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What We Do

N. S. Retsinas Professional Corporation is wholeheartedly committed to offering an extensive range of income tax and accounting services through our Chartered Accounting firm. Norman's meticulously crafted website has been designed not only to showcase our offerings but also to serve as a valuable reference and resource for both personal and corporate businesses, as well as individual tax clients. Our aim is to empower you with innovative strategies to Save U Tax.

Norman's unwavering dedication to providing top-tier client service has driven the expansion of Saveutax onto the online platform. We are determined to uphold our tradition of delivering unparalleled professional services while ensuring that they remain accessible and reasonably priced.

The Firm

Norman is committed to providing close, personal attention to his clients. He takes pride in assuring you that the assistance you receive comes from years of advanced training, technical experience, and financial acumen. Norman's ongoing investment of time and resources in professional continuing education, state-of-the-art computer technology, and extensive business relationships is a clear indication of his commitment to excellence.

Contact Us

HOURS OF OPERATION: Tax Season - January 15 - April 30: Monday to Friday 9:00 to 6:00 PM later times can be arranged. Weekends only by appointment.

Rest of the Year - Monday to Friday 9:00 to 5:00 PM

Call 905-771-0177 to arrange for the ability to access your client files via secure, online document sharing application. 

403 - 9140 Leslie Street Richmond Hill, Ontario L4B 0A9

9140 leslie street richmond hill

RETAINERS

SaveUTax.com NS RETSINAS PRO CORP

Newsletters
Norm's SaveUTax 2024 Federal Budget Commentary
Please click here to read Norm's SaveUTax 2024 Federal Budget Commentary...
Norm's Tips And Traps 2024
Norms Tips and Traps for the 2024 Year...
Norm's Tips And Traps 2023
Norms Tips and Traps for the 2023 Year...
Norm's Tips And Traps 2022
Norms Tips and Traps for the 2022 Year...
Norm's Tips and Traps 2021
Norm's Tips and Traps for the 2021 Year...
Norm's Tips and Traps 2020
Norm's Tips and Traps for the year of 2020...
Financing the political process – the political contribution tax credit (May 2025)
To win elections, politicians need votes. And to run the election campaigns needed to garner those votes, they need an organization, volunteers, and money – a lot of money. To wage the federal elect...
When you don’t agree with the CRA – disputing your Notice of Assessment (May 2025)
While no two tax returns filed with the Canada Revenue Agency are identical, all such tax returns have one thing in common. Once those tax returns are filed, the CRA will review the income amounts rep...
When keeping up with mortgage payments becomes a problem – where (and where not) to turn for help (May 2025)
At first glance, it might seem that the financial pressures experienced by Canadian families would have eased over the last year or so. The spike in interest rates which started in early 2022 has abat...
Fixing a mistake on your (already filed) tax return (May 2025)
It’s likely that very few Canadians view completing and filing the annual tax return as anything other than an unpleasant chore to be endured, with a sigh of relief once it’s finally done. The goa...
Making sure you don’t fall victim to a tax scam (April 2025)
Most Canadians live their lives with only very infrequent contact with the tax authorities and are generally happy to keep it that way. Sometime between mid-February and the end of April 2025 the majo...
Planning to avoid the Old Age Security clawback (April 2025)
When Canadians gather together the information slips, receipts, and other documents needed to prepare and file their annual income tax return, their biggest concern is likely whether completing that r...
What to do when you can’t pay your tax bill on time (April 2025)
Most taxpayers sit down to do their annual tax return (or wait to hear from their tax return preparer) with some degree of anxiety. In most cases taxpayers don’t know, until their return is complete...
How, when, and where to pay your taxes for 2024 (April 2025)
Notwithstanding the considerable complexity of the Canadian income tax system, there is one rule which applies to every individual taxpayer living in Canada, regardless of location, income, age, or ci...
New Quarterly Newsletters (Q1 2025)
Two quarterly newsletters have been added – one dealing with personal issues, and one dealing with corporate issues....
The CPP post-retirement benefit – deciding whether to continue contributing (March 2025)
A few decades ago retirement, for most Canadians, was an event which marked the change from full-time work to not working at all. Usually, that transition took place at age 65, following which the new...
Some last-minute tax filing strategies – what (and what not) to claim (March 2025)
While it’s true that the best year-end tax planning starts on January 1 of the tax year, the reality is that most Canadians don’t turn their attention to their tax situation for 2024 until the spr...
What’s new on the tax return for 2024 (March 2025)
While the tax return form that Canadians prepare and file each spring might look identical to the form that was used the previous year, the reality is that our tax system is constantly changing, and t...
How to prepare and file your 2024 tax return (March 2025)
Each spring, Canadian individual taxpayers must turn their attention to the filing of an individual income tax return for the tax year which ended on the previous December 31. And, while it’s doubtf...
RRSPs, TFSAs, and FHSAs – making the annual choice (February 2025)
For most taxpayers, the first few months of the year can seem to involve a seemingly unending series of bills and payment deadlines. During January and February, many Canadians are still trying to pay...
Reporting online income on the 2024 tax return (February 2025)
The Canadian tax system casts a very wide net, in which each resident of Canada is taxable on all sources of income worldwide, with very few exceptions. In addition, Canada has what is known as a “s...
How to respond to a Tax Instalment Reminder (February 2025)
While virtually every working Canadian pays income taxes, the process by which those taxes are collected throughout the year is largely invisible to the taxpayer. That’s certainly the case for emplo...
Pension income splitting for the 2024 tax year (February 2025)
For most Canadian retirees, careful financial management is a necessity. Most live on an annual income which is less than that which they enjoyed during their working years, and opportunities to incre...
Employment Insurance premiums for 2025 (January 2025)
The Employment Insurance premium rate for 2025 is set at 1.64%....
Québec Pension Plan contributions for 2025 (January 2025)
As of 2024, there are two contribution levels for the Québec Pension Plan (QPP). Income amounts and employee contribution percentages for 2025 for each contribution level are as follows....
Canada Pension Plan contributions for 2025 (January 2025)
As of 2024, there are two contribution levels for the Canada Pension Plan (CPP). Income amounts and employee contribution percentages for 2025 for each contribution level are as follows....
Federal individual tax credits for 2025 (January 2025)
Tax credit amounts on which individual non-refundable federal tax credits for 2025 are based, and the actual tax credit claimable, will be as follows:...
Federal individual tax rates and brackets for 2025 (January 2025)
The indexing factor for federal tax credits and brackets for 2025 is 2.7%. The following federal tax rates and brackets will be in effect for individuals for the 2025 tax year....
Tax deadlines and limits for the 2025 tax year (January 2025)
Each new tax year brings with it a schedule of tax payment and filing deadlines, as well as some changes with respect to tax saving and planning opportunities. Some of the more significant dates and c...
New Quarterly Newsletters (Q4 2024)
Two quarterly newsletters have been added – one dealing with personal issues, and one dealing with corporate issues....
Figuring out when you can afford to retire (December 2024)
While almost everyone looks forward to retirement and an end to the day-to-day demands of working life, there’s also no question but that the decision to give up a regular paycheque is a stressful o...
Tax consequences of holiday gifts and celebrations (December 2024)
It seems incongruous, in the season of holiday gifts and celebrations, to consider the possible tax implications and consequences of those traditions. But, in some circumstances, the unwelcome spectre...
Tax planning steps to take before December 31 (December 2024)
December 31 , 2024 marks not just the end of the calendar year, but the end of the 2024 tax year for every individual Canadian taxpayer. And while the thoughts of most Canadians during the holiday sea...
Some new tax breaks from the federal government (December 2024)
On November 21, the federal government announced two new measures intended to relieve some of the financial stress currently being experienced by most Canadian families and households. That financial ...
Claiming home office expenses for 2024 (November 2024)
It has been nearly five years since the start of the pandemic, and the work-from-home arrangements which became a necessity during that time have now become a choice for employers and employees....
Year-end planning for your RRSP, RRIF, and TFSA (November 2024)
For most Canadians, the subject of making RRSP or TFSA contributions, or making RRIF withdrawals, isn’t usually top of mind at year-end. Most Canadians know that the deadline for making contribution...
Looking ahead to 2025 – getting source deductions right from the start (November 2024)
For most Canadians, tax planning for a year that hasn’t even started yet may seem premature or even unnecessary. However, most Canadians will start paying their taxes for 2025 in less than two month...
New rules for reporting of income from online sales (November 2024)
Canada’s income tax system is a self-assessing one, in which residents of Canada are expected (and in most cases, required) to file an annual tax return in which all sources of worldwide income are ...
Tax planning for year-end charitable donations (October 2024)
While the need for charitable donations for any number of causes is a year-round reality, appeals for such donations tend to increase as the holiday season and the end of the calendar year approach. A...
Claiming the Canada Carbon Rebate (October 2024)
Residents of the eight Canadian provinces in which the federal fuel charge (more commonly known as the federal carbon tax) is levied are entitled to claim and receive the federal Canada Carbon Rebate ...
Deciding when to begin receiving Old Age Security benefits (October 2024)
The Old Age Security (OAS) program is one of the two major federal benefit programs available to older Canadians – the other being the Canada Pension Plan (CPP). While both programs provide taxable ...
Finance announces additional changes to mortgage lending rules (October 2024)
In the 2024-25 Federal Budget released earlier this year, the federal government announced changes to the rules which govern mortgage lending in Canada. Those changes had two goals: making it easier f...
New Quarterly Newsletters (Q3 2024)
Two quarterly newsletters have been added – one dealing with personal issues, and one dealing with corporate issues....
Year-end planning for medical expense claims (September 2024)
While the current state of the Canadian health care system is far from perfect, Canadians are nonetheless fortunate to have a publicly funded health care system, in which most major medical expenses a...
Claiming the Canada Child Benefit (September 2024)
The federal government provides a number of non-refundable tax credits and benefits to Canadians under the umbrella term “child and family benefits”, but likely the most widely available and most...
When help is available under the CRA’s Taxpayer Relief Provisions (September 2024)
Canada’s tax system is a self-assessing one, meaning that the onus rests on individual taxpayers to file their annual return each spring and to pay any amounts owed. The compliance rate in Canada is...
The benefits - and costs - of extending your mortgage (September 2024)
The past five years have been a tough financial slog for most Canadian families, as they struggled to cope with the pandemic, followed by inflation which tripled from under 2% in mid-2020 to over 6% b...
Aging in place – benefitting from the home accessibility tax credit (August 2024)
Members of the baby boom generation who were born between 1946 and 1965 are now between 59 and 78 years of age, and make up about a quarter of the Canadian population. Many, if not most, are now retir...
When are legal fees deductible? (August 2024)
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 family estate...
Some tax breaks for the upcoming post-secondary school year (August 2024)
By the middle of August, most students who are beginning post-secondary education this fall have hopefully received an offer of admission from their college or university of choice and are in the fina...
