Mark Halpern, a Markham, Ont.-based certified financial planner and trust and estate practitioner, is a regular contributor to The TaxLetter. He says investment and tax planning strategies like the immediate   Read More

If you are in the market for a cottage, cabin, camp, chalet, shack or whatever you may call a second or vacation home in your part of this Great White   Read More

Markham, Ont.-based Mark Halpern is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP) with special expertise in tax planning for high net worth individuals and their families.   Read More

The crafters of the legislation creating the Tax-Free Savings Account obviously weren’t moved by Juliet’s lament to Romeo: “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any   Read More

Samantha Prasad, a tax partner with Toronto-based law firm Minden Gross LLP and a regular contributing editor to The TaxLetter, has some suggestions for where to look for funds to   Read More

Mark Goodfield, CPA, CA, LPA, editor of the popular blog The Blunt Bean Counter, author of Let’s Get Blunt About Your Financial Affairs and a contributing editor to The TaxLetter,   Read More

‘Melt and cascade’ describes what happens to a solid ice jam on a hot summer’s day: a fixed form becomes a fluid, more dynamic element. Mark Halpern, a Markham, Ont.-based   Read More

Giving to others can benefit you, too. Toronto-based Kim Inglis is an investment advisor and portfolio manager with the Reynolds Inglis Group within Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management. Here she shows   Read More

Mark Goodfield, CPA, CA, LPA, is the creative force behind the popular blog The Blunt Bean Counter and author of Let’s Get Blunt About Your Financial Affairs. In his inaugural   Read More

The Liberals have promised change. Samantha Prasad, a tax partner with the Toronto-based law firm Minden Gross LLP and a regular contributor to The TaxLetter, highlights some of the details   Read More

With roughly half of Canadian marriages ending in divorce, many people view “Till death do us part” as a quaint concept. Divorce is now so commonplace that Statistics Canada no   Read More

Moving for work or school? Samantha Prasad, a tax partner with the Toronto-based law firm Minden Gross LLP and a contributing editor of The TaxLetter, outlines tax planