Robbie Wood Chartered Professional Accountant

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Employment Insurance Premiums for 2020 (January 2020)
The Employment Insurance premium rate for 2020 is decreased to 1.58%....

Quebec Pension Plan Premiums for 2020 (January 2020)
The Quebec Pension Plan contribution rate for employees and employers for 2020 is 5.7%, and maximum pensionable earnings are $58,700. The basic exemption is $3,500....

Canada Pension Plan Contributions for 2020 (January 2020)
The Canada Pension Plan contribution rate for 2020 is increased to 5.25% of pensionable earnings for the year....

Federal individual tax credits for 2020 (January 2020)
Dollar amounts on which individual non-refundable federal tax credits for 2020 are based, and the actual tax credit claimable, will be as follows:...

Federal individual tax rates and brackets for 2020 (January 2020)
The indexing factor for federal tax credits and brackets for 2019 is 1.9%. The following federal tax rates and brackets will be in effect for individuals for the 2020 tax year:...

Tax deadlines and limits for the 2020 tax year (January 2020)
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, 2020 (January 2020)
Alberta The general corporate income tax rate will decrease from 11% to 10%, effective January 1, 2020. The provincial education and tuition tax credits are eliminated as of the 2020 taxation year. ...

Claiming a deduction for union or professional dues (December 2019)
Between now and the end of February 2020, Canadians will receive a variety of receipts for expenditures made during the 2019 taxation year. Some of those expenditure receipts will support a tax deduct...

Timing medical expenses for maximum tax credit (December 2019)
While Canadians benefit from a publicly funded health care system, there are nonetheless a large, and increasing, number of medical expenses which are not covered by provincial health care plans. As w...

Year-end planning for RRSPs and TFSAs (December 2019)
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 (which, for 2019 contributions, will ...

The tax costs of holiday gifts and celebrations (December 2019)
During the month of December, it is customary for employers to provide something “extra” for their employees, by way of a holiday gift, a year-end bonus or an employer-sponsored social eve...

New Quarterly Newsletters (November 2019)
Two quarterly newsletters have been added—one dealing with personal issues, and one dealing with corporate issues....

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...

First-time Home Buyer’s Incentive program launches on September 2 (September 2019)
In this year’s Budget, the federal government announced the creation of a program — the First-time Home Buyers’ Incentive, or FTHBI, to provide assistance to individuals seeking to e...

Claiming the Canada Child Benefit (August 2019)
Raising children is expensive and, in recognition of that fact, the federal government has, for more than half a century, provided financial assistance to parents to help with those costs. That assist...

Accessing home equity in retirement – the reverse mortgage (August 2019)
An increasing number of Canada’s baby boomers are moving into retirement with each passing year and, for most of those baby boomers, retirement looks a lot different than it did for their parent...

Just a few questions about your tax return …. (August 2019)
While most Canadians turn their mind to taxes only in the spring when the annual return must be filed (and then only reluctantly), taxes are a year-round business for the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). ...

Getting a tax assist for post-secondary education costs (August 2019)
As the summer starts to wind down, both students returning to their colleges and universities and those just starting their post-secondary education must focus on the details of the upcoming school ye...

Getting a first instalment reminder from the Canada Revenue Agency (July 2019)
Sometime during the month of July several thousand Canadians will receive an unexpected, unfamiliar, and probably unwelcome piece of correspondence from the Canada Revenue Agency. That correspondence ...

The CPP post-retirement benefit – deciding whether to contribute (July 2019)
A generation ago, retirement was an event. Typically, an individual would leave the work force completely at age 65 and begin collecting Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security benefits along with, i...

Claiming a deduction for moving expenses (July 2019)
The most recent estimate issued by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) is that close to half a million homes will be sold in Canada during 2019. Since that number doesn’t include moves f...

New information provided on First-Time Home Buyer Incentive program (July 2019)
In this year’s Budget, the federal government introduced a new program – the First-Time Home Buyer Incentive (FTHBI), to help qualifying first-time home buyers get into the housing market....

A mid-year check up on your taxes (June 2019)
Most Canadians have now filed their individual income tax return for the 2018 tax year and received a Notice of Assessment outlining their tax position for that year. Those who receive a refund will c...

