Robbie Wood Chartered Professional Accountant

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Looking ahead to 2020 (November 2019)
Planning for – or even thinking about – 2020 taxes when it’s not even December 2019 may seem more than a little premature. However, most Canadians will start paying their taxes for 2...

Planning for year-end charitable donations (November 2019)
The start of fall marks a lot of things, among them a number of runs, walks and other similar events held to raise money for a broad range of Canadian charities. And, within the next month, as the hol...

Getting a fix on your retirement income (November 2019)
Most Canadians expend a considerable amount of time and effort in order to put money aside for retirement. Especially in an era in which the majority of workers can’t look forward to receiving a...

Getting credit(s) for financing the political process (November 2019)
To win elections, politicians need votes. And to run the election campaigns needed to garner those votes, those politicians need an organization, volunteers, and money — a lot of money. To wage ...

Taking stock of your TFSA (October 2019)
Tax-free savings accounts (TFSAs) have been around for a full decade now, having been introduced in 2009, and for most Canadians, a TFSA (along with a registered retirement savings plan (RRSP)) is now...

When are legal fees deductible? (October 2019)
In most cases, the need to seek out and obtain legal services (and to pay for them) is associated with life’s more unwelcome occurrences and experiences — a divorce, a dispute over a famil...

Structuring retirement income – what to do with your RRSP (October 2019)
As the baby boom generation ages, members of that generation must switch their focus from the accumulation of retirement savings to creating a structure which will ensure a steady flow of income throu...

Shared-custody parents and the Canada Child Benefit (October 2019)
When parents separate and divorce, it is frequently the case that they are able to agree on an arrangement to share custody of their children. Such a shared-custody arrangement is often to the benefit...

Claiming a tax credit for out-of-pocket medical costs (September 2019)
Canadians are fortunate to benefit from a publicly funded health care system, in which most costs of care ranging from routine visits to a family doctor to intensive care in a hospital setting are pai...

Coming clean with the tax authorities - the Voluntary Disclosure Program (September 2019)
The Canadian tax system is a “self-assessing system” which relies heavily on the voluntary co-operation of taxpayers. Canadians are expected (in fact, in most cases, required), to complete...

Protecting your personal information - the Capital One data breach (September 2019)
By now, news of yet another data breach resulting in unauthorized access to personal information — especially financial information — has become so frequent as to seem almost commonplace. ...

Planning for out-of-country medical costs (October 2018)
As the days get shorter and the temperature drops, many Canadians start thinking about spending a few days or weeks (or even longer) of the upcoming winter somewhere warmer. For some, that means going...

The employee tax perks of working from home (October 2018)
The daily commute to and from work is, generally, everybody’s least favourite part of the work day. In recent years that commute has gotten longer and longer as many Canadians, especially those ...

The tax scam that won’t go away (October 2018)
Tax scams have been around, probably, for about as long as Canada has had a tax system. They also have a tendency to proliferate at certain times of the year — often during tax return filing and...

Taking stock of your TFSA (October 2018)
Tax-free savings accounts (TFSAs) have been around for nearly a decade now, having been introduced in 2009, and for most Canadians, a TFSA is now a regular part of their financial and tax planning str...

Whether (and when) to stop contributing to the Canada Pension Plan (September 2018)
When the Canada Pension Plan was put in place on January 1,1966, it was a relatively simple retirement savings model. Working Canadians started making contributions to the CPP when they turned 18 year...

Current rules on getting mortgage financing (September 2018)
For all but a very fortunate few, buying a home means having to obtain financing for the portion of the purchase price not covered by a down payment. For most buyers, especially first-time buyers, tha...

Getting tax assistance for education costs (September 2018)
The month of September marks both the end of summer and the beginning of the new school year for millions of Canadian children, teenagers, and young adults. And, whatever the age of the student or the...

Charities and political activities - new developments (September 2018)
The administrative policy of the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) with respect to charities has been that no more than 10% of a registered charity’s resources can be allocated to non-partisan politic...

New Quarterly Newsletters (August 2018)
Two quarterly newsletters have been added—one dealing with personal issues, and one dealing with corporate issues....