Making the RRSP decision when you turn 71 (August 2024)
During the 2024 calendar year, hundreds of thousands of Canadians will reach their 71st birthday, and a significant percentage of that group are likely to have saved money for retirement through a reg...
Another option for retirement income planning (July 2024)
Most Canadians contemplate retirement with a mixture of anticipation and trepidation. While the benefits of an end to the day-to-day grind of work and commuting (while also having more free time to sp...
How to respond to a first Instalment Reminder from the Canada Revenue Agency (July 2024)
By the time summer arrives, nearly all Canadians have filed their income tax returns for the previous year, have received a Notice of Assessment from the tax authorities with respect to that return, a...
When the taxman has a few questions about your return (July 2024)
By this time of the year, virtually all Canadian residents have filed their income tax return for 2023 and have received the Notice of Assessment issued by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) with respect...
The start of a new benefit year - what can you receive in 2024-25? (July 2024)
Most Canadians, understandably, think of our income tax system as a government “program” that takes money out of their paycheques and out of their pockets. And, while it’s certainly true that vi...
New Quarterly Newsletters (Q2 2024)
Two quarterly newsletters have been added – one dealing with personal issues, and one dealing with corporate issues....
Making a voluntary disclosure to the tax authorities (June 2024)
The Canadian tax system is a “self-assessing” one, in which taxpayers are expected (and, in most cases, required) to file an individual income tax return each spring. On that return the taxpayer p...
Getting tax help with summer child care costs (June 2024)
As the school year draws to a close, the thoughts of millions of Canadian parents turn to the question of how to find – and pay for – child care throughout the summer months. While many Canadians ...
Claiming a deduction for moving expenses (June 2024)
Each spring and summer, tens of thousands of Canadian families sell their homes and move – sometimes to a bigger and better property in the same town or city, and sometimes to a new city or even ano...
A mid-year check-up on your taxes for 2024 (June 2024)
Many (if not most) taxpayers think of tax planning as a year-end exercise, one to be carried out in the last few weeks of the year, in order to take the steps needed to minimize the tax bill for that ...
Dealing with the OAS clawback (May 2024)
Most retired Canadians receive income from two government-sponsored retirement income programs – the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and the Old Age Security (OAS) program. While benefits from both are pa...
Disputing your Notice of Assessment (May 2024)
This year, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) will receive and process more than 30 million individual income tax returns for the 2023 tax year. No two of those returns will be identical, as each such re...
When you make a mistake on your tax return (May 2024)
For the majority of Canadians, the due date for filing of an individual tax return for the 2023 tax year was Tuesday April 30, 2024. (Self-employed Canadians and their spouses have until Monday June 1...
More help for first time home buyers (May 2024)
As everyone knows, buying one’s first home – achieving that elusive first step on to the “property ladder” – has always presented a challenge, and that challenge has rarely been greater than...
How to know you’re really hearing from the CRA (April 2024)
Most Canadians rarely have reason to interact with the tax authorities, and for most people, that’s the way they like it. In the vast majority of cases, Canadians file their tax returns each spring,...
What to do when you can’t pay your tax bill on time (April 2024)
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 comp...
How, when, and where to pay your taxes for 2023 (April 2024)
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 each and every rule there is an equal number of excep...
Reducing the 2023 tax bill - some tax filing strategies for those over age 65 (April 2024)
No one likes paying taxes, but for taxpayers who live on a fixed income having to pay a a large tax bill can mean real financial hardship – and the majority of Canadians who live on fixed incomes ar...
Using home equity to generate cash flow (March 2024)
For the past two years, Canadians have had to continually adjust their household budgets to accommodate price increases for nearly all goods and services. The impact of rising prices is felt most by t...
Some last-minute tax filing strategies - what (and what not) to claim (March 2024)
Most Canadians don’t turn their attention to their taxes until sometime around the end of March or the beginning of April, in time to complete the return for 2023 ahead of the April 30, 2024 filing ...
Reporting the sale of a principal residence during 2023 (March 2024)
While owning one’s own home brings with it many intangible benefits, home ownership also provides some very significant financial advantages. Specifically, it provides the opportunity to accumulate ...
What’s new on the tax return for 2023? (March 2024)
While our tax laws require Canadian residents to complete and file a T1 tax return form each spring, that return form is never exactly the same from year to year. Some of the changes found in each yea...
New Quarterly Newsletters (Q1 2024)
Two quarterly newsletters have been added – one dealing with personal issues, and one dealing with corporate issues....
How and when to file your 2023 tax return (February 2024)
Each year, the Canada Revenue Agency publishes a statistical summary of the tax filing patterns of Canadians during the previous filing season. The final statistics for 2023 show that the vast majorit...
Taking advantage of pension income splitting (February 2024)
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...
RRSPs, TFSAs, and FHSAs - making the annual choice (February 2024)
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 one’s registered retire...
How to respond to a tax instalment notice (February 2024)
Sometime during the month of February, millions of Canadians will receive some unexpected mail from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). That mail, entitled simply “Instalment Reminder”, will set out ...
Employment Insurance Premiums for 2024 (January 2024)
The Employment Insurance (EI) premium rate for 2024 is set at 1.66%....
Québec Pension Plan contributions for 2024 (January 2024)
Changes made to the Québec Pension Plan (QPP) beginning in the 2024 calendar year will create a two-tier contribution structure....
Canada Pension Plan Contributions for 2024 (January 2024)
Changes made to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) beginning in the 2024 calendar year will create a two-tier contribution structure....
Federal individual tax credits for 2024 (January 2024)
Dollar amounts on which individual non-refundable federal tax credits for 2024 are based, and the actual tax credit claimable, will be as follows:...
Federal individual tax rates and brackets for 2024 (January 2024)
The indexing factor for federal tax credits and brackets for 2024 is 4.7%. The following federal tax rates and brackets will be in effect for individuals for the 2024 tax year....
Tax deadlines and limits for the 2024 tax year (January 2024)
Each new tax year brings with it a schedule of tax payment and filing deadlines, as well as some changes with respect to tax saving and planning opportunities. Some of the more significant dates and c...
Getting help from the Taxpayer Relief Program (December 2023)
While most taxpayers pay their annual income tax bill in full and by the tax payment deadline of April 30, there are many circumstances that could result in an individual’s being unable to meet thei...
Figuring out whether you can afford to retire now (December 2023)
While almost everyone looks forward to retirement and an end to the day-to-day demands of working life, there’s also no question but that the decision to give up a regular paycheque is a stressful o...
Potential tax consequences of holiday gifts and celebrations (December 2023)
During the month of December, it’s customary for employers to provide something “extra” for their employees, whether it’s a compensation bonus, a gift, or an employer-sponsored social event �...
Changes to the Canada Pension Plan starting January 1, 2024 (December 2023)
Everyone in Canada who earns a salary or wages is familiar with the deduction taken from each paycheque for contributions to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP). The CPP is one of the two major government-s...
New Quarterly Newsletters (Q4 2023)
Two quarterly newsletters have been added – one dealing with personal issues, and one dealing with corporate issues....
Planning for home office expense claims for 2023 (November 2023)
When the pandemic struck in March of 2020 and public health lockdowns were imposed, virtually all Canadian employees were required to work from home, most for the first time....
Looking ahead to 2024 – getting source deductions right from the start (November 2023)
The day-to-day financial impact of increases in interest rates over the past 18 months, together with higher costs for nearly all goods and services, means that for most Canadians maximizing take-home...
Tax planning for year-end charitable donations (November 2023)
Canadians have a well-deserved reputation for supporting charitable causes, through donations of both money and goods. Our tax system supports that generosity by providing a tax credit for qualifying ...
New measures to assist at-risk homeowners (November 2023)
The 10-fold increase in interest rates since March of 2022 has affected Canadians in almost every area of their financial lives, as individuals and families struggle to cope with the every-increasing ...
Year-end planning for medical expense claims (October 2023)
While our health care system is currently struggling with a number of significant problems, Canadians are nonetheless fortunate to have a publicly funded health care system, in which most major medica...
The CPP post-retirement benefit - deciding whether to continue contributing (October 2023)
One or two generations ago, retirement was an event. Typically, an individual would leave the work force completely at age 65 and begin collecting Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Old Age Security (OAS) ...
Year-end planning for your RRSP, RRIF, TFSA, and FHSA (October 2023)
Most Canadians know that the deadline for making contributions to one’s registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) comes 60 days after the end of the calendar year, around the end of February. There ...
Repayment deadline for pandemic business loans extended (October 2023)
During the pandemic, temporary financial assistance was provided to Canadian small businesses through a number of grant and loan programs initiated by the federal government. One of the largest of tho...
Changes to Registered Education Savings Plans for the upcoming school year (September 2023)
By anyone’s measure, obtaining a post-secondary education is an expensive undertaking. Tuition and other school-related costs are just the start of the bills which must be paid. Whether the student ...
Deciding when to start receiving Old Age Security benefits (September 2023)
The Old Age Security (OAS) 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 i...
Upcoming repayment deadline for pandemic business emergency loans (September 2023)
When the pandemic began in the spring of 2020, it wasn’t long before it became apparent that the increasing threat was to both public health and to the economy. In response to the economic threat, t...
Coming clean with the tax authorities - the Voluntary Disclosure PProgram (September 2023)
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 and file...
New Quarterly Newsletters (Q3 2023)
Two quarterly newsletters have been added—one dealing with personal issues, and one dealing with corporate issues....
Tax breaks for the upcoming post-secondary school year (August 2023)
While the way in which post-secondary learning is delivered may have changed and changed again over the past three and a half years, as the pandemic waxed and waned and finally ended, the financial re...
Making the most of the new First Home Savings Account (August 2023)
The scarcity of affordable housing in just about every Canadian community can’t be news to anyone anymore. Whether it’s in relation to rental housing or the purchase of a first home, the opportuni...
When the taxman has a few questions about your return (August 2023)
By mid to late summer, almost every Canadian has filed his or her income tax return for the previous year and has received the Notice of Assessment issued by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) with respe...
Managing debt in a (continually) rising interest rate environment (August 2023)
Between 2009 and early 2022, Canadians lived (and borrowed) in an ultra-low interest rate environment. Between January 2009 and March 2022, the bank rate (from which commercial interest rates are dete...
Making the RRSP decision when you turn 71 (July 2023)
The age at which Canadians retire and begin deriving income from government and private pensions and private retirement savings has become something of a moving target. At one time, reaching one’s 6...
How to respond to a first Instalment Reminder from the Canada Revenue Agency (July 2023)
By the time summer arrives, nearly all Canadians have filed their income tax returns for the previous year, have received a Notice of Assessment from the tax authorities with respect to that return an...
The start of a new benefit year - what can you receive in 2023-24? (July 2023)
At a time when Canadian households are coping simultaneously with ongoing inflation, especially food inflation, as well as interest rates which are at their highest point in decades, every dollar of i...
Claiming a deduction for summer child care costs (July 2023)
With the worst days of the pandemic behind us, more and more Canadian families have returned to their usual schedule, with kids back in attendance at school and parents back at work at the office, on ...
