unfiled Tax Returns Help in Toronto, Guelph and Calgary
Missed a year, or several? We prepare and file your overdue personal, corporate and GST/HST returns, rebuild the records you no longer have and deal with the CRA for you, so you can get current and stay current.
Overdue T1, T2 and GST/HST returns, oldest year first
No records? We rebuild them from CRA slips and statements
A return is unfiled when it was due and never sent to the CRA. That can mean a personal T1 you skipped after a move or a bad year, a corporate T2 for a company that went quiet, or GST/HST returns a registered business stopped filing. It happens to careful people too: a lost job, an illness, a missing slip, or simply not knowing a return was needed.
The longer a return stays unfiled, the more the CRA can do without you, and the more interest piles up on anything owing. The good news is that the way back is the same every time: get the facts, file the returns, and deal with whatever the CRA sends back. Lira Tax & Accounting does that with you, from first call to final assessment.
Ideal forAnyone who owes the CRA one or more returns: individuals, self-employed people, incorporated businesses and GST/HST registrants.
What we catch up on
Personal (T1) returns
Self-employed income
Rental and investment income
Corporate (T2) returns
GST/HST returns
Payroll filings
Dormant and inactive companies
People new to Canada
What happens if you don’t file your tax returns?
The CRA’s Non-Filer Program moves in stages. This is the order it follows, as the CRA describes it on its own site.
1
A letter or notice
The CRA writes to ask for the missing return. Once you have received a request like this, the Income Tax Act makes filing mandatory.
2
A phone call
A non-filer officer may call to ask about your situation, explain what comes next and give you a deadline to file.
3
A visit
If the CRA can’t reach you, an officer may visit your home, workplace or business to collect outstanding returns. For businesses, they may ask for books and records.
4
A CRA assessment
The CRA can assess the tax it thinks you owe, without your return. These assessments leave out deductions you could have claimed, and business expenses are only an average estimate.
5
Prosecution
If efforts to obtain a return fail, the CRA can take the matter to court. A conviction can mean a fine, imprisonment or both.
Already assessed? Filing still helps.
If you file a return for a year the CRA has already assessed this way, the CRA reviews it and issues a notice of reassessment. Your real deductions and credits replace its estimate.
Not sure the call or visit is really from the CRA?
Call the CRA’s non-filer helpline at 1-800-448-0444 (Monday to Friday, 6:45 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Eastern). An officer who visits in person should show a CRA authorization card with their name and badge number.
Filing also restarts your benefits. The CRA says late filers still get their payments once the return is assessed, and that retroactive payments are available once older returns are filed and assessed. The GST/HST credit is now the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit.
How do late-filing penalties and interest work?
The penalty is a percentage of the tax you owe for that year, so a return with nothing owing usually costs nothing extra. Here are the rules for the three kinds of return we catch up most often.
Personal (T1)
5% + 1% a month
5% of the balance owing, plus 1% for each full month late, up to 12 months. A repeat late filer who also received a demand to file can pay 10% plus 2% a month, up to 20 months.
Corporation (T2)
5% + 1% a month
The same pattern for a corporation: 5% plus 1% for each full month, up to 12 months, rising to 10% plus 2% a month for repeat late filers.
GST/HST
1% + 0.25% a month
1% of the net tax owing plus 0.25% for each complete month late, up to 12 months. Nothing is charged when nothing is owing or the CRA owes you a refund.
A quick example
A personal return with $2,000 owing, filed 7 full months late: 5% is $100 and 7 months at 1% is $140, so the late-filing penalty is $240 before interest.
Interest keeps running
Interest is charged at the CRA’s prescribed rate, compounded daily, starting the day after the due date. It applies to the balance owing and to penalties, so a year of delay costs more than a year of penalties alone.
How do we catch you up with the CRA?
Six steps, the same way every time. You never have to face the CRA alone.
1
Tell us what’s missing
Book a free consultation. List the years and returns you think are unfiled, and any CRA letter or deadline you have.
