Cashing your Tax Return Cheque

---

After weeks of waiting, the day has finally arrived! That’s right – your Canada Revenue Agency tax return cheque has finally arrived, but now what?  

How do you cash a Tax Return Cheque? 

While the Government of Canada conveniently offers enrolment for direct deposits, not all citizens have bank accounts that allow them to take advantage of this. Thankfully, you can go to any back to cash your Tax Return Cheque, or even your local Speedy Cash location!*

What do you need to bring? 

 Speedy Cash wants to make sure it’s YOU who’s cashing YOUR hard-earned Tax Return Cheque, and so proper documentation needs to be provided.  

To cash anything issued from the Government of Canada, you must bring two pieces of acceptable identification. One piece of ID must have both your photo and signature on it, a prime example being your driver’s license or services card, or your passport. Other pieces of valid ID include: 

• Birth certificate issued anywhere in Canada 
• Social Insurance Number  
• Old Age Security Card 
• Certificate of Indian Status 
• Provincial or territorial health services card 
• Certificate of Canadian Citizenship or Certificate of Naturalization 
• Permanent Resident Card or Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) form 

It’s important to remember that all pieces of ID that you bring in MUST BE original – Photocopies will not be accepted! At Speedy Cash, our Customer Service Representatives (CSR) will ask you to write your phone number on the back of the cheque at the time you endorse it. The cheque must NOT be endorsed prior to coming in; if it is, it will not be accepted by the CSR. 

Don’t let your Tax Return Cheque burn a hole in your pocket – for the fastest cheque-cashing services, be sure to come in within seven business days of the issue date. If your Tax Return Cheque is dated for more than 30 days prior, Speedy Cash will unfortunately not be able to cash it. 

Like any other type of written cheque, Speedy Cash and similar lenders do charge a small fee for cashing government-issued cheques. The cheque cashing fees for cashing federal government-issued cheque is $3.50 per cheque plus 3.5% of the face value of the cheque. For example, if you have a Tax Return Cheque for $100.00, the amount you would have to pay is $7.00. (3.5% of $100.00 is $3.50, plus the cheque-cashing fee of $3.50.) 

It should be noted that cheque-cashing rules vary depending on which province or territory you reside in. Acceptable forms of identification may vary, or interest and lending rates may be different, so if possible, call ahead to your local Speedy Cash location to confirm what you need to bring with you! 

Don’t forget, in addition to cheque cashing services, Speedy Cash is now offering Tax Preparation Services for our valued customers at all our in-store locations across Canada! Just drop your paperwork off at your local Speedy Cash branch and get on with your day. Our Tax Experts will work on your behalf to get you the MOST of your tax return, and you could leave our store with CASH in hand.  

What’s even better — if you come in any day before 1:00 p.m. PST, we guarantee same-day tax return service! Now that’s Speedy! 

Want to learn more, or reference a handy Canadian Tax Checklist? Just click here to see a detailed list of all the income slips, receipts, and any other documents you should bring along to file your tax claim.