Mental Health, Finances and Taxes
Over the past number of years, mental health has become an increasingly bigger conversation in our society, and something that I think needs to be talked about more. The majority of our lives involve decisions about money, and yet the undeniable link between our mental health and our relationship with money is not something that is regularly discussed or acknowledged.
A common conversation I have with clients is:
“I have not filed my taxes for the past 5-10 years, and I feel so embarrassed and overwhelmed.”
“I haven’t filed because I’m worried about how much I’m going to owe.”
“I started a business and I have no idea about where to start.”
I so often want to assure people that these concerns are so incredibly common, that taxes are very understandably overwhelming, and congratulate them for taking a step toward getting caught up. One of the things I strive to do in my business is to take the worries and fears people have about filing their taxes or getting a bookkeeping system implemented, collaborate with them to come up with a plan, and break that plan down into simple and more manageable steps.
If you are currently in this situation, some of the steps that I suggest you take to gain more control over tax or financial situation are:
Reach out to a bookkeeping or tax professional. If you are low income, or on disability, there are also tax clinics available that can assist you with filing your taxes for free. You can find a comprehensive list here: https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/campaigns/free-tax-help.html
Start with one year at a time: The idea of getting caught up on multiple years of tax filings is daunting for many people. I suggest breaking things like this down into small steps. Starting with one year is much less overwhelming than tackling multiple years at a time.
Ask a friend for help or even just to sit with you while you sort through your receipts or tax slips: Sometimes even just having a friend sit beside you while you start to organize your items for filings can be helpful.
Don’t know where all your tax slips are? No problem! Tax professionals have the ability to access your CRA account with your permission and get missing tax slips for you if you can’t find your paper copies.
Worried about how much you’re going to owe? In certain situations, you can apply for taxpayer relief of penalties and interest once you have filed your tax return. CRA will sometimes grant relief of penalties and interest if you have dealt with illness, emotional or mental distress etc. You can read more information here: https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/cra-arc/formspubs/pbg/rc4288/rc4288-21e.pdf
Most importantly, I want you to know that you are certainly not alone if you are overwhelmed with the idea of getting caught up on your taxes or implementing a bookkeeping system. There are professionals who want to help.