2
We look at your CRA account
With your authorization, we review your filing history, the slips the CRA has received, any assessments and any notices.
3
We rebuild what’s missing
We start from the CRA’s slips, then fill gaps with bank and card statements, receipts and your own records.
4
We file, oldest year first
Each return is prepared and filed. The CRA’s e-filing services accept 2018 to 2025 right now; earlier years go in on paper.
5
We handle the CRA’s reply
We check every notice of assessment, deal with any year the CRA assessed for you, and help arrange a payment plan if you owe more than you can pay at once.
6
We keep you current
We file your current-year return, look at relief options (below) and set reminders so you don’t fall behind again.
What if you’ve lost your records?
Missing paperwork is the most common reason people stop filing, and it is rarely the end of the road. We work from the sources that still exist.
CRA information slips
T4, T5 and other slips the CRA has received appear in your CRA account. The CRA only has what the payer sent in.
Bank and card statements
Statements show deposits, spending and payments we can match to income and expenses.
Receipts and invoices
Supplier invoices, sales records and contracts rebuild a business’s income and costs.
Old returns and notices
Past notices of assessment, benefit letters and earlier returns anchor the numbers.
Where records are truly gone, we tell you plainly what can be supported and what can’t, so what you file is something you can stand behind.
Can the CRA reduce your penalties and interest?
Sometimes. The CRA runs two programs that can reduce what you owe on top of the tax itself. Both are decided by the CRA, and neither is guaranteed.
Come forward first
Voluntary Disclosures Program
Since October 1, 2025, an application made before the CRA contacts you about the issue can get 100% penalty relief and 75% interest relief.
If the CRA has already written to you with a deadline (a “prompted” application), relief can be up to 100% of penalties and 25% of interest.
The year must be at least one year past its due date, the application complete, and payment (or a request for a payment arrangement) included for the tax owing.
It isn’t available once an audit or investigation has started, or for returns with no tax owing.
The tax itself is always payable. The program covers penalties and interest.
Circumstances beyond your control
Taxpayer relief
The CRA can cancel or waive penalties and interest for extraordinary circumstances such as a disaster, serious illness or accident, for CRA delays or wrong information, and for inability to pay.
Penalty requests must relate to a tax year that ended in one of the last 10 calendar years. Interest relief covers amounts that built up in those 10 years.
That window moves forward every January 1, so waiting can shrink what you are able to ask for.
A request is made on form RC4288, by letter or through your CRA account, and each one is decided on its own merits.
We review both options for your situation and tell you honestly whether either fits, before you decide anything.
What’s included in our unfiled tax return service
Missing returns filed
Personal, corporate and GST/HST returns for every year that is outstanding, oldest first.
CRA account review
Your filing history, slips, assessments and notices, reviewed with your authorization.
Records rebuilt
CRA slips, statements and receipts pulled together into complete returns.
CRA correspondence handled
Letters and calls answered, and we speak with the CRA once you have authorized us.
Reassessments reviewed
Any year the CRA assessed for you is checked against your real return.
Relief options checked
The Voluntary Disclosures Program and taxpayer relief reviewed for fit.
What stays with the CRA
The CRA decides which penalties and interest apply, whether a relief request or a voluntary disclosure is accepted, and how long each return takes to be assessed. No one can promise the result. What we promise is accurate returns, a clear plan and honest advice.
How much does catching up on unfiled returns cost?
Every catch-up is different, so we quote each one individually, and you will know what we charge before we start. Here is what shapes the quote.
Number of yearsOne missing return, or many.
Types of returnPersonal, corporate, GST/HST, or a mix.
State of your recordsComplete, partial, or mostly gone.
Income sourcesEmployment, self-employment, rental or investments.
CRA involvementNo contact yet, or letters and assessments already.
TimingA relaxed timeline, or a deadline from the CRA.
Free, no-obligation consultation
Clear quote agreed before we start
No hidden fees or surprise billing
Prefer to talk it through first? Call us, or send a quote request.
Meet us in person at any of our four offices, or work with us by phone and video. Overdue returns go to the CRA online or by mail, so we can catch you up wherever you live in Canada.