New Quarterly Newsletters (Q2 2023)
Two quarterly newsletters have been added—one dealing with personal issues, and one dealing with corporate issues....
Claiming the principal residence exemption in 2023 – some new rules (June 2023)
The purchase of a first home is a milestone in anyone’s life, for many reasons. A home purchase is likely the largest single financial transaction most Canadians will enter into in their lives, and ...
Making sure your taxes for 2023 are on track (June 2023)
Many, if not most, taxpayers think of tax planning as a year-end exercise to be carried out in the last few weeks of the year, with a view to taking the steps needed to minimize the tax bill for the c...
Upcoming changes to the Canada Pension Plan (June 2023)
Canada’s retirement income system is made up of two public retirement income programs – the Old Age Security program and the Canada Pension Plan – as well as the opportunity to accumulate privat...
Claiming a deduction for moving costs (June 2023)
Sales of residential real estate across Canada are, after a slowdown in 2022, once again on the rise. Back-to-back increases in sales figures during February and March 2023 were followed by a double d...
When and how to dispute your Notice of Assessment (May 2023)
Of the 17 million individual income tax returns for the 2022 tax year filed with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) by the middle of April 2023, no two were identical. Each return contained its own parti...
When debt becomes a problem – where (and where not) to turn for help (May 2023)
The fact that Canadian households and families have been living with a significant amount of financial stress for the past year or so isn’t really news. Eight interest rate hikes in the past 14 mont...
When you make a mistake on your (already filed) tax return (May 2023)
The vast majority of Canadians view completing and filing their annual tax return as an unwelcome chore, and generally breathe a sigh of relief when it’s done for another year. When things go entire...
Avoiding (or minimizing) the OAS clawback (April 2023)
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...
What to do when you can’t pay your tax bill (April 2023)
Fortunately for the Canadian taxpayer, most individual income tax returns filed result in the payment of a tax refund to the tax filer. Notwithstanding, a significant number of taxpayers find, on comp...
What to expect when you hear from the Canada Revenue Agency (April 2023)
Most Canadians live their lives with only very infrequent contact with the tax authorities and are generally happy to keep it that way. Sometime between mid-February and the end of April (or June 15 f...
Some tax filing strategies for the 2022 return (April 2023)
It is an axiom of tax planning that the best year-end tax planning begins on January 1. And while it’s true that opportunities to make a significant dent in one’s tax payable for the year diminish...
New Quarterly Newsletters (Q1 2023)
Two quarterly newsletters have been added—one dealing with personal issues, and one dealing with corporate issues....
Claiming a deduction for union or professional dues (March 2023)
Most Canadians deal with our tax system only once a year, when it’s time to complete and file the annual tax return. That return form – the T1 Individual Income Tax Return – is eight single-spac...
How and when to file your 2022 tax return (March 2023)
For many years, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has been encouraging Canadian taxpayers to file their returns online, through the CRA’s website. And that message has clearly been heard, as the most ...
What’s new on the tax return for 2022? (March 2023)
The obligation to complete and file a tax return – and to pay any balance of taxes owed – recurs each spring with what probably seems to many taxpayers to be annoying regularity. That said, howeve...
Claiming home office expenses for 2022 - and planning for 2023 (March 2023)
As the pandemic dragged on into 2022, many employees continued to work from home for pandemic-related reasons. And probably at least as many employees reached an agreement with their employer that the...
Planning for the new First Home Savings Account (February 2023)
Just about a year ago, in the 2022-23 budget, the federal government announced a number of measures to help Canadians who are trying to put together a down payment for the purchase a first home. The m...
RRSPs and TFSAs - deciding where to contribute (February 2023)
For most taxpayers, the first few months of the year are a seemingly unending series of bills and payment deadlines. During January and February, many Canadians are still trying to pay off the bills f...
How to respond to a tax instalment notice (February 2023)
Sometime during the month of February, millions of Canadians will receive mail from the Canada Revenue Agency. That mail, a “Tax Instalment Reminder”, will set out the amount of instalment payment...
Reducing the 2022 tax bill - some tax filing strategies for those over age 65 (February 2023)
2022 was a year of almost unrelenting bad financial news for Canadians, but perhaps no group was more affected by those changes than retirees who rely on income from unindexed pensions and from return...
Employment Insurance Premiums for 2023 (January 2023)
The Employment Insurance premium rate for 2023 is set at 1.63%....
Québec Pension Plan contributions for 2023 (January 2023)
The Québec Pension Plan contribution rate for 2023 is set at 6.40% of pensionable earnings for the year....
Canada Pension Plan Contributions for 2023 (January 2023)
The Canada Pension Plan contribution rate for 2023 is set at 5.95% of pensionable earnings for the year....
Federal individual tax credits for 2023 (January 2023)
Dollar amounts on which individual non-refundable federal tax credits for 2023 are based, and the actual tax credit claimable, will be as follows:...
Federal individual tax rates and brackets for 2023 (January 2023)
The indexing factor for federal tax credits and brackets for 2023 is 6.3%. The following federal tax rates and brackets will be in effect for individuals for the 2023 tax year....
Tax deadlines and limits for the 2023 tax year (January 2023)
Each new tax year brings with it a listing of tax payment and filing deadlines, as well as some changes with respect to tax saving and planning strategies. Some of the more significant dates and chang...
New Quarterly Newsletters (Q4 2022)
Two quarterly newsletters have been added—one dealing with personal issues, and one dealing with corporate issues....
Income smoothing in retirement - strategies to minimize the OAS clawback (December 2022)
Canada’s retirement income system is often referred to as a three-part system. Individuals earning income from employment or self-employment can contribute to a registered retirement savings plan (R...
Changes in tax treatment of employee holiday celebrations and gifts (December 2022)
As the pandemic continues to wane, traditional employer-sponsored holiday social events have once again become a reality – although, as in all aspects of pandemic life, such events will likely be a ...
Repaying individual pandemic benefits (December 2022)
The worst of the COVID-19 pandemic which began almost three years ago is now (hopefully) behind us. That doesn’t mean, however, that Canadians aren’t still dealing with the unwelcome consequences ...
The tax year is ending - some planning steps to take before December 31 (December 2022)
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 2022 mu...
Looking ahead to 2023 – getting source deductions right from the start (November 2022)
For most Canadians, tax planning for a year that hasn’t even started yet may seem too remote to even be considered. However, most Canadians will start paying their taxes for 2023 with the first payc...
Planning for home office expense claims for 2022 (November 2022)
Over the past three years, the structure of work-from-home arrangements for employees has been a constantly changing landscape. In 2020, almost all employees who could work from home were required to ...
A new tool for retirement income planning (November 2022)
The majority of Canadians who are not members of an employer-sponsored defined benefit registered pension plan save for retirement through a registered retirement savings plan (RRSP). For those Canadi...
Year-end planning for medical expense claims (November 2022)
While the current state of the Canadian health care system is not without its problems, Canadians are nonetheless fortunate to have a publicly-funded health care system, in which most major medical ex...
New Quarterly Newsletters (Q3 2022)
Two quarterly newsletters have been added—one dealing with personal issues, and one dealing with corporate issues....
New Quarterly Newsletters (Q2 2022)
Two quarterly newsletters have been added—one dealing with personal issues, and one dealing with corporate issues....
The new Multi-Generational Home Renovation Tax Credit (October 2022)
The fact that Canada is in the middle of a housing crisis isn’t really news to anyone. Whether it’s having difficulty finding an affordable apartment or putting together enough money for a down pa...
Coming clean with the taxman - the Voluntary Disclosure Program (October 2022)
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 and file...
Year-end planning for your RRSP, RRIF, and TFSA (October 2022)
Most Canadians know that the deadline for making contributions to one’s registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) comes 60 days after the end of the calendar year, around the end of February. There ...
How Canadian households are (or aren’t) coping with financial stress (October 2022)
Since early 2022, the finances of Canadian households have been hit with what Statistics Canada has called a “trifecta of market challenges”, which increasingly stretched and squeezed the efforts ...
Proposed changes to principal residence exemption in 2023 (September 2022)
One of the most valuable tax and investment strategies available to Canadians is home ownership. While the real estate market can (and does) go and up down, home ownership has proven to be, over the l...
The CPP post-retirement benefit - deciding whether to continue contributing (September 2022)
Transitioning into retirement is a complex process, one which involves decisions around finances (present and future) as well as one’s way of life. While it was once typical for an individual to wor...
Tax breaks for the upcoming post-secondary school year (September 2022)
This year, for the first time since 2019, most (if not all) post-secondary students will be preparing to go to (or return to) university or college for in-person learning. While that’s an exciting p...
Finance releases details of First Home Savings Accounts (September 2022)
In this year’s budget, the federal government announced a number of measures to help Canadians who are trying to put together a down payment for the purchase of a first home. The most significant of...
When the taxman has a few questions about your return (August 2022)
By the beginning of August almost every Canadian has filed his or her income tax return for the previous year and has received the Notice of Assessment issued by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) with r...
Application process for business pandemic relief programs still open (August 2022)
Canadian businesses should be aware that, while many programs which provided payroll or expense supports for businesses during the pandemic ended on May 7, 2022, there is still a program in place to h...
Managing debt in a rising interest rate environment (August 2022)
Since 2009, Canadians have been living (and borrowing) in an ultra-low-interest-rate environment. Between January 2009 and January 2022, the bank rate (from which commercial interest rates are determi...
How to respond to a first Instalment Reminder from the Canada Revenue Agency (August 2022)
By the time August 2022 arrives, virtually all individual Canadians have filed their income tax return for the 2021 tax year, have received a Notice of Assessment from the tax authorities with respect...
Claiming a deduction for summer child care costs (July 2022)
As pandemic restrictions ease, the option of sending kids to summer camp is once again a realistic one and, for both kids and parents, the possibility of doing so must be particularly welcome this yea...
The start of a new federal benefit year – claiming your child and family benefits (July 2022)
At a time when Canadian households are coping simultaneously with rising interest rates and an inflation rate which recently hit its highest point in nearly four decades, every dollar of income counts...
Paying the piper – the CRA starts collection of pandemic benefit overpayments (July 2022)
When a public health emergency was declared in March of 2020, the focus for the federal government was getting pandemic benefits into the hands of eligible recipients as quickly as possible, to help m...
Creating cash flow from home equity (July 2022)
If Canadians have the feeling that they are being squeezed from all sides when it comes to household finances, it’s because they are. In 2022 Canadian consumers have been hit by a double whammy of t...
Making sure your taxes for 2022 are on track (June 2022)
Many, if not most, taxpayers think of tax planning as a year-end exercise to be carried out in the last few weeks of the year, with a view to taking the steps needed to minimize the tax bill for the c...
Claiming a deduction for moving expenses (June 2022)
While recent increases in interest rates have put something of a damper on home sales, the Canadian real estate market was booming in the first quarter of 2022. According to Canadian Real Estate Assoc...
