That result is never fun, especially if it’s unexpected. First of all, know that if you’ve worked fairly steadily for one employer the whole year, and you have no extraordinary credits or deductions , your tax return should result in either a small refund or a small amount owing. That’s how payroll taxes are calculated.
Here are three scenarios (although certainly not the only ones!) that we see fairly often when tax returns result in a chunk of change due back to the tax man:
– You withdrew RRSPs. You added to your income but perhaps only 10% tax was withheld.
– You worked several jobs at the same time. Each employer ‘s payroll program calculated tax as if that was your only income, but when all the income is added together, the tax withheld comes up short.
– You received EI benefits during the year. Typically, very little tax is withheld from EI payments, which can be useful when unemployed, but not helpful at tax time.
If you think this may be the case for you in 2020, you may ask your employer to withhold extra tax from each paycheque (fill out form TD1), or set some money aside so you are prepared.

Still wondering about your tax return?
Set up an appointment for a second look! 👀