Canadian households set (another) new debt record (June 2019)
It’s the financial “achievement” no one wants to have, but Canadians keep setting new records when it comes to the size of their household debt. And, as of the last quarter of 2018, ...

New assistance for first-time home buyers (June 2019)
It would be entirely reasonable for Canadians seeking to buy their first home to feel that the odds are very much against them, for a number of reasons. Many of them, especially those in their twentie...

Objecting to your 2018 Notice of Assessment (June 2019)
By May 20, 2019, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) had processed just over 27 million individual income tax returns filed for the 2018 tax year. Just under 17 million of those returns resulted in a refu...

New Quarterly Newsletters (May 2019)
Two quarterly newsletters have been added—one dealing with personal issues, and one dealing with corporate issues....

Coming clean with the tax authorities (May 2019)
Although virtually no one looks forward to the task, the vast majority of Canadians do file their tax returns, and pay any taxes owed, by the applicable tax payment and filing deadlines each spring. T...

Getting relief from the high cost of driving (May 2019)
As every Canadian driver knows, gas prices seem to rise every spring, seemingly in lockstep with the warmer weather. This year, that annual trend has been given an extra push by the implementation of ...

When you can’t file or pay on time – the Taxpayer Relief Program (May 2019)
The deadline for payment of all individual income taxes owed for the 2018 tax year was April 30, 2019. For all individuals except the self-employed and their spouses, that date was also the filing dea...

Fixing a mistake in your (already filed) tax return (May 2019)
For the majority of Canadians, the due date for filing of an individual tax return for the 2018 tax year was Tuesday April 30, 2019. (Self-employed Canadians and their spouses have until Monday June 1...

Budget expands access to Home Buyers’ Plan (April 2019)
Both changes in the job market and increases in real estate prices over at least the past decade have made the goal of home ownership an elusive or even impossible one for many Canadians, especially y...

What to do when you can’t pay your tax bill (April 2019)
Most taxpayers sit down to do their annual tax return, or wait to hear from their tax return preparer, with some degree of trepidation. In most cases taxpayers don’t know, until their return is ...

Paying the taxman – how and when (April 2019)
Our tax system is, for the most part, a mystery to individual Canadians. The rules surrounding income tax are complicated and it can seem that for every rule there is an equal number of exceptions or ...

Some last-minute tax filing strategies - the timing of medical and charitable tax credit claims (April 2019)
By the time most Canadians sit down to organize their various tax slips and receipts and undertake to complete their tax return for 2018, the most significant opportunities to minimize the tax bill fo...

Deciding when to start receiving Old Age Security benefits (March 2019)
The Old Age Security program is the only aspect of Canada’s retirement income system which does not require a direct contribution from recipients of program benefits. Rather, the OAS program is ...

When and how to file this year’s tax return (March 2019)
Each year, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) publishes a statistical summary of the tax filing patterns of Canadians during the previous filing season. Those statistics for the 2018 show that the vast m...

It’s tax filing – and tax scam – season (March 2019)
For many years now, there has been a persistent tax scam operating in Canada in which Canadians are contacted, usually by phone, by someone who falsely identifies himself or herself as being a represe...

What’s new on this year’s tax return? (March 2019)
While Canadian taxpayers must prepare and file the same form – the T1 Income Tax and Benefit Return – every spring, that return form is never the same from one year to the next. The one co...

New Quarterly Newsletters (February 2019)
Two quarterly newsletters have been added—one dealing with personal issues, and one dealing with corporate issues....

More debt … and more interest (February 2019)
The fact that debt levels of Canadian households have been increasing over the past decade and a half can’t really be called news anymore. In particular, the ratio of debt-to-household-income, w...

Responding to a tax instalment reminder from the CRA (February 2019)
Sometime during the month of February, millions of Canadians will receive mail from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). That mail, a “Tax Instalment Reminder”, will set out the amount of inst...

RRSPs and TFSAs — making the annual contribution (February 2019)
For most taxpayers, the annual deadline for making an RRSP contribution comes at a very inconvenient time. At the end of February, many Canadians are still trying to pay off the bills from holiday spe...