Disputing your Notice of Assessment (June 2022)
Of the 27 million individual income tax returns already filed with the Canada Revenue Agency for the 2021 tax year, no two were identical. Each return contained its own particular combination of types...
Rising interest rates and the mortgage stress test (June 2022)
Over the past several years, would-be buyers in the Canadian residential real estate market have been faced with two realities. First, the cost of homes continued to increase significantly in virtuall...
Where things stand with pandemic benefit programs for individuals (May 2022)
Since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, the federal government has provided a wide range of pandemic benefit programs for individuals. In the main, those programs have acted to replace inco...
Deciding when to start receiving Old Age Security benefits (May 2022)
Canada’s retirement income system has three major components – private savings through registered retirement savings plans or registered pension plans, and two public retirement income plans – t...
Making home ownership a little more accessible (May 2022)
The difficulties faced by younger Canadians in buying a first home almost anywhere in Canada, owing to both the spiraling cost of real estate and, more recently, increases in interest rates, is a majo...
When you make a mistake on your tax return (May 2022)
For the majority of Canadians, the due date for filing of an individual tax return for the 2021 tax year was Monday May 2, 2022. (Self-employed Canadians and their spouses have until Wednesday June 15...
New Quarterly Newsletters (Q1 2022)
Two quarterly newsletters have been added—one dealing with personal issues, and one dealing with corporate issues....
How to not fall victim to a tax scam (April 2022)
It is a sad fact that, every year, thousands of Canadians become the victims of scams in which fraud artists claim to be representatives of the federal government. Equally sadly, in most cases the mon...
What to do when you can’t pay your tax bill on time (April 2022)
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 comp...
How to pay your taxes for 2021 (April 2022)
Our tax system is complex and, understandably, its myriad rules and exceptions are a mystery to most Canadian taxpayers – and most are happy to leave it that way. There is however, one rule in the C...
Some last-minute tax filing strategies - what to claim and what to defer (April 2022)
Most Canadians don’t turn their attention to their taxes until sometime around the end of March or the beginning of April, in time to complete the return for 2021 ahead of the May 2, 2022 filing dea...
How and when to file your 2021 tax return (March 2022)
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 last year show that the vast ...
Claiming medical expenses for 2021 (March 2022)
The Canadian tax system provides individual taxpayers with a tax credit for out-of-pocket medical and para-medical expenses incurred during the year. Given that such expenses must be incurred at some ...
What’s new on the return for 2021? (March 2022)
While the requirement that Canadians file an income tax return each year never changes, the actual content of that return is never the same year to year. While many of the changes — like inflation-r...
Figuring out the taxation of pandemic benefits (March 2022)
The list of financial assistance programs that have been provided by the federal government to support individual Canadians through two years of the pandemic is lengthy, detailed, and sometimes confus...
Responding to a tax instalment reminder from the CRA (February 2022)
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 instalment p...
Taking advantage of pension income splitting (February 2022)
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...
RRSPs and TFSAs: making the annual choice (February 2022)
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 one’s registered retire...
Claiming home office expenses for 2021 (February 2022)
As the pandemic continued past 2020 and through 2021, it is likely that employees who were able to work from home spent at least part of the 2021 tax year doing just that. And, as was the case in 2020...
Employment Insurance Premiums for 2022 (January 2022)
The Employment Insurance premium rate for 2022 is unchanged at 1.58%....
Quebec Pension Plan contributions for 2022 (January 2022)
The Quebec Pension Plan contribution rate for 2022 is set at 6.15% of pensionable earnings for the year....
Canada Pension Plan Contributions for 2022 (January 2022)
The Canada Pension Plan contribution rate for 2022 is set at 5.7% of pensionable earnings for the year....
Federal individual tax credits for 2022 (January 2022)
Dollar amounts on which individual non-refundable federal tax credits for 2022 are based, and the actual tax credit claimable, will be as follows:...
Federal individual tax rates and brackets for 2022 (January 2022)
The indexing factor for federal tax credits and brackets for 2022 is 2.4%. The following federal tax rates and brackets will be in effect for individuals for the 2022 tax year....
New Quarterly Newsletters (Q4 2021)
Two quarterly newsletters have been added—one dealing with personal issues, and one dealing with corporate issues....
Tax deadlines and limits for the 2022 tax year (January 2022)
Each new tax year brings with it a listing of tax payment and filing deadlines, as well as some changes with respect to tax saving and planning strategies. Some of the more significant dates and chang...
Looking ahead to 2022 – getting source deductions right from the start (December 2021)
With the holiday season approaching, income tax issues for the current year are unlikely to be top-of-mind for most Canadians — and planning for taxes for the upcoming 2022 tax year may seem too rem...
Tax consequences of employer holiday gifts and bonuses (December 2021)
During the month of December, it’s 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 event. On...
The tax year is ending - some planning steps to take before December 31 (December 2021)
For individual Canadian taxpayers, the tax year ends at the same time as the calendar year. What that means for individual Canadians is that any steps taken to reduce their tax payable for 2021 must b...
Federal government provides details of new Tourism and Hospitality Recovery Program (December 2021)
In October, the federal government outlined the next stage of its pandemic recovery benefit programs, which focused on provided support to businesses in the economic sectors hit hardest by the pandemi...
Year-end planning for medical expense claims (November 2021)
Canadians are fortunate to have a publicly funded health care system, in which most major medical expenses are covered by provincial health care plans. Such plans are not, however, comprehensive, and ...
Employer-provided cell phone and internet services - who benefits? (November 2021)
Working from home — and certainly work from home arrangements on the scale experienced over the past 19 months — would not be practically possible without the use of technology. And of all the ava...
Business pandemic support programs extended and expanded (November 2021)
Throughout the pandemic, the federal government has provided businesses with a number of support programs, some of which operated to subsidize the wage and rental costs of those businesses. Some of th...
The end of (most) individual pandemic benefit programs (November 2021)
Since the Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB) replaced the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) just over a year ago, more than 2 million individual Canadians have applied for the CRB, a benefit which p...
New Quarterly Newsletters (Q3 2021)
Two quarterly newsletters have been added—one dealing with personal issues, and one dealing with corporate issues....
Claiming a tax credit for renovation costs (October 2021)
The ongoing pandemic has, as one of its many effects, created a boom in the home renovation industry, as Canadians find themselves needing to adapt their homes to more and more varied uses....
When are legal fees deductible? (October 2021)
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 family estate...
The approaching end of pandemic benefit programs (October 2021)
Since March of 2020, tens of millions of Canadians have received pandemic benefits. In some cases, those benefits have been received directly by individuals — typically, through the Canada Emergency...
Year-end planning for your RRSP, RRIF, and TFSA (October 2021)
Most Canadians know that the deadline for making contributions to one’s registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) comes 60 days after the end of the calendar year, around the end of February. There ...
Some good pandemic financial news (September 2021)
The past 18 months have been characterized by a steady stream of mostly bad news, relating to the pandemic and its harmful consequences. The human cost of the pandemic, in terms of illness and death, ...
Managing a Canada Student Loan after graduation (September 2021)
Getting a post-secondary education, especially where that education includes graduate school or professional training, is an expensive undertaking. According to Statistics Canada, the average undergra...
Avoiding (or minimizing) the OAS clawback (September 2021)
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 (CPP) and w...
Financing the political process – the political contribution tax credit (September 2021)
To win elections, politicians need votes. And to run the election campaigns needed to garner those votes, they need an organization, volunteers, and money — a lot of money. To wage the current feder...
A mid-year tax check-up on your taxes (June 2021)
By the beginning of June, most Canadians have filed their individual income tax return for the 2020 tax year and received a Notice of Assessment (NOA) outlining their tax position for that year. Those...
Mortgage lending rules tighten effective June 1, 2021 (June 2021)
Over the past decade, the rules governing mortgage lending in Canada have been repeatedly amended, each time to impose more stringent requirements on would-be mortgage borrowers. The latest such chang...
How to not fall victim to a tax scam (May 2021)
It is a sad fact that, every year, thousands of Canadians become the victims of scams in which fraud artists claim to be representatives of the federal government. Equally sadly, in most cases the mon...
Changes to the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy — and the new Canada Recovery Hiring Program (May 2021)
At the beginning of the pandemic, when states of emergency were declared across Canada, the federal government introduced a number of programs to provide financial relief and assistance to individuals...
Deciding when to start receiving Old Age Security benefits (May 2021)
The Old Age Security (OAS) 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 i...
Fixing a mistake in your (already filed) tax return (May 2021)
For the majority of Canadians, the due date for filing of an individual tax return for the 2020 tax year was Friday April 30, 2021. (Self-employed Canadians and their spouses have until Tuesday June 1...
New Quarterly Newsletters (Q1 2021)
Two quarterly newsletters have been added—one dealing with personal issues, and one dealing with corporate issues....
What to do when you can’t pay your tax bill (April 2021)
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 compl...
Paying the taxman – when and how (April 2021)
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 ...
Last-minute tax filing strategies—the timing of medical and charitable tax credit claims (April 2021)
By the time most Canadians sit down to organize their various tax slips and receipts and undertake to complete their tax return for 2020, the most significant opportunities to minimize the tax bill fo...
When CERB benefits don’t have to be repaid (April 2021)
When the pandemic was declared just over a year ago, the federal government announced a wide range of benefits to help mitigate the financial stress experienced by those who lost jobs or saw their hou...
What’s new on the 2020 tax return? (March 2021)
While the obligation to file a tax return recurs annually, that return form is never exactly the same from year to year. Tax brackets and allowable deduction and credit amounts change each year and, m...
When and how to file this year’s tax return (March 2021)
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 2020 filing season show t...
Taking advantage of pension income splitting (March 2021)
Income tax is a big-ticket item for most retired Canadians. Especially for those who are happily free of the requirement to make mortgage payments, the annual tax bill may be the single biggest annual...
Paying the piper - the taxation of pandemic benefits (March 2021)
Over the past month, millions of Canadians have received what was probably an unexpected (and unwelcome) communication from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), in the form of a T4A slip. That T4A slip li...
Responding to a tax Instalment Reminder from the CRA (February 2021)
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 instalment p...
Deducting home office expenses in 2020 (February 2021)
One of the biggest pandemic-related changes in the day-to-day lives of Canadians was the abrupt change to work-from-home arrangements. While such arrangements aren’t new — employees and the self-e...
Employee taxable benefits in a pandemic (February 2021)
Under Canadian tax law, the general rule is that all amounts paid by an employer to his or her employees are treated as taxable income. That rule holds whether those amounts are paid as cash remunerat...
RRSPs and TFSAs – figuring out where to contribute (February 2021)
For most taxpayers, the first few months of the year are a seemingly unending series of bills and payment deadlines. During January and February, many Canadians are still trying to pay off the bills f...
Employment Insurance Premiums for 2021 (January 2021)
The Employment Insurance premium rate for 2021 is unchanged at 1.58%....