Head Office (Toronto)
3000 Danforth Avenue, Unit 3, Suite 101 Toronto, ON M4C 1M7
“I have been returning to Lira Tax and Accounting Inc. for the past 3 years, and their service has always been excellent. Most recently, I had an issue with the CRA and was placed with a collections agency regarding several years of tax matters.
Razu provided expert advice, represented me professionally, and worked diligently to resolve 4 years' worth of tax issues. Thanks to his knowledge and guidance, the matter was resolved swiftly, and the CRA even issued me a refund cheque—something every honest taxpayer appreciates. :) I highly recommend Lira Tax and Accounting for anyone needing reliable and knowledgeable tax support. Thank you so much!”
Maria Josephine LakiCRA Issue Resolution · Google review
★★★★★
“Razu just helped me with my tax filing within less than 3 hours! And calculated better than other consultants! Fast and friendly response, fast process as well! Thank you very much Lari Tax & Accounting!”
Alessandra NicoleFast Tax Filing · Google review
★★★★★
“A friend recommended me Lira tax for my personal and corporation tax and it was done perfectly. Excellent service. If you think of someone to do your taxes, I recommend Lira tax 100%”
Alemshet DesalegnPersonal & Corporate Tax · Google review
Unfiled tax returns FAQs: penalties, CRA letters and old years
Straight answers to the questions people ask us before they catch up.
It is a return that was due and never filed with the CRA: a personal T1, a corporate T2, a GST/HST return or another required filing. You can still file it after the due date, and that is usually the best first step.
The CRA’s Non-Filer Program can write to you, call you, visit you and assess the tax it thinks you owe without your return. Interest and any late-filing penalties keep building on a balance owing. Filing the real returns replaces the CRA’s estimate and stops the build-up.
The CRA says that if its efforts to obtain a return fail, it may pursue prosecution, and a conviction can bring a fine, imprisonment or both. That is the last stage of the process, not the first. Filing before it gets there is the best protection, and we can help you do it.
The CRA’s own message to people catching up is that it is not too late to file older returns. What does have limits are changes to a return you filed and relief from penalties and interest, which both look back 10 calendar years. Acting sooner keeps more of your options open.
For personal returns, the late-filing penalty is a percentage of the balance you owe, so if you owe nothing there is no late-filing penalty. Filing is also how you claim a refund and restart benefit payments that were held up.
Each year is its own return, but we usually prepare them together, oldest first, so your account is brought up to date in one go. If a CRA deadline is close, tell us and we will put that year first.
Usually, yes. Information slips the CRA has received show in your CRA account, and we fill the gaps with bank statements, receipts and your own records. We tell you honestly what can be supported before anything is filed.
Yes. If you file a return for a year the CRA assessed on your behalf, the CRA reviews it and issues a notice of reassessment. These assessments leave out deductions, so the real return often changes the result.
It can reduce penalties and some interest when the application is voluntary, complete, covers a year at least one year past due and includes payment or a request for a payment arrangement. It isn’t available after an audit or investigation has started or for years with no tax owing, and relief is lower if the CRA has already contacted you. We check whether it fits.
Read the deadline, don’t ignore it and don’t send documents you haven’t reviewed. If you doubt a call or visit is real, check with the CRA’s non-filer helpline. Then contact us: once you authorize us we can speak with the CRA for you.
Yes. We catch up personal T1 returns, corporate T2 returns and GST/HST returns, and tell you the penalty rules that apply to each. Dormant companies with nothing to report still need their returns filed.
It depends on how many years are missing, which returns they are and the state of your records. We quote every job individually. Book a free consultation and you will have a clear quote before we start.
Official sources we check
We confirm the rules on the CRA’s own pages. You can read them too:
Checked against these pages in October 2026. Rules and programs change, so we confirm the current position for your situation before we start. This page is general information, not legal advice.
Book a free consultation. We will list what is missing, explain what the CRA is likely to do next and give you a clear plan and quote, with no obligation.
