Last year around this time we wrote a blog post that talked about not getting as large of a refund as you had hopped. Being tax season again, we thought it was perfect to share this with everyone again.

I hear this time and time again, why am I not receiving as much of a refund this year? Why do I owe taxes this year? This will all depend on what has changed since the prior year.

First, you may have changed jobs midway through the year which could lead to not enough tax being taken off at your new job. Second, if you have a rental property or business statement, some expenses cannot create losses.  They are carried forward to future years. Finally, tax rules may have changed since the prior year which could cause a change in your tax balance.

In my opinion, it is actually better not to get a refund. The reason I say this is that CRA is holding on to these monies and not paying interest to the taxpayer in most situations. These monies could be earning income if they were invested. I don’t think it is good to owe a lot of money either as this can really hurt your cash flows. I actually think it is better to be as close to break-even as possible. But who am I kidding, I would take the refund like anyone else!