Quebec Pension Plan Contributions for 2021 (January 2021)
The Quebec Pension Plan contribution rate for 2021 is set at 5.9% of pensionable earnings for the year....
Canada Pension Plan Contributions for 2021 (January 2021)
The Canada Pension Plan contribution rate for 2021 is set at 5.45% of pensionable earnings for the year....
Federal individual tax credits for 2021 (January 2021)
Dollar amounts on which individual non-refundable federal tax credits for 2021 are based, and the actual tax credit claimable, will be as follows:...
Federal individual tax rates and brackets for 2021 (January 2021)
The indexing factor for federal tax credits and brackets for 2021 is 1.0%. The following federal tax rates and brackets will be in effect for individuals for the 2021 tax year....
Tax deadlines and limits for the 2021 tax year (January 2021)
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...
Norm's SaveUTax 2024 Federal Budget Commentary
Please click here to read Norm's SaveUTax 2024 Federal Budget Commentary...
Norm's Tips And Traps 2024
Norms Tips and Traps for the 2024 Year...
Norm's Tips And Traps 2023
Norms Tips and Traps for the 2023 Year...
Norm's Tips And Traps 2022
Norms Tips and Traps for the 2022 Year...
Norm's Tips and Traps 2021
Norm's Tips and Traps for the 2021 Year...
Norm's Tips and Traps 2020
Norm's Tips and Traps for the year of 2020...
Financing the political process – the political contribution tax credit (May 2025)
To win elections, politicians need votes. And to run the election campaigns needed to garner those votes, they need an organization, volunteers, and money – a lot of money. To wage the federal elect...
When you don’t agree with the CRA – disputing your Notice of Assessment (May 2025)
While no two tax returns filed with the Canada Revenue Agency are identical, all such tax returns have one thing in common. Once those tax returns are filed, the CRA will review the income amounts rep...
When keeping up with mortgage payments becomes a problem – where (and where not) to turn for help (May 2025)
At first glance, it might seem that the financial pressures experienced by Canadian families would have eased over the last year or so. The spike in interest rates which started in early 2022 has abat...
Fixing a mistake on your (already filed) tax return (May 2025)
It’s likely that very few Canadians view completing and filing the annual tax return as anything other than an unpleasant chore to be endured, with a sigh of relief once it’s finally done. The goa...
Making sure you don’t fall victim to a tax scam (April 2025)
Most Canadians live their lives with only very infrequent contact with the tax authorities and are generally happy to keep it that way. Sometime between mid-February and the end of April 2025 the majo...
Planning to avoid the Old Age Security clawback (April 2025)
When Canadians gather together the information slips, receipts, and other documents needed to prepare and file their annual income tax return, their biggest concern is likely whether completing that r...
What to do when you can’t pay your tax bill on time (April 2025)
Most taxpayers sit down to do their annual tax return (or wait to hear from their tax return preparer) with some degree of anxiety. In most cases taxpayers don’t know, until their return is complete...
How, when, and where to pay your taxes for 2024 (April 2025)
Notwithstanding the considerable complexity of the Canadian income tax system, there is one rule which applies to every individual taxpayer living in Canada, regardless of location, income, age, or ci...
New Quarterly Newsletters (Q1 2025)
Two quarterly newsletters have been added – one dealing with personal issues, and one dealing with corporate issues....
The CPP post-retirement benefit – deciding whether to continue contributing (March 2025)
A few decades ago retirement, for most Canadians, was an event which marked the change from full-time work to not working at all. Usually, that transition took place at age 65, following which the new...
Some last-minute tax filing strategies – what (and what not) to claim (March 2025)
While it’s true that the best year-end tax planning starts on January 1 of the tax year, the reality is that most Canadians don’t turn their attention to their tax situation for 2024 until the spr...
What’s new on the tax return for 2024 (March 2025)
While the tax return form that Canadians prepare and file each spring might look identical to the form that was used the previous year, the reality is that our tax system is constantly changing, and t...
How to prepare and file your 2024 tax return (March 2025)
Each spring, Canadian individual taxpayers must turn their attention to the filing of an individual income tax return for the tax year which ended on the previous December 31. And, while it’s doubtf...
RRSPs, TFSAs, and FHSAs – making the annual choice (February 2025)
For most taxpayers, the first few months of the year can seem to involve a seemingly unending series of bills and payment deadlines. During January and February, many Canadians are still trying to pay...
Reporting online income on the 2024 tax return (February 2025)
The Canadian tax system casts a very wide net, in which each resident of Canada is taxable on all sources of income worldwide, with very few exceptions. In addition, Canada has what is known as a “s...
How to respond to a Tax Instalment Reminder (February 2025)
While virtually every working Canadian pays income taxes, the process by which those taxes are collected throughout the year is largely invisible to the taxpayer. That’s certainly the case for emplo...
Pension income splitting for the 2024 tax year (February 2025)
For most Canadian retirees, careful financial management is a necessity. Most live on an annual income which is less than that which they enjoyed during their working years, and opportunities to incre...
Employment Insurance premiums for 2025 (January 2025)
The Employment Insurance premium rate for 2025 is set at 1.64%....
Québec Pension Plan contributions for 2025 (January 2025)
As of 2024, there are two contribution levels for the Québec Pension Plan (QPP). Income amounts and employee contribution percentages for 2025 for each contribution level are as follows....
Canada Pension Plan contributions for 2025 (January 2025)
As of 2024, there are two contribution levels for the Canada Pension Plan (CPP). Income amounts and employee contribution percentages for 2025 for each contribution level are as follows....
Federal individual tax credits for 2025 (January 2025)
Tax credit amounts on which individual non-refundable federal tax credits for 2025 are based, and the actual tax credit claimable, will be as follows:...
Federal individual tax rates and brackets for 2025 (January 2025)
The indexing factor for federal tax credits and brackets for 2025 is 2.7%. The following federal tax rates and brackets will be in effect for individuals for the 2025 tax year....
Tax deadlines and limits for the 2025 tax year (January 2025)
Each new tax year brings with it a schedule of tax payment and filing deadlines, as well as some changes with respect to tax saving and planning opportunities. Some of the more significant dates and c...
New Quarterly Newsletters (Q4 2024)
Two quarterly newsletters have been added – one dealing with personal issues, and one dealing with corporate issues....
Figuring out when you can afford to retire (December 2024)
While almost everyone looks forward to retirement and an end to the day-to-day demands of working life, there’s also no question but that the decision to give up a regular paycheque is a stressful o...
Tax consequences of holiday gifts and celebrations (December 2024)
It seems incongruous, in the season of holiday gifts and celebrations, to consider the possible tax implications and consequences of those traditions. But, in some circumstances, the unwelcome spectre...
Tax planning steps to take before December 31 (December 2024)
December 31 , 2024 marks not just the end of the calendar year, but the end of the 2024 tax year for every individual Canadian taxpayer. And while the thoughts of most Canadians during the holiday sea...
Some new tax breaks from the federal government (December 2024)
On November 21, the federal government announced two new measures intended to relieve some of the financial stress currently being experienced by most Canadian families and households. That financial ...
Claiming home office expenses for 2024 (November 2024)
It has been nearly five years since the start of the pandemic, and the work-from-home arrangements which became a necessity during that time have now become a choice for employers and employees....
Year-end planning for your RRSP, RRIF, and TFSA (November 2024)
For most Canadians, the subject of making RRSP or TFSA contributions, or making RRIF withdrawals, isn’t usually top of mind at year-end. Most Canadians know that the deadline for making contribution...
Looking ahead to 2025 – getting source deductions right from the start (November 2024)
For most Canadians, tax planning for a year that hasn’t even started yet may seem premature or even unnecessary. However, most Canadians will start paying their taxes for 2025 in less than two month...
New rules for reporting of income from online sales (November 2024)
Canada’s income tax system is a self-assessing one, in which residents of Canada are expected (and in most cases, required) to file an annual tax return in which all sources of worldwide income are ...
Tax planning for year-end charitable donations (October 2024)
While the need for charitable donations for any number of causes is a year-round reality, appeals for such donations tend to increase as the holiday season and the end of the calendar year approach. A...
Claiming the Canada Carbon Rebate (October 2024)
Residents of the eight Canadian provinces in which the federal fuel charge (more commonly known as the federal carbon tax) is levied are entitled to claim and receive the federal Canada Carbon Rebate ...
Deciding when to begin receiving Old Age Security benefits (October 2024)
The Old Age Security (OAS) program is one of the two major federal benefit programs available to older Canadians – the other being the Canada Pension Plan (CPP). While both programs provide taxable ...
Finance announces additional changes to mortgage lending rules (October 2024)
In the 2024-25 Federal Budget released earlier this year, the federal government announced changes to the rules which govern mortgage lending in Canada. Those changes had two goals: making it easier f...
New Quarterly Newsletters (Q3 2024)
Two quarterly newsletters have been added – one dealing with personal issues, and one dealing with corporate issues....
Year-end planning for medical expense claims (September 2024)
While the current state of the Canadian health care system is far from perfect, Canadians are nonetheless fortunate to have a publicly funded health care system, in which most major medical expenses a...
Claiming the Canada Child Benefit (September 2024)
The federal government provides a number of non-refundable tax credits and benefits to Canadians under the umbrella term “child and family benefits”, but likely the most widely available and most...
When help is available under the CRA’s Taxpayer Relief Provisions (September 2024)
Canada’s tax system is a self-assessing one, meaning that the onus rests on individual taxpayers to file their annual return each spring and to pay any amounts owed. The compliance rate in Canada is...
The benefits - and costs - of extending your mortgage (September 2024)
The past five years have been a tough financial slog for most Canadian families, as they struggled to cope with the pandemic, followed by inflation which tripled from under 2% in mid-2020 to over 6% b...
Aging in place – benefitting from the home accessibility tax credit (August 2024)
Members of the baby boom generation who were born between 1946 and 1965 are now between 59 and 78 years of age, and make up about a quarter of the Canadian population. Many, if not most, are now retir...
When are legal fees deductible? (August 2024)
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 family estate...
Some tax breaks for the upcoming post-secondary school year (August 2024)
By the middle of August, most students who are beginning post-secondary education this fall have hopefully received an offer of admission from their college or university of choice and are in the fina...
Making the RRSP decision when you turn 71 (August 2024)
During the 2024 calendar year, hundreds of thousands of Canadians will reach their 71st birthday, and a significant percentage of that group are likely to have saved money for retirement through a reg...
Another option for retirement income planning (July 2024)
Most Canadians contemplate retirement with a mixture of anticipation and trepidation. While the benefits of an end to the day-to-day grind of work and commuting (while also having more free time to sp...
How to respond to a first Instalment Reminder from the Canada Revenue Agency (July 2024)
By the time summer arrives, nearly all Canadians have filed their income tax returns for the previous year, have received a Notice of Assessment from the tax authorities with respect to that return, a...
When the taxman has a few questions about your return (July 2024)
By this time of the year, virtually all Canadian residents have filed their income tax return for 2023 and have received the Notice of Assessment issued by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) with respect...
