7 ways the tax man is watching you

Whether it’s through a photo on social media or a casual conversation with a friend, the Canada Revenue Agency is always watching and listening. And their investigators will pursue you tirelessly if they think you’ve been lying on your tax return. Their subject of choice? These days, it’s anyone and everyone.  “We always think it’s only the rich who the tax man is interested in but it’s the little fish they like the best,” says Paul DioGuardi, a senior tax lawyer and author of The Taxman is Watching. “The Internet is becoming a favoured weapon for the CRA to find and analyze all kinds of data so they can watch people they think are cheating on their taxes.”

Here’s five ways the CRA may be watching you that you probably weren’t aware of.

1. Your social media

Any of your open social media accounts are publicly accessible and some posts could prompt a CRA investigation into your financial life. From the CRA’s point of view this is a legitimate practice on their part because posts on social media really aren’t private. How does this work? Say you just bought a new $85,000 sail boat and are boasting about it by posting a photo of it on Facebook. The CRA could see this and then check it against what you declared as income last year. “If you declared $40,000 in annual income, or a modest amount, they’re going to be suspicious and come calling,” says DioGuardi.

2. Your sales and purchases on Kijiji, Etsy and Ebay

Is your passion for vintage furniture really a hobby? Or are you running a small business from your living room and not declaring the profits on your tax return? “To compare this data would take years in the old days,” says DioGuardi. “Now the CRA can data-mine these non-traditional sources of info in a heartbeat pretty much whenever they like. They are a collection agency with police-like powers.”

• Paying taxes in the sharing economy »

3. Your small business’s sales data

Cheating on your company sales numbers by declaring lower revenue than is actually the case?  Don’t. The CRA is able to use data to plow through years’ worth of your credit card transactions with the aim of matching your stated sales with electronic data they’re able to access.

4. Bank accounts and investments

To spot undeclared, taxable interest, dividend and capital gains income, the CRA has access to info from all Canadian financial institutions. They can also determine if you’ve exceeded your TFSA and RRSP contributions and penalize you accordingly.

5. Capital gains from condo and real estate sales

“In the old days I had to go to the registry office to find out when a piece of real estate had been bought and sold,” says DioGuardi. “Not anymore. The Internet changes the game.” Now, the CRA can look at all real estate transactions and easily flag suspicious transactions. What are they looking for? Condo flippers and real estate sales where the owner hasn’t declared capital gains and paid the appropriate taxes. Multiple property ownership where the taxpayer isn’t also declaring rental income is another trigger for investigation.

• A quick and easy primer on capital gains tax »

6. Your income and pensions

The CRA is hunting for disparities in retirement income. It can access info on your bank account balances and income and match it with previous tax returns. If there’s a wide discrepancy, be prepared to answer more questions.