“Filing a Partnership Return
Ensures Partnership Income becomes
Statute-Barred.”
A Canadian partnership is required to file an annual T5013 Partnership Information Return.
Under Canada Revenue Agency’s administrative policy, certain partnerships are not required to file this return, including: (a) partnerships with five or fewer members throughout the fiscal period where no member is another partnership; (b) certain limited partnerships whose only activity is investment in flow-through shares; and (c) partnerships whose members are all status Indians whose income from the partnership is exempt under the Indian Act.
The time period for assessment is within three years from the later of the day a partnership return is required to be filed and the day the return is filed.
If no partnership return is filed, then the CCRA could take the position that the partnership information is never statute-barred. This means that CCRA could re-assess partnership information after the usual three-year period.
Accordingly, where no partnership return is required, it is still advisable for partnerships to file a return as filing starts the limitation period and may protect partners from a potentially unlimited reassessment period.
TAX TIP OF THE WEEK is provided as a free service to clients and friends of the Tax Specialist Group member firms. The Tax Specialist Group is a national affiliation of firms who specialize in providing tax consulting services to other professionals, businesses and high net worth individuals on Canadian and international tax matters and tax disputes.
The material provided in Tax Tip of the Week is believed to be accurate and reliable as of the date it is written. Tax laws are complex and are subject to frequent change. Professional advice should always be sought before implementing any tax planning arrangements. Neither the Tax Specialist Group nor any member firm can accept any liability for the tax consequences that may result from acting based on the contents hereof.