The start of a new benefit year - what can you receive in 2024-25? (July 2024)
Most Canadians, understandably, think of our income tax system as a government “program” that takes money out of their paycheques and out of their pockets. And, while it’s certainly true that vi...
New Quarterly Newsletters (Q2 2024)
Two quarterly newsletters have been added – one dealing with personal issues, and one dealing with corporate issues....
Making a voluntary disclosure to the tax authorities (June 2024)
The Canadian tax system is a “self-assessing” one, in which taxpayers are expected (and, in most cases, required) to file an individual income tax return each spring. On that return the taxpayer p...
Getting tax help with summer child care costs (June 2024)
As the school year draws to a close, the thoughts of millions of Canadian parents turn to the question of how to find – and pay for – child care throughout the summer months. While many Canadians ...
Claiming a deduction for moving expenses (June 2024)
Each spring and summer, tens of thousands of Canadian families sell their homes and move – sometimes to a bigger and better property in the same town or city, and sometimes to a new city or even ano...
A mid-year check-up on your taxes for 2024 (June 2024)
Many (if not most) taxpayers think of tax planning as a year-end exercise, one to be carried out in the last few weeks of the year, in order to take the steps needed to minimize the tax bill for that ...
Dealing with the OAS clawback (May 2024)
Most retired Canadians receive income from two government-sponsored retirement income programs – the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and the Old Age Security (OAS) program. While benefits from both are pa...
Disputing your Notice of Assessment (May 2024)
This year, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) will receive and process more than 30 million individual income tax returns for the 2023 tax year. No two of those returns will be identical, as each such re...
When you make a mistake on your tax return (May 2024)
For the majority of Canadians, the due date for filing of an individual tax return for the 2023 tax year was Tuesday April 30, 2024. (Self-employed Canadians and their spouses have until Monday June 1...
More help for first time home buyers (May 2024)
As everyone knows, buying one’s first home – achieving that elusive first step on to the “property ladder” – has always presented a challenge, and that challenge has rarely been greater than...
How to know you’re really hearing from the CRA (April 2024)
Most Canadians rarely have reason to interact with the tax authorities, and for most people, that’s the way they like it. In the vast majority of cases, Canadians file their tax returns each spring,...
What to do when you can’t pay your tax bill on time (April 2024)
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 comp...
How, when, and where to pay your taxes for 2023 (April 2024)
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 each and every rule there is an equal number of excep...
Reducing the 2023 tax bill - some tax filing strategies for those over age 65 (April 2024)
No one likes paying taxes, but for taxpayers who live on a fixed income having to pay a a large tax bill can mean real financial hardship – and the majority of Canadians who live on fixed incomes ar...
Using home equity to generate cash flow (March 2024)
For the past two years, Canadians have had to continually adjust their household budgets to accommodate price increases for nearly all goods and services. The impact of rising prices is felt most by t...
Some last-minute tax filing strategies - what (and what not) to claim (March 2024)
Most Canadians don’t turn their attention to their taxes until sometime around the end of March or the beginning of April, in time to complete the return for 2023 ahead of the April 30, 2024 filing ...
Reporting the sale of a principal residence during 2023 (March 2024)
While owning one’s own home brings with it many intangible benefits, home ownership also provides some very significant financial advantages. Specifically, it provides the opportunity to accumulate ...
What’s new on the tax return for 2023? (March 2024)
While our tax laws require Canadian residents to complete and file a T1 tax return form each spring, that return form is never exactly the same from year to year. Some of the changes found in each yea...
New Quarterly Newsletters (Q1 2024)
Two quarterly newsletters have been added – one dealing with personal issues, and one dealing with corporate issues....
How and when to file your 2023 tax return (February 2024)
Each year, the Canada Revenue Agency publishes a statistical summary of the tax filing patterns of Canadians during the previous filing season. The final statistics for 2023 show that the vast majorit...
Taking advantage of pension income splitting (February 2024)
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...
RRSPs, TFSAs, and FHSAs - making the annual choice (February 2024)
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 one’s registered retire...
How to respond to a tax instalment notice (February 2024)
Sometime during the month of February, millions of Canadians will receive some unexpected mail from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). That mail, entitled simply “Instalment Reminder”, will set out ...
Employment Insurance Premiums for 2024 (January 2024)
The Employment Insurance (EI) premium rate for 2024 is set at 1.66%....
Québec Pension Plan contributions for 2024 (January 2024)
Changes made to the Québec Pension Plan (QPP) beginning in the 2024 calendar year will create a two-tier contribution structure....
Canada Pension Plan Contributions for 2024 (January 2024)
Changes made to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) beginning in the 2024 calendar year will create a two-tier contribution structure....
Federal individual tax credits for 2024 (January 2024)
Dollar amounts on which individual non-refundable federal tax credits for 2024 are based, and the actual tax credit claimable, will be as follows:...
Federal individual tax rates and brackets for 2024 (January 2024)
The indexing factor for federal tax credits and brackets for 2024 is 4.7%. The following federal tax rates and brackets will be in effect for individuals for the 2024 tax year....
Tax deadlines and limits for the 2024 tax year (January 2024)
Each new tax year brings with it a schedule of tax payment and filing deadlines, as well as some changes with respect to tax saving and planning opportunities. Some of the more significant dates and c...
Getting help from the Taxpayer Relief Program (December 2023)
While most taxpayers pay their annual income tax bill in full and by the tax payment deadline of April 30, there are many circumstances that could result in an individual’s being unable to meet thei...
Figuring out whether you can afford to retire now (December 2023)
While almost everyone looks forward to retirement and an end to the day-to-day demands of working life, there’s also no question but that the decision to give up a regular paycheque is a stressful o...
Potential tax consequences of holiday gifts and celebrations (December 2023)
During the month of December, it’s customary for employers to provide something “extra” for their employees, whether it’s a compensation bonus, a gift, or an employer-sponsored social event �...
Changes to the Canada Pension Plan starting January 1, 2024 (December 2023)
Everyone in Canada who earns a salary or wages is familiar with the deduction taken from each paycheque for contributions to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP). The CPP is one of the two major government-s...
New Quarterly Newsletters (Q4 2023)
Two quarterly newsletters have been added – one dealing with personal issues, and one dealing with corporate issues....
Planning for home office expense claims for 2023 (November 2023)
When the pandemic struck in March of 2020 and public health lockdowns were imposed, virtually all Canadian employees were required to work from home, most for the first time....
Looking ahead to 2024 – getting source deductions right from the start (November 2023)
The day-to-day financial impact of increases in interest rates over the past 18 months, together with higher costs for nearly all goods and services, means that for most Canadians maximizing take-home...
Tax planning for year-end charitable donations (November 2023)
Canadians have a well-deserved reputation for supporting charitable causes, through donations of both money and goods. Our tax system supports that generosity by providing a tax credit for qualifying ...
New measures to assist at-risk homeowners (November 2023)
The 10-fold increase in interest rates since March of 2022 has affected Canadians in almost every area of their financial lives, as individuals and families struggle to cope with the every-increasing ...
Year-end planning for medical expense claims (October 2023)
While our health care system is currently struggling with a number of significant problems, Canadians are nonetheless fortunate to have a publicly funded health care system, in which most major medica...
The CPP post-retirement benefit - deciding whether to continue contributing (October 2023)
One or two generations ago, retirement was an event. Typically, an individual would leave the work force completely at age 65 and begin collecting Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Old Age Security (OAS) ...
Year-end planning for your RRSP, RRIF, TFSA, and FHSA (October 2023)
Most Canadians know that the deadline for making contributions to one’s registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) comes 60 days after the end of the calendar year, around the end of February. There ...
Repayment deadline for pandemic business loans extended (October 2023)
During the pandemic, temporary financial assistance was provided to Canadian small businesses through a number of grant and loan programs initiated by the federal government. One of the largest of tho...
Changes to Registered Education Savings Plans for the upcoming school year (September 2023)
By anyone’s measure, obtaining a post-secondary education is an expensive undertaking. Tuition and other school-related costs are just the start of the bills which must be paid. Whether the student ...
Deciding when to start receiving Old Age Security benefits (September 2023)
The Old Age Security (OAS) 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 i...
Upcoming repayment deadline for pandemic business emergency loans (September 2023)
When the pandemic began in the spring of 2020, it wasn’t long before it became apparent that the increasing threat was to both public health and to the economy. In response to the economic threat, t...
Coming clean with the tax authorities - the Voluntary Disclosure PProgram (September 2023)
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 and file...
New Quarterly Newsletters (Q3 2023)
Two quarterly newsletters have been added—one dealing with personal issues, and one dealing with corporate issues....
Tax breaks for the upcoming post-secondary school year (August 2023)
While the way in which post-secondary learning is delivered may have changed and changed again over the past three and a half years, as the pandemic waxed and waned and finally ended, the financial re...
Making the most of the new First Home Savings Account (August 2023)
The scarcity of affordable housing in just about every Canadian community can’t be news to anyone anymore. Whether it’s in relation to rental housing or the purchase of a first home, the opportuni...
When the taxman has a few questions about your return (August 2023)
By mid to late summer, almost every Canadian has filed his or her income tax return for the previous year and has received the Notice of Assessment issued by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) with respe...
Managing debt in a (continually) rising interest rate environment (August 2023)
Between 2009 and early 2022, Canadians lived (and borrowed) in an ultra-low interest rate environment. Between January 2009 and March 2022, the bank rate (from which commercial interest rates are dete...
Making the RRSP decision when you turn 71 (July 2023)
The age at which Canadians retire and begin deriving income from government and private pensions and private retirement savings has become something of a moving target. At one time, reaching one’s 6...
How to respond to a first Instalment Reminder from the Canada Revenue Agency (July 2023)
By the time summer arrives, nearly all Canadians have filed their income tax returns for the previous year, have received a Notice of Assessment from the tax authorities with respect to that return an...
The start of a new benefit year - what can you receive in 2023-24? (July 2023)
At a time when Canadian households are coping simultaneously with ongoing inflation, especially food inflation, as well as interest rates which are at their highest point in decades, every dollar of i...
Claiming a deduction for summer child care costs (July 2023)
With the worst days of the pandemic behind us, more and more Canadian families have returned to their usual schedule, with kids back in attendance at school and parents back at work at the office, on ...
New Quarterly Newsletters (Q2 2023)
Two quarterly newsletters have been added—one dealing with personal issues, and one dealing with corporate issues....
Claiming the principal residence exemption in 2023 – some new rules (June 2023)
The purchase of a first home is a milestone in anyone’s life, for many reasons. A home purchase is likely the largest single financial transaction most Canadians will enter into in their lives, and ...
Making sure your taxes for 2023 are on track (June 2023)
Many, if not most, taxpayers think of tax planning as a year-end exercise to be carried out in the last few weeks of the year, with a view to taking the steps needed to minimize the tax bill for the c...