Taking advantage of pension income splitting (February 2019)
Income tax is a big-ticket item for most retired Canadians. Especially for those who are no longer paying a mortgage, the annual tax bill may be the single biggest expenditure they are required to mak...

Employment Insurance Premiums for 2019 (January 2019)
The Employment Insurance premium rate for 2019 is decreased to 1.62%....

Canada Pension Plan Contributions for 2019 (January 2019)
The Canada Pension Plan contribution rate for 2019 is increased to 5.1% of pensionable earnings for the year....

Federal individual tax credits for 2019 (January 2019)
Dollar amounts on which individual non-refundable federal tax credits for 2019 are based, and the actual tax credit claimable, will be as follows....

Federal individual tax rates and brackets for 2019 (January 2019)
The indexing factor for federal tax credits and brackets for 2018 is 2.2%. The following federal tax rates and brackets will be in effect for individuals for the 2019 tax year....

Tax deadlines and limits for the 2019 tax year (January 2019)
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, 2019 (January 2019)
The following tax changes are in effect January 1, 2019....

The 2018 Fall Economic Statement – some good news for business (December 2018)
While there weren’t a great number of tax measures included in the 2018 Fall Economic Statement brought down by the Minister of Finance on November 21, 2018, the tax changes that were announced ...

Year-end planning for your RRSP and TFSA (December 2018)
Most Canadians know that the deadline for making contributions to one’s registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) comes after the end of the calendar year, around the end of February. There are,...

The tax year is ending – some planning steps to take before December 31st (December 2018)
For individual Canadian taxpayers, the tax year ends at the same time as the calendar year. And what that means for individual Canadians is that any steps taken to reduce their tax payable for 2018 mu...

The potential tax costs of holiday gifts and celebrations (December 2018)
The holiday season is usually costly, but few Canadians are aware that those costs can include increased income tax liability resulting from holiday gifts and celebrations. It doesn’t seem entir...

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

Managing a student loan after graduation (November 2018)
Getting a post-secondary education – or professional training – isn’t inexpensive. Tuition costs can range from as little as $5,000 per year for undergraduate studies to as much as $...

Changes to the Canada Pension Plan starting in 2019 (November 2018)
When the Canada Pension Plan was launched in the mid-1960s, both the working lives and the retirements of Canadians looked a lot different than they do in 2018. Fifty years ago, most Canadians were ab...

Claiming a deduction for union or professional dues (November 2018)
Most Canadians deal with our tax system only once a year, when preparing the annual tax return. And, while that return – the T1 Individual Income Tax Return – may be only four pages long, ...

Canadian household debt levels increase – again (November 2018)
Anyone who has ever tried to reduce their overall personal or household debt knows that doing so, no matter how disciplined one’s approach, can seem like a one step forward, two steps back propo...

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...

When you can’t meet your tax obligations – the CRA’s Taxpayer Relief Program (June 2017)
In recent years, it seems that the arrival of spring has coincided with a natural or man-made disaster somewhere in Canada. Spring is also, of course, tax return preparation and filing season for most...

Using the CRA’s mobile apps (April 2017)
For several years, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has been encouraging taxpayers to manage their taxes and benefits online, through the CRA website, and has been largely successful in that effort. Mo...

Last-minute tax filing strategies (April 2017)
For most Canadian taxpayers, income tax is an “out-of-sight, out-of-mind” subject, with most taxpayers giving serious thought to their tax situation only when it’s time to file the a...

Upcoming changes to the Canada Pension Plan (April 2017)
The Canada Pension Plan (CPP), together with the Old Age Security (OAS) program, forms the cornerstone of Canada’s retirement income system. There are other retirement savings options available ...

Claiming a deduction for 2016 child care expenses (March 2017)
Costs incurred for child care expenses are among the most frequent deductions claimed by Canadian taxpayers on their annual tax returns. And, for many Canadian families, especially those with more tha...

Authorizing a representative to deal with the CRA (March 2017)
It’s not news that the Canadian tax system is complex and that most Canadians, especially those who only encounter it once a year at tax-filing time, would rather not have to deal with that comp...

Filing your tax return for 2016 (March 2017)
The time is fast approaching when the annual chore of gathering together the various pieces of information needed to complete one’s annual tax return, and getting that return completed and filed...

