Haven't Filed Taxes in Years? Let's Get You Caught Up — Quietly and Correctly
One year or ten, personal or corporate, with or without a letter from the CRA — Trim Tax rebuilds your income, files every missing return and deals with the CRA, so you can stop worrying about the envelope.
You're not the only one — and it's fixable
People stop filing for every reason: a death in the family, an illness, a business that struggled, a separation, a move, or one disorganised year that became two, then five. The longer it goes on, the harder it feels to start — and the more the unfiled years cost.
Refunds go unclaimed; benefits such as the GST/HST credit, the Canada Child Benefit and the Canada Workers Benefit stop; RRSP room is not tracked; mortgage applications stall without Notices of Assessment; and the CRA may eventually send a demand to file or assess you on its own estimate of your income.
Trim Tax specialises in catch-up filing. We find out what the CRA already has on file, rebuild your income and expenses from slips and bank statements, file every year that needs filing, and handle the CRA from start to finish. We don't lecture, and nothing is filed until you understand what it means.
What happens if you don't file
- Lost refunds and benefits. Many non-filers are owed money. Benefits and credits are calculated from your return, so no return usually means no payments.
- Late-filing penalties when tax is owed. 5% of the balance owing plus 1% per month for up to 12 months, plus daily compound interest. Repeat late filers who have received a demand to file face 10% plus 2% per month for up to 20 months. If no tax is owed, there is usually no late-filing penalty.
- Demand to file. The CRA can formally require you to file. Ignoring a demand can lead to further penalties and, in serious cases, prosecution.
- Arbitrary (notional) assessments. The CRA can assess you on an estimate of your income — often far higher than reality — and begin collecting on that amount.
- Collections. Once a balance is assessed, the CRA can garnish wages, freeze bank accounts and register liens.
- No time limit. The normal reassessment period only begins once a return is assessed, so unfiled years stay open indefinitely.
How we get you caught up
Confidential consultation
CRA account review
Income rebuild
Strategy before filing
Filing
Replacing arbitrary assessments
Relief and payment
Staying current
The Voluntary Disclosures Program
If your unfiled returns involve income the CRA doesn't know about — self-employed income, cash sales, rental income, foreign income or investment gains — the Voluntary Disclosures Program (VDP) may let you correct the record with relief from penalties and part of the interest.
Relief is generally not available if the CRA has already started an audit or enforcement action about the same information, and the disclosure must be complete. Whether the VDP is right for you depends on your facts: sometimes it is the best route, and sometimes simply filing is. We assess eligibility and prepare the application before anything is sent.
Who we help
Individuals who haven't filed for one year or many
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Self-employed people and gig workers with income that was never reported
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Landlords who never reported rental income
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Seniors and lower-income individuals missing out on benefits and credits
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Newcomers who never filed after arriving in Canada
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Corporations with unfiled T2 returns, HST returns or payroll slips
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Executors dealing with a deceased person's unfiled years
Book a consultationWhy choose Trim Tax to catch up
- Catch-up filing is a core service for us, not an occasional job.
- We start with what the CRA already has, so your returns match its records.
- The filing strategy is decided before anything is filed: which years, in what order, and whether the VDP applies.
- Arbitrary assessments replaced with real numbers.
- Confidential and judgment-free, with one fixed fee for the whole catch-up quoted in advance.
- Personal, self-employed and corporate years handled together by one team.
Frequently asked questions
It's never too late to get back on track.
Book a free, confidential catch-up consultation with a Trim Tax CPA — call 647 243-5076 or email info@trimtax.ca.
Disclaimer: Trim Tax is an independent accounting firm and is not affiliated with the Canada Revenue Agency. Results depend on your individual facts and CRA criteria; no outcome is guaranteed.