Upcoming changes to the Canada Pension Plan (June 2023)
Canada’s retirement income system is made up of two public retirement income programs – the Old Age Security program and the Canada Pension Plan – as well as the opportunity to accumulate privat...
Claiming a deduction for moving costs (June 2023)
Sales of residential real estate across Canada are, after a slowdown in 2022, once again on the rise. Back-to-back increases in sales figures during February and March 2023 were followed by a double d...
When and how to dispute your Notice of Assessment (May 2023)
Of the 17 million individual income tax returns for the 2022 tax year filed with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) by the middle of April 2023, no two were identical. Each return contained its own parti...
When debt becomes a problem – where (and where not) to turn for help (May 2023)
The fact that Canadian households and families have been living with a significant amount of financial stress for the past year or so isn’t really news. Eight interest rate hikes in the past 14 mont...
When you make a mistake on your (already filed) tax return (May 2023)
The vast majority of Canadians view completing and filing their annual tax return as an unwelcome chore, and generally breathe a sigh of relief when it’s done for another year. When things go entire...
Avoiding (or minimizing) the OAS clawback (April 2023)
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...
What to do when you can’t pay your tax bill (April 2023)
Fortunately for the Canadian taxpayer, most individual income tax returns filed result in the payment of a tax refund to the tax filer. Notwithstanding, a significant number of taxpayers find, on comp...
What to expect when you hear from the Canada Revenue Agency (April 2023)
Most Canadians live their lives with only very infrequent contact with the tax authorities and are generally happy to keep it that way. Sometime between mid-February and the end of April (or June 15 f...
Some tax filing strategies for the 2022 return (April 2023)
It is an axiom of tax planning that the best year-end tax planning begins on January 1. And while it’s true that opportunities to make a significant dent in one’s tax payable for the year diminish...
New Quarterly Newsletters (Q1 2023)
Two quarterly newsletters have been added—one dealing with personal issues, and one dealing with corporate issues....
Claiming a deduction for union or professional dues (March 2023)
Most Canadians deal with our tax system only once a year, when it’s time to complete and file the annual tax return. That return form – the T1 Individual Income Tax Return – is eight single-spac...
How and when to file your 2022 tax return (March 2023)
For many years, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has been encouraging Canadian taxpayers to file their returns online, through the CRA’s website. And that message has clearly been heard, as the most ...
What’s new on the tax return for 2022? (March 2023)
The obligation to complete and file a tax return – and to pay any balance of taxes owed – recurs each spring with what probably seems to many taxpayers to be annoying regularity. That said, howeve...
Claiming home office expenses for 2022 - and planning for 2023 (March 2023)
As the pandemic dragged on into 2022, many employees continued to work from home for pandemic-related reasons. And probably at least as many employees reached an agreement with their employer that the...
Planning for the new First Home Savings Account (February 2023)
Just about a year ago, in the 2022-23 budget, the federal government announced a number of measures to help Canadians who are trying to put together a down payment for the purchase a first home. The m...
RRSPs and TFSAs - deciding where to contribute (February 2023)
For most taxpayers, the first few months of the year are a seemingly unending series of bills and payment deadlines. During January and February, many Canadians are still trying to pay off the bills f...
How to respond to a tax instalment notice (February 2023)
Sometime during the month of February, millions of Canadians will receive mail from the Canada Revenue Agency. That mail, a “Tax Instalment Reminder”, will set out the amount of instalment payment...
Reducing the 2022 tax bill - some tax filing strategies for those over age 65 (February 2023)
2022 was a year of almost unrelenting bad financial news for Canadians, but perhaps no group was more affected by those changes than retirees who rely on income from unindexed pensions and from return...
Employment Insurance Premiums for 2023 (January 2023)
The Employment Insurance premium rate for 2023 is set at 1.63%....
Québec Pension Plan contributions for 2023 (January 2023)
The Québec Pension Plan contribution rate for 2023 is set at 6.40% of pensionable earnings for the year....
Canada Pension Plan Contributions for 2023 (January 2023)
The Canada Pension Plan contribution rate for 2023 is set at 5.95% of pensionable earnings for the year....
Federal individual tax credits for 2023 (January 2023)
Dollar amounts on which individual non-refundable federal tax credits for 2023 are based, and the actual tax credit claimable, will be as follows:...
Federal individual tax rates and brackets for 2023 (January 2023)
The indexing factor for federal tax credits and brackets for 2023 is 6.3%. The following federal tax rates and brackets will be in effect for individuals for the 2023 tax year....
Tax deadlines and limits for the 2023 tax year (January 2023)
Each new tax year brings with it a listing of tax payment and filing deadlines, as well as some changes with respect to tax saving and planning strategies. Some of the more significant dates and chang...
New Quarterly Newsletters (Q4 2022)
Two quarterly newsletters have been added—one dealing with personal issues, and one dealing with corporate issues....
Income smoothing in retirement - strategies to minimize the OAS clawback (December 2022)
Canada’s retirement income system is often referred to as a three-part system. Individuals earning income from employment or self-employment can contribute to a registered retirement savings plan (R...
Changes in tax treatment of employee holiday celebrations and gifts (December 2022)
As the pandemic continues to wane, traditional employer-sponsored holiday social events have once again become a reality – although, as in all aspects of pandemic life, such events will likely be a ...
Repaying individual pandemic benefits (December 2022)
The worst of the COVID-19 pandemic which began almost three years ago is now (hopefully) behind us. That doesn’t mean, however, that Canadians aren’t still dealing with the unwelcome consequences ...
The tax year is ending - some planning steps to take before December 31 (December 2022)
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 2022 mu...
Looking ahead to 2023 – getting source deductions right from the start (November 2022)
For most Canadians, tax planning for a year that hasn’t even started yet may seem too remote to even be considered. However, most Canadians will start paying their taxes for 2023 with the first payc...
Planning for home office expense claims for 2022 (November 2022)
Over the past three years, the structure of work-from-home arrangements for employees has been a constantly changing landscape. In 2020, almost all employees who could work from home were required to ...
A new tool for retirement income planning (November 2022)
The majority of Canadians who are not members of an employer-sponsored defined benefit registered pension plan save for retirement through a registered retirement savings plan (RRSP). For those Canadi...
Year-end planning for medical expense claims (November 2022)
While the current state of the Canadian health care system is not without its problems, Canadians are nonetheless fortunate to have a publicly-funded health care system, in which most major medical ex...
New Quarterly Newsletters (Q3 2022)
Two quarterly newsletters have been added—one dealing with personal issues, and one dealing with corporate issues....
New Quarterly Newsletters (Q2 2022)
Two quarterly newsletters have been added—one dealing with personal issues, and one dealing with corporate issues....
The new Multi-Generational Home Renovation Tax Credit (October 2022)
The fact that Canada is in the middle of a housing crisis isn’t really news to anyone. Whether it’s having difficulty finding an affordable apartment or putting together enough money for a down pa...
Coming clean with the taxman - the Voluntary Disclosure Program (October 2022)
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 and file...
Year-end planning for your RRSP, RRIF, and TFSA (October 2022)
Most Canadians know that the deadline for making contributions to one’s registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) comes 60 days after the end of the calendar year, around the end of February. There ...
How Canadian households are (or aren’t) coping with financial stress (October 2022)
Since early 2022, the finances of Canadian households have been hit with what Statistics Canada has called a “trifecta of market challenges”, which increasingly stretched and squeezed the efforts ...
Proposed changes to principal residence exemption in 2023 (September 2022)
One of the most valuable tax and investment strategies available to Canadians is home ownership. While the real estate market can (and does) go and up down, home ownership has proven to be, over the l...
The CPP post-retirement benefit - deciding whether to continue contributing (September 2022)
Transitioning into retirement is a complex process, one which involves decisions around finances (present and future) as well as one’s way of life. While it was once typical for an individual to wor...
Tax breaks for the upcoming post-secondary school year (September 2022)
This year, for the first time since 2019, most (if not all) post-secondary students will be preparing to go to (or return to) university or college for in-person learning. While that’s an exciting p...
Finance releases details of First Home Savings Accounts (September 2022)
In this year’s budget, the federal government announced a number of measures to help Canadians who are trying to put together a down payment for the purchase of a first home. The most significant of...
When the taxman has a few questions about your return (August 2022)
By the beginning of August almost every Canadian has filed his or her income tax return for the previous year and has received the Notice of Assessment issued by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) with r...
Application process for business pandemic relief programs still open (August 2022)
Canadian businesses should be aware that, while many programs which provided payroll or expense supports for businesses during the pandemic ended on May 7, 2022, there is still a program in place to h...
Managing debt in a rising interest rate environment (August 2022)
Since 2009, Canadians have been living (and borrowing) in an ultra-low-interest-rate environment. Between January 2009 and January 2022, the bank rate (from which commercial interest rates are determi...
How to respond to a first Instalment Reminder from the Canada Revenue Agency (August 2022)
By the time August 2022 arrives, virtually all individual Canadians have filed their income tax return for the 2021 tax year, have received a Notice of Assessment from the tax authorities with respect...
Claiming a deduction for summer child care costs (July 2022)
As pandemic restrictions ease, the option of sending kids to summer camp is once again a realistic one and, for both kids and parents, the possibility of doing so must be particularly welcome this yea...
The start of a new federal benefit year – claiming your child and family benefits (July 2022)
At a time when Canadian households are coping simultaneously with rising interest rates and an inflation rate which recently hit its highest point in nearly four decades, every dollar of income counts...
Paying the piper – the CRA starts collection of pandemic benefit overpayments (July 2022)
When a public health emergency was declared in March of 2020, the focus for the federal government was getting pandemic benefits into the hands of eligible recipients as quickly as possible, to help m...
Creating cash flow from home equity (July 2022)
If Canadians have the feeling that they are being squeezed from all sides when it comes to household finances, it’s because they are. In 2022 Canadian consumers have been hit by a double whammy of t...
Making sure your taxes for 2022 are on track (June 2022)
Many, if not most, taxpayers think of tax planning as a year-end exercise to be carried out in the last few weeks of the year, with a view to taking the steps needed to minimize the tax bill for the c...
Claiming a deduction for moving expenses (June 2022)
While recent increases in interest rates have put something of a damper on home sales, the Canadian real estate market was booming in the first quarter of 2022. According to Canadian Real Estate Assoc...
Disputing your Notice of Assessment (June 2022)
Of the 27 million individual income tax returns already filed with the Canada Revenue Agency for the 2021 tax year, no two were identical. Each return contained its own particular combination of types...
Rising interest rates and the mortgage stress test (June 2022)
Over the past several years, would-be buyers in the Canadian residential real estate market have been faced with two realities. First, the cost of homes continued to increase significantly in virtuall...
Where things stand with pandemic benefit programs for individuals (May 2022)
Since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, the federal government has provided a wide range of pandemic benefit programs for individuals. In the main, those programs have acted to replace inco...
Deciding when to start receiving Old Age Security benefits (May 2022)
Canada’s retirement income system has three major components – private savings through registered retirement savings plans or registered pension plans, and two public retirement income plans – t...