Changes to Canada Child Benefit payments for 2018-19 (August 2018)
Millions of Canadians receive payments each month from the federal government and for younger Canadians, especially families with children, such payments will often include the monthly Canada Child Be...

An end to restrictions on political activities of charities? (August 2018)
Achieving charitable registration status is a significant step, and a significant benefit, to any organization. The organization itself becomes exempt from income tax and, in addition, is able to issu...

Receiving a first instalment reminder from the Canada Revenue Agency (August 2018)
Sometime around the middle of August, millions of Canadians will receive unexpected mail from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), and that mail will contain unfamiliar and unwelcome news. Specifically, t...

When the taxman has a few questions … (August 2018)
Between February and July 2018, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) received and processed just over 28 million individual income tax returns filed for the 2017 tax year. The CRA’s self-imposed proc...

Tax changes for the remainder of 2018 (July 2018)
The start of the calendar year also marks the beginning of the tax year for individuals and consequently most tax changes are scheduled to take effect as of January 1 of each year. However, the federa...

When you can’t file or pay on time - the CRA’s Taxpayer Relief Program (July 2018)
It shouldn’t be news to anyone that severe weather events are becoming more and more common. And, although Canada is known for its winters, it’s usually spring and summer that bring the ki...

Do your taxes need a mid-year course correction? (July 2018)
Most Canadians, understandably, think about taxes only when such thoughts can’t be avoided — once or twice a year. The first such time is, of course, when the annual return must be filed a...

Disputing your 2017 tax assessment (July 2018)
By the end of June, all individual taxpayers have filed their 2017 income tax returns and most will have received a Notice of Assessment outlining the Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA’s) concl...

When you are turning 71 – the big RRSP decision (June 2018)
For several generations, reaching one’s 65th birthday marked the transition from working life to full retirement, and, usually, receipt of a monthly employee pension, along with government-spons...

Getting tax relief for the cost of getting around (June 2018)
It’s something of an article of faith among Canadians that, as temperatures rise in the spring, gas prices rise along with them. Whether that’s the case every year or not, this year statis...

Deciphering your Notice of Assessment (June 2018)
By the middle of May 2018, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) had processed just over 26 million individual income tax returns filed for the 2017 tax year. Just over 14 million of those returns resulted ...

Claiming a deduction for moving expenses (June 2018)
While the Canadian real estate market seems, by all accounts, to have retreated from the record pace it was setting in 2017, there is still plenty of activity. According the statistics released by the...

New Quarterly Newsletters (May 2018)
Two quarterly newsletters have been added—one dealing with personal issues, and one dealing with corporate issues....

Managing debt in a rising interest rate environment (May 2018)
For almost a decade now, Canadians have been living, and borrowing, in an ultra-low interest rate environment. As of the end of April 2018, the bank rate (from which commercial interest rates are deri...

Claiming a deduction for summer child care costs (May 2018)
The arrival of warmer weather signals both the start of spring and the approaching end of the school year. For many families, it also means the need to begin researching the availability of suitable c...

Avoiding (or minimizing) the OAS clawback (May 2018)
There are a number of income sources available to Canadians in retirement. Those who participated in the work force during their adult life will have contributed to the Canada Pension Plan and will be...

Fixing a mistake in your tax return (May 2018)
By the end of April 2018, more than 20 million individual income tax returns for the 2017 tax year will have been filed with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). And, inevitably, some of those returns wil...

Making a payment arrangement with the CRA (April 2018)
Virtually no one looks forward to dealing with the need to file a tax return each spring, and while some of that reluctance is undoubtedly due to the complexity of our tax system, there’s anothe...

Reporting the sale of your principal residence (April 2018)
The reach of Canada’s system is broad – residents of Canada are taxed on their world-wide income, and the income or capital amounts that escape the Canadian tax net are few and far between...

Last-minute tax filing strategies (April 2018)
While everyone knows that the best results are obtained when tax and financial planning take place on an ongoing basis, the reality is that most Canadians focus on their tax situation only once a year...

