Filing 10 years of missed returns — where does doing it myself start to cost money?
Some of it, yes — and we will say so on the call if that is the honest answer. The parts that are worth paying for are the ones where a missed election, a missed deadline or an unverified threshold costs more than the fee: some years may be beyond the refund window while still inside the assessment window, disclosure routes may apply to some obligations and not others, and information returns have their own deadlines.
What if I have already filed and got it wrong?
That is a common starting point. We re-derive the position, identify whether an amendment or a disclosure route is the right vehicle, and tell you which one preserves the relief that is still available. The order matters more than the speed.
How long will it take?
It depends on the documents rather than on us. Once the pack is complete most filings turn around inside a fortnight; anything that needs a certificate from a tax authority runs on that authority's timetable, which we tell you at the start rather than at the end.
How many years back do I actually have to file?
Fewer than people expect, sometimes, and more than they expect on the reporting side. The number is not a single figure that applies to everyone: it depends on which obligations were triggered in which years, whether a year is still inside the assessment window, and whether anything has been asked of you already. Some years may be closed for refund purposes while remaining open for assessment. The first piece of work is therefore a map of the years and obligations, because filing everything blindly can cost you reliefs that sequencing would have preserved.
Will I still get refunds for the oldest years I missed?
Possibly not. The window for claiming a refund and the window in which a year can be assessed are different lengths, so a run of unfiled years commonly splits into two groups: older years where a balance can still be raised against you but a refund can no longer be claimed, and later years where both remain live. Knowing which group each year falls into before you file changes the order of work and the expectations you should hold. It is also the reason the refund years are usually prepared first.
Which year should I file first when ten are outstanding?
Rarely the oldest one just because it is oldest. Sequencing is the whole point: carried-forward balances have to be established in the right order, years still open to a refund claim deserve priority, and any obligation that a disclosure route might cover should be settled on that footing before something is filed that closes the route. The map comes first, the preparation second. Working from the earliest year forward without that map is the most common way a catch-up loses relief that was available on the day it started.
Can I just file the returns or do I need a disclosure programme?
It depends on what is behind the gap. A disclosure route may apply to some of your obligations and not to others, so the answer is often both: part of the catch-up goes in under a programme and part is simply filed. What makes this worth deciding early is that a relief route can be lost by an ordinary filing made before it. Establish which obligations each year carries, then decide the footing for each one, and only then start preparing anything.
What about the information returns for all those years?
They have their own deadlines and their own consequences, and they do not follow the income returns automatically. A catch-up that files ten years of returns and overlooks the reporting on foreign accounts, companies or trusts leaves the larger half of the exposure untouched, because those penalties attach to the form rather than to any tax. List the reporting obligations alongside the return obligations when the years are mapped, and treat both as part of the same piece of work rather than a follow-up.
I have no records for the earliest years — can I still file?
Usually yes, and the reconstruction is a normal part of this work. Slips can often be retrieved from the authority's own records, banks hold statements for longer than most people assume, and employers and platforms can reissue. Where a figure genuinely cannot be recovered, the return is prepared on a reasoned basis and the basis is documented at the time, so that it can be explained later rather than defended from memory. Start by gathering what exists; the size of the gap is normally smaller than it looks at the outset.
What is Schedule FA and who has to complete it?
It is the foreign asset disclosure in an Indian return, and the trigger is residential status rather than income: a resident discloses foreign bank accounts, custodial and equity holdings, foreign life insurance with a cash value, immovable property and other assets held at any time in the year, plus any beneficial interest. A non-resident does not. The obligation is disclosure-based, so it applies to an account that earned nothing, and the penalties under the black-money legislation are what make it worth getting right. See Schedule FA reporting.
Is an inheritance from overseas taxable in Canada?
Canada has no inheritance or estate tax, so receiving a bequest is not income to you. Tax happens on the other side of the transaction — the deceased's final return, where a deemed disposition of their property can arise, and any tax the foreign country levies on the estate. What changes for you is what comes next: the asset you now hold may be reportable foreign property, and its value at the date of death becomes your cost base for future gains. See a foreign inheritance.
