Child's tax return, low wages, not accepted by Netflie?

[regomar]

My 15 year old dependent child earned less than $4,000 in 2022. Does she need to file at all?

I tried to Netfile for her and it was rejected by the CRA. I called them and was told that because she's a minor and hasn't filed before, she needs to mail in a physical tax return. That makes no sense and I told him so, but he insisted that any filing must be done on paper. 

Should I bother filing at all? She made less than $4k serving pizza. Is it safe to just not file?

[DrakeYounger]

If your child earned any income from an employer, they should have received a T4 slip, which reports their employment income and deductions. If their employer withheld any taxes from their pay, they may be eligible for a refund if they file a tax return.

If your child earned income from self-employment or as a contractor, they may need to file a tax return and report that income.

Even if your child is not required to file a tax return, they may want to consider filing to claim certain tax credits or benefits, such as the Canada Workers Benefit (CWB), which provides additional income support for low-income workers.

[regomar]

Thank you for the reply!

She got a T4 and owes no tax according to Ufile's calculations.

I've never filed by paper/mail before and they will not accept her Netfile.

What do I print? Do I print the entire 32-page PDF that Ufile had me download? Does she need to sign anything? Should I include a copy of her T4 in the envelope?

I've searched online and I can't find any info about what pages to print and mail. It looks like there's both a 'T1 General Condensed' as well as a full T1 in the PDF. Do I have to mail both of these? This is very confusing.

 

EDIT: It looks like there are two different PDFs available for her to download here at Ufile on the Tax Return tab: 'Download PDF' and 'Federal Print'. The federal print is fewer pages and I think is what I'm supposed to send, but I don't see anything about Ontario provincial tax in it and the page numbers jump from page 2 to page 8...

[Papet]

Good day Regomar,

As your daughter has never filed a return before she is what is known as a first-time filer or first-timer.
First-timers have been eligible to file electronically for quite a number of years.

Did you indicate your daughter's status in her Interview, CRA questions.

If yes, what is the exact error message you received when you tried to NetFile her return?

 

 

[regomar]

Yes, I ticked that box. That was the first thing I made sure I did.

Quote

 

"Rejected.

Result:

31

The information sent to Canada Revenue Agency doesn't match the information currently on record, which was provided by Service Canada."

 

I've triple checked the info, and it's all perfectly fine. The guy on the phone from the CRA insisted that because she is a minor who hasn't filed before, that they 'do not have her address information' and need a physical form first. That makes absolutely no sense, but I had him repeat it multiple times to make sure I understood him correctly. He insisted (vehemently) that this was normal and she shouldn't be able to e-file as a minor who hasn't filed before.

[Papet]

Unfortunately you provided only the result number as 31.

What was the text associated with that reject?

[regomar]

It's there, you have to hit the icon to expand the quote box in the post. I'll include it again, here: "The information sent to Canada Revenue Agency doesn't match the information currently on record, which was provided by Service Canada."

[Papet]

Thanks for the tip.
The reject makes more sense now.
Especially what you were told about the address is incorrect because the address is part of the electronic file for a first-timer.

Please check the following data.
1) In the Family Head Interview, Current address page
Make sure you have answered all questions in the Information about your residence section.

Reason is that the Family Head's address is used for all Dependants.

2) In your daughter's Interview, Identification page
Make sure her Date of birth is the correct one.

Then try to NetFile her return again.

[Papet]

I forgot one thing to verify.

Does your daughter have a middle name?

This is asked when filing her return as a first-timer.

 

[regomar]

Thanks so much for all the suggestions! I double-checked all of this information and it's all correct.

She does have a middle name and I entered it where you specified before trying to return. No joy. 😟

I think I'm just going to have to file a physical return like the CRA told me on the phone.

Do you know which forms I need to send? The whole 32-page file? Or just the T1 General Condensed? She has no deductions or self-employment. Just worked at a pizza place.

[Papet]

Well, then the only solution is to file a paper return for your daughter.

1) Change the NetFile page

2) Look in the Tax Return
Assembly instructions are now present.

3) Print the Federal return

The return will probably contain only the following pages:

Data pertaining to Ontario is shown in page T1-KFS under Provincial and territorial forms.

4) Finalize

Your daughter signs on Page 3.
Include the T4 slip.

Use the link provided in the Assembly instructions to find where to mail the return.

 

 

[regomar]

Thank you for the detailed information, Papet!

I wasn't able to find the dialog box in step 3, which may be because I'm using the browser version, not the PC software. But I was able to find a PDF version called 'Federal' which has all the sheets you mentioned, The one oddity was that the page 3 of the condensed T1 was listed as 'Page 8 of 8,' although it only included pages 1 and 2 before it. I assume this is the page 3 you listed, but the PDF is confusing. Hopefully it's not missing anything.

I also noticed on the page 3/8 which begins with 'Step 6', the box labeled 'Refund of balance owing' is left completely blank. She doesn't owe anything, but I'd assume Ufile should put a zero in there? Or maybe the CRA just assumes a blank box = 0?

Thank you again for all your help, you've been a godsend!

[Papet]

Hello Regomar,

Oooops!!! I indeed missed the fact that you are using the browser version.
The Federal Print button you used is the right one.

Page 3 of the condensed T1 is listed as Page 8 of 8 (as per CRA specs) because it reproduces the Page 8 (the last one) of the full T1 return.

Note that the content of a box, blank vs zero is as specified by CRA.