Making home ownership a little more accessible (May 2022)
The difficulties faced by younger Canadians in buying a first home almost anywhere in Canada, owing to both the spiraling cost of real estate and, more recently, increases in interest rates, is a majo...
When you make a mistake on your tax return (May 2022)
For the majority of Canadians, the due date for filing of an individual tax return for the 2021 tax year was Monday May 2, 2022. (Self-employed Canadians and their spouses have until Wednesday June 15...
New Quarterly Newsletters (Q1 2022)
Two quarterly newsletters have been added—one dealing with personal issues, and one dealing with corporate issues....
How to not fall victim to a tax scam (April 2022)
It is a sad fact that, every year, thousands of Canadians become the victims of scams in which fraud artists claim to be representatives of the federal government. Equally sadly, in most cases the mon...
What to do when you can’t pay your tax bill on time (April 2022)
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 comp...
How to pay your taxes for 2021 (April 2022)
Our tax system is complex and, understandably, its myriad rules and exceptions are a mystery to most Canadian taxpayers – and most are happy to leave it that way. There is however, one rule in the C...
Some last-minute tax filing strategies - what to claim and what to defer (April 2022)
Most Canadians don’t turn their attention to their taxes until sometime around the end of March or the beginning of April, in time to complete the return for 2021 ahead of the May 2, 2022 filing dea...
How and when to file your 2021 tax return (March 2022)
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 last year show that the vast ...
Claiming medical expenses for 2021 (March 2022)
The Canadian tax system provides individual taxpayers with a tax credit for out-of-pocket medical and para-medical expenses incurred during the year. Given that such expenses must be incurred at some ...
What’s new on the return for 2021? (March 2022)
While the requirement that Canadians file an income tax return each year never changes, the actual content of that return is never the same year to year. While many of the changes — like inflation-r...
Figuring out the taxation of pandemic benefits (March 2022)
The list of financial assistance programs that have been provided by the federal government to support individual Canadians through two years of the pandemic is lengthy, detailed, and sometimes confus...
Responding to a tax instalment reminder from the CRA (February 2022)
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 instalment p...
Taking advantage of pension income splitting (February 2022)
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...
RRSPs and TFSAs: making the annual choice (February 2022)
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 one’s registered retire...
Claiming home office expenses for 2021 (February 2022)
As the pandemic continued past 2020 and through 2021, it is likely that employees who were able to work from home spent at least part of the 2021 tax year doing just that. And, as was the case in 2020...
Employment Insurance Premiums for 2022 (January 2022)
The Employment Insurance premium rate for 2022 is unchanged at 1.58%....
Quebec Pension Plan contributions for 2022 (January 2022)
The Quebec Pension Plan contribution rate for 2022 is set at 6.15% of pensionable earnings for the year....
Canada Pension Plan Contributions for 2022 (January 2022)
The Canada Pension Plan contribution rate for 2022 is set at 5.7% of pensionable earnings for the year....
Federal individual tax credits for 2022 (January 2022)
Dollar amounts on which individual non-refundable federal tax credits for 2022 are based, and the actual tax credit claimable, will be as follows:...
Federal individual tax rates and brackets for 2022 (January 2022)
The indexing factor for federal tax credits and brackets for 2022 is 2.4%. The following federal tax rates and brackets will be in effect for individuals for the 2022 tax year....
New Quarterly Newsletters (Q4 2021)
Two quarterly newsletters have been added—one dealing with personal issues, and one dealing with corporate issues....
Tax deadlines and limits for the 2022 tax year (January 2022)
Each new tax year brings with it a listing of tax payment and filing deadlines, as well as some changes with respect to tax saving and planning strategies. Some of the more significant dates and chang...
Looking ahead to 2022 – getting source deductions right from the start (December 2021)
With the holiday season approaching, income tax issues for the current year are unlikely to be top-of-mind for most Canadians — and planning for taxes for the upcoming 2022 tax year may seem too rem...
Tax consequences of employer holiday gifts and bonuses (December 2021)
During the month of December, it’s 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 event. On...
The tax year is ending - some planning steps to take before December 31 (December 2021)
For individual Canadian taxpayers, the tax year ends at the same time as the calendar year. What that means for individual Canadians is that any steps taken to reduce their tax payable for 2021 must b...
Federal government provides details of new Tourism and Hospitality Recovery Program (December 2021)
In October, the federal government outlined the next stage of its pandemic recovery benefit programs, which focused on provided support to businesses in the economic sectors hit hardest by the pandemi...
Year-end planning for medical expense claims (November 2021)
Canadians are fortunate to have a publicly funded health care system, in which most major medical expenses are covered by provincial health care plans. Such plans are not, however, comprehensive, and ...
Employer-provided cell phone and internet services - who benefits? (November 2021)
Working from home — and certainly work from home arrangements on the scale experienced over the past 19 months — would not be practically possible without the use of technology. And of all the ava...
Business pandemic support programs extended and expanded (November 2021)
Throughout the pandemic, the federal government has provided businesses with a number of support programs, some of which operated to subsidize the wage and rental costs of those businesses. Some of th...
The end of (most) individual pandemic benefit programs (November 2021)
Since the Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB) replaced the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) just over a year ago, more than 2 million individual Canadians have applied for the CRB, a benefit which p...
New Quarterly Newsletters (Q3 2021)
Two quarterly newsletters have been added—one dealing with personal issues, and one dealing with corporate issues....
Claiming a tax credit for renovation costs (October 2021)
The ongoing pandemic has, as one of its many effects, created a boom in the home renovation industry, as Canadians find themselves needing to adapt their homes to more and more varied uses....
When are legal fees deductible? (October 2021)
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 family estate...
The approaching end of pandemic benefit programs (October 2021)
Since March of 2020, tens of millions of Canadians have received pandemic benefits. In some cases, those benefits have been received directly by individuals — typically, through the Canada Emergency...
Year-end planning for your RRSP, RRIF, and TFSA (October 2021)
Most Canadians know that the deadline for making contributions to one’s registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) comes 60 days after the end of the calendar year, around the end of February. There ...
Some good pandemic financial news (September 2021)
The past 18 months have been characterized by a steady stream of mostly bad news, relating to the pandemic and its harmful consequences. The human cost of the pandemic, in terms of illness and death, ...
Managing a Canada Student Loan after graduation (September 2021)
Getting a post-secondary education, especially where that education includes graduate school or professional training, is an expensive undertaking. According to Statistics Canada, the average undergra...
Avoiding (or minimizing) the OAS clawback (September 2021)
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 (CPP) and w...
Financing the political process – the political contribution tax credit (September 2021)
To win elections, politicians need votes. And to run the election campaigns needed to garner those votes, they need an organization, volunteers, and money — a lot of money. To wage the current feder...
A mid-year tax check-up on your taxes (June 2021)
By the beginning of June, most Canadians have filed their individual income tax return for the 2020 tax year and received a Notice of Assessment (NOA) outlining their tax position for that year. Those...
Mortgage lending rules tighten effective June 1, 2021 (June 2021)
Over the past decade, the rules governing mortgage lending in Canada have been repeatedly amended, each time to impose more stringent requirements on would-be mortgage borrowers. The latest such chang...
How to not fall victim to a tax scam (May 2021)
It is a sad fact that, every year, thousands of Canadians become the victims of scams in which fraud artists claim to be representatives of the federal government. Equally sadly, in most cases the mon...
Changes to the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy — and the new Canada Recovery Hiring Program (May 2021)
At the beginning of the pandemic, when states of emergency were declared across Canada, the federal government introduced a number of programs to provide financial relief and assistance to individuals...
Deciding when to start receiving Old Age Security benefits (May 2021)
The Old Age Security (OAS) 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 i...
Fixing a mistake in your (already filed) tax return (May 2021)
For the majority of Canadians, the due date for filing of an individual tax return for the 2020 tax year was Friday April 30, 2021. (Self-employed Canadians and their spouses have until Tuesday June 1...
New Quarterly Newsletters (Q1 2021)
Two quarterly newsletters have been added—one dealing with personal issues, and one dealing with corporate issues....
What to do when you can’t pay your tax bill (April 2021)
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 compl...
Paying the taxman – when and how (April 2021)
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 ...
Last-minute tax filing strategies—the timing of medical and charitable tax credit claims (April 2021)
By the time most Canadians sit down to organize their various tax slips and receipts and undertake to complete their tax return for 2020, the most significant opportunities to minimize the tax bill fo...
When CERB benefits don’t have to be repaid (April 2021)
When the pandemic was declared just over a year ago, the federal government announced a wide range of benefits to help mitigate the financial stress experienced by those who lost jobs or saw their hou...
What’s new on the 2020 tax return? (March 2021)
While the obligation to file a tax return recurs annually, that return form is never exactly the same from year to year. Tax brackets and allowable deduction and credit amounts change each year and, m...
When and how to file this year’s tax return (March 2021)
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 2020 filing season show t...
Taking advantage of pension income splitting (March 2021)
Income tax is a big-ticket item for most retired Canadians. Especially for those who are happily free of the requirement to make mortgage payments, the annual tax bill may be the single biggest annual...
Paying the piper - the taxation of pandemic benefits (March 2021)
Over the past month, millions of Canadians have received what was probably an unexpected (and unwelcome) communication from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), in the form of a T4A slip. That T4A slip li...
Responding to a tax Instalment Reminder from the CRA (February 2021)
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 instalment p...
Deducting home office expenses in 2020 (February 2021)
One of the biggest pandemic-related changes in the day-to-day lives of Canadians was the abrupt change to work-from-home arrangements. While such arrangements aren’t new — employees and the self-e...
Employee taxable benefits in a pandemic (February 2021)
Under Canadian tax law, the general rule is that all amounts paid by an employer to his or her employees are treated as taxable income. That rule holds whether those amounts are paid as cash remunerat...
RRSPs and TFSAs – figuring out where to contribute (February 2021)
For most taxpayers, the first few months of the year are a seemingly unending series of bills and payment deadlines. During January and February, many Canadians are still trying to pay off the bills f...
Employment Insurance Premiums for 2021 (January 2021)
The Employment Insurance premium rate for 2021 is unchanged at 1.58%....
Quebec Pension Plan Contributions for 2021 (January 2021)
The Quebec Pension Plan contribution rate for 2021 is set at 5.9% of pensionable earnings for the year....
Canada Pension Plan Contributions for 2021 (January 2021)
The Canada Pension Plan contribution rate for 2021 is set at 5.45% of pensionable earnings for the year....
Federal individual tax credits for 2021 (January 2021)
Dollar amounts on which individual non-refundable federal tax credits for 2021 are based, and the actual tax credit claimable, will be as follows:...
Federal individual tax rates and brackets for 2021 (January 2021)
The indexing factor for federal tax credits and brackets for 2021 is 1.0%. The following federal tax rates and brackets will be in effect for individuals for the 2021 tax year....
Tax deadlines and limits for the 2021 tax year (January 2021)
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...

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