Monday 2 January 2012

Student Loans: What To Do When Getting Audited

By Gerry Kovalsky


Student files are being selected for audit every year. If your application form is one of them, the information presented in it will be checked for completeness and truthfulness. Where appropriate and if false information is found, penalties apply. For instance, you may be denied access to funding or it may be limited.

Students may be required to supply a number of documents. These include receipts for textbooks and tuition, rent receipts, as well as child care receipts. You may be required to present copies of income tax returns, T4 slips, and bank statements. Other documents to supply are a divorce or separation agreement and letters from an employer confirming your income. In addition, you may be required to supply any other documentation that will make it easier to verify the information presented in your application.

It is important to make a file of the documentation you have included in your student loan application. This includes a working copy of it. You may have to present and refer back to these documents if your loan application gets audited. Or you may need to refer to them during the academic year.

What happens if you fail to present the required documentation within the specified timeframe? You may see your college loan revoked, and financial assistance may be discontinued. Moreover, knowingly giving misleading or false information as part of your application forms is an offense. This applies to other documents as well, and you should be aware of the consequences. First, you may be required to pay off your student loans immediately. Criminal prosecution is another likely outcome.

Some three million returns get audited every year, and millions of students receive brown envelopes with a request or demand for information. Now you know the procedures if you get audited, but you should also know what to do to prevent this from happening. What if you have a lavish lifestyle and a moderate or low income? Though you are a tax payer, you may not know there is net worth assessment. Such assessments are conducted by the Canada Revenue Agency if it is suspected that you work illegally and claim low income. If you annoy someone who know that you work illegally, the Canada Revenue Agency will be after you. Then, you are likely to trigger an audit if you claim 90 percent of your car expenses and 80 percent of your home expenses for business use. When it comes to these expenses, it is important to be reasonable and may pay to keep a log book. Getting into the cheating habit is a huge mistake. You are quite likely to trigger a repeat review if you were caught being less than honest before. Forgotten T slips are likely to get you in trouble as well. Failing to report income from T slips twice in two years may result in penalties.




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