What’s new on the 2016 tax return? (March 2017)
Although individual Canadians file the same T1 Income Tax Return form each year, the rules governing the information to be provided on that return form and the tax consequences flowing from that infor...

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

Taking advantage of pension income splitting (February 2017)
For retired Canadians (and almost certainly for those who are no longer paying a mortgage) the annual income tax bill can represent the single largest expenditure in their budgets. The Canadian tax sy...

Claiming a deduction for union or professional dues (February 2017)
As everyone knows, the Canadian tax system is a complex one, and that complexity is reflected on the annual tax return filed by individual Canadian taxpayers. The T1 Individual Income Tax Return itsel...

Dealing with a tax instalment reminder from the CRA (February 2017)
For most Canadians – certainly most Canadians who earn their income through employment – the payment of income tax throughout the year is an automatic and largely invisible process, requir...

It’s RRSP time – again (February 2017)
There’s little likelihood that the average Canadian taxpayer can fail to notice that it is, once again, registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) season, given the number of television, radio, a...

Employment Insurance premiums for 2017 (January 2017)
The Employment Insurance premium rate for 2017 is 1.63%....

Canada Pension Plan contributions for 2017 (January 2017)
The Canada Pension Plan (CPP) contribution rate for 2017 is unchanged at 4.95% of pensionable earnings for the year....

Federal individual tax credits for 2017 (January 2017)
Dollar amounts on which individual non-refundable federal tax credits for 2017 are based, and the actual tax credit claimable, will be as follows:...

Federal individual tax rates and brackets for 2017 (January 2017)
The indexing factor for federal tax credits and brackets for 2017 is 1.4%. The following federal tax rates and brackets will be in effect for individuals for the 2017 tax year....

Tax deadlines for the 2017 tax year (January 2017)
Each new tax year brings with it a new list 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 ind...

Looking ahead to 2017 (December 2016)
Planning for – or even thinking about – 2017 taxes before the New Year has even been rung in may seem more than a little premature. However, most Canadians will start paying their taxes fo...

Navigating the tax rules around holiday gifts and parties (December 2016)
During the month of December, it is customary for employers to provide something “extra” for their employees, by way of a holiday gift, a year-end bonus or an employer-sponsored social eve...

Year-end planning for RRSPs and TFSAs (December 2016)
Most Canadians are aware that the deadline for contributing to one’s registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) is 60 days after the calendar year end – in order to be claimed on the return...

Employer-provided cell phones - the potential tax cost (September 2016)
Having access to mobile communication is useful and practical for any number of reasons and Canadians who don’t have a cell or smart phone are likely now the exception rather than the rule. It&r...

Accessing home equity in retirement - the reverse mortgage (September 2016)
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 ...

Claiming a tax credit for out-of-pocket medical expenses (September 2016)
While our health care system is not without its problems, Canadians are fortunate to benefit from a publicly funded system in which individuals are not required to pay personally for the cost of neces...

The costs of tax procrastination (September 2016)
Each spring, Canadians are required to fulfill two tax obligations. The first is the requirement to file an individual income tax return providing details of income earned, deductions and credits clai...

New Quarterly Newsletters (August 2016)
Two quarterly newsletters have been added—one dealing with personal issues, and one dealing with corporate issues....

Claiming a tax credit for home renovations (August 2016)
Home renovations are big business right now in Canada, as many homeowners opt to make changes and/or additions to their current residences rather than try to find a new home in the current real estate...

Reducing the after-tax cost of getting around (August 2016)
The fact that the cost of residential real estate in Canada’s largest cities has reached unaffordable levels for most Canadians, especially young families, isn’t really news any more. What...

Receiving a first instalment reminder from the CRA (August 2016)
By the time this summer reached the halfway mark, most Canadian taxpayers had filed a tax return for 2015, received a Notice of Assessment with respect to that return, and considered that their income...

Tax changes affecting the upcoming school year (August 2016)
As the summer starts to wind down, both students returning this fall to their post-secondary institutions and those just starting post-secondary education must focus on the details of the upcoming sch...

How to avoid getting caught by a tax scam (July 2016)
For most of the year, taxpayers live quite happily without any contact with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). During and just following tax filing season, however, such contact is routine – tax r...

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