/EINPresswire.com/ -- OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Feb 16, 2017) - Filing your income tax and benefit return on time helps prevent delays in receiving your benefits and credit payments. If you have a balance owing, paying on time helps you avoid possible interest and penalty charges.

Important facts

• Most Canadian income tax and benefit returns for 2016 are due on April 30, 2017. However, as this date is a Sunday, the CRA will consider your return filed on time and your payment made on time if the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) receives your submission by midnight on May 1, 2017, or if it is postmarked May 1, 2017.
• Self-employed individuals and their spouses or common-law partners have until June 15, 2017, to file their income tax and benefit returns, but any balance owing is still due on or before April 30, 2017.
• Last year, 84% of Canadians filed their return electronically.
• To file your income tax and benefit return online, you can prepare and submit it using NETFILE-certified tax preparation software. To save you time and money, the CRA publishes a list of CRA-certified tax preparation software packages and web applications, some of which are free.

Filing on time and online

When you file online, NETFILE-certified tax preparation software guides you through the process, does all the calculations for you, and helps to ensure you don't miss out on any credits and benefits you are eligible for! If you are fully registered for My Account, you can use the Auto-fill my return service to automatically fill in parts of your current and prior year income tax and benefit return, making the online filing process even simpler.

If you file electronically and are registered for online mail, you could receive the results of your assessment immediately after you file and your notice of assessment within 24 hours using the Express NOA service.

Join the 84% of Canadians who already benefit with online filing! The CRA's online services are fast, easy-to-use, and secure. For more information about filing online, go to cra.gc.ca/getready.

If you don't file on time, your benefit and credit payments such as the Canada child benefit (CCB) and the goods and services tax/harmonized sales tax (GST/HST) credit, could be interrupted or stopped.

Stay connected

To receive updates on what is new at the Canada Revenue Agency, you can:

Follow the CRA on Twitter - @CanRevAgency.

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Watch our tax-related videos on YouTube.