Paying the taxman – when and how (April 2018)
The rules surrounding income tax are complicated and it can seem that for every rule there is an equal number of exceptions or qualifications. There is, however, one rule which applies to every indivi...

Information sharing changes made to improve access to government services (March 2018)
One of the smaller frustrations of dealing with the federal government is that personal information provided by an individual to any one government department is not shared with or communicated with o...

What to do with an instalment reminder from the CRA (March 2018)
The early months of the new calendar year can feel like a never-ending series of bills and other financial obligations, especially tax-related financial obligations. Credit card bills from holiday spe...

Filing the annual return – when and how (March 2018)
Last year, 85 percent of individual income tax returns filed were prepared and submitted online using one or the other of the Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA) web-based tax filing services. There&r...

What’s new on the 2017 individual income tax return? (March 2018)
While the obligation to file a T1 tax return form is an annual one, the process of completing that form and calculating tax payable is never exactly the same year to year. Change is the one constant i...

New Quarterly Newsletters (February 2018)
Two quarterly newsletters have been added—one dealing with personal issues, and one dealing with corporate issues....

RRSPs and TFSAs — making the annual choice (February 2018)
If there is one invariable “rule” of financial and retirement planning of which most Canadians are aware, it is the unquestioned wisdom of making regular contributions to a registered reti...

RRSP and TFSA rules for 2018 (February 2018)
One of the perennial New Year’s resolutions made by many individuals is a commitment to keep on a budget, spend less, save more, deal with any outstanding debt and, generally, to better manage t...

Pension income splitting — getting something for nothing (February 2018)
Any taxpayer hearing of a tax planning opportunity that offered the possibility of saving hundreds or even thousands of dollars in tax while at the same time increasing his or her eligibility for gove...

Changes coming to the Voluntary Disclosure Program (February 2018)
Although it’s doubtful that anyone does so with any great degree of enthusiasm, each spring millions of Canadians sit down to complete their annual tax return for the previous calendar year or, ...

Employment Insurance Premiums for 2018 (January 2018)
The Employment Insurance premium rate for 2018 is 1.66%....

Canada Pension Plan Contributions for 2018 (January 2018)
The Canada Pension Plan contribution rate for 2018 is unchanged at 4.95% of pensionable earnings for the year....

Federal individual tax credits for 2018 (January 2018)
Dollar amounts on which individual non-refundable federal tax credits for 2018 are based, and the actual tax credit claimable, will be as follows:...

Federal individual tax rates and brackets for 2018 (January 2018)
The indexing factor for federal tax credits and brackets for 2018 is 1.5%. The following federal tax rates and brackets will be in effect for individuals for the 2018 tax year....

Tax deadlines and limits for the 2018 tax year (January 2018)
Each new tax year brings with it a listing of tax payment and filing deadlines, as well as some changes with respect to tax planning strategies. Some of the more significant dates and changes for indi...

Tax changes effective January 1, 2018 (January 2018)
The federal government and each of the provinces (with the exception of Saskatchewan for 2018) and territories provide for indexing of individual income tax brackets and credit amounts. Changes other ...

Looking ahead to 2018 (December 2017)
Planning for – or even thinking about – 2018 taxes when it’s not even mid-December 2017 may seem more than a little premature. However, most Canadians will start paying their taxes f...

Year-end planning for RRSPs and TFSAs (December 2017)
For most Canadians, registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs) don’t become top of mind until near the end of February, as the annual contribution deadline approaches. When it comes to tax-free...

Year-end tax planning – some steps to take before December 31st (December 2017)
As the 2017 calendar year winds down, the window of opportunity to take steps to reduce one’s tax bill for the 2017 tax year is closing. As a general rule, tax planning or tax saving strategies ...

Accessing home equity in retirement – the reverse mortgage (December 2017)
When it comes to questions around personal finance, two issues tend to dominate current discussions. The first is whether and to what extent Canadians are financially prepared for retirement, and the ...

New Quarterly Newsletters (November 2017)
Two quarterly newsletters have been added—one dealing with personal issues, and one dealing with corporate issues....

Managing your tax affairs online (November 2017)
Just about any financial or investment transaction can now be carried out online, and many Canadians conduct most or all of their financial affairs in an online environment, whether through their fina...

Flying south for the winter (November 2017)
As the days shorten and temperatures drop into the single digits, the thoughts of many Canadians turn to the idea of spending at least some part of the upcoming Canadian winter somewhere much warmer &...

Getting ready for tighter mortgage lending rules (November 2017)
It has been nearly a decade now since the mortgage lending debacle in the United States caused a meltdown in real estate markets, which led in turn to a general crisis in the financial markets and eve...

2017-18 Economic and Fiscal Update includes tax changes (November 2017)
The fiscal cycle of the federal government follows a predictable annual path. Each spring, the Minister of Finance brings down a budget outlining the government’s revenues and expenditures and i...

Deciding when to start receiving Old Age Security benefits (October 2017)
The baby boom generation, which is now in or near retirement, has always been able to factor receiving Old Age Security benefits, once they turn 65, into their retirement income plans. While receipt o...

The debt load of Canadian households – onward and upward? (October 2017)
The fact that Canadian households are carrying a significant amount of debt — in fact, debt loads which seem to continually set new records — isn’t really news anymore. For several y...

Legal fees — what’s deductible and when? (October 2017)
For most Canadians, having to pay for legal services is an infrequent occurrence, and most Canadians would like to keep it that way. In many instances, the need to seek out and obtain legal services (...

Protecting your personal financial information – the Equifax cyberattack (October 2017)
News about another successful cyberattack, on government or on a private company, in a single country or worldwide, is now almost routine. What such events usually have in common is a desire by the ha...

Tax changes affecting the upcoming school year (September 2017)
The end of summer means back to school for students of all ages. For parents of elementary and secondary school students the focus is on obtaining back to school clothes and supplies and starting the ...

Charities and political activity (September 2017)
Although they aren’t usually thought of in such terms, Canadian charities, as measured by the amount of money they receive and administer, can be big businesses. However, because they collect an...

Claiming the Guaranteed Income Supplement (September 2017)
Most Canadians approaching retirement know that they will be able to receive retirement income from the Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security programs. Many, however, are unaware that there is a th...

When you owe money to the Canada Revenue Agency (September 2017)
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) doesn’t publish information or statistics on the number of individual taxpayers who owe it money in the form of back taxes, interest, or penalties. Nonetheless, i...

New Quarterly Newsletters (August 2017)
Two quarterly newsletters have been added—one dealing with personal issues, and one dealing with corporate issues....

Responding to a first instalment reminder from the CRA (August 2017)
Sometime around the middle of August, millions of Canadians will receive unexpected mail from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), and that mail will contain unfamiliar and unwelcome news. Specifically, t...

Understanding the CPP post-retirement benefit (August 2017)
The traditional idea of retirement – working full-time until age 65 and then leaving the workforce completely to live on government-sponsored and private sources of retirement income – has...

The CRA’s post-assessment review process (August 2017)
While Canadians typically think of taxes only in the spring when the annual return must be filed, taxes are a year-round business for the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). The CRA is busy processing and is...

Getting a mortgage now – what’s a “stress test”? (August 2017)
The Bank of Canada’s recent decision to raise interest rates generated a lot of media attention, for the most part because while the increase itself was only one quarter of a percentage point, i...

A mid-year checkup on your TFSA (July 2017)
Tax-free savings accounts (TFSAs) have been part of the Canadian tax system now for nearly a decade, and millions of Canadians utilize them as a savings vehicle, whether for short-term or long-term pu...

Protecting yourself from tax scams (July 2017)
As the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) notes on its website, new tax scams are devised every single day of the week. And, despite the cautionary tales which appear frequently in the media and the warnings...

Deciding whether to dispute your tax assessment (July 2017)
The variety of amounts and kinds of income, deductions taken, and credits claimed on individual income tax returns filed by Canadians each spring is almost limitless. Each of those returns, however, h...

Keeping up with your taxes for 2017 (July 2017)
By now, halfway through the 2017 tax year, almost all Canadian individual taxpayers will have filed their income tax return for 2016, and most will have received the Notice of Assessment which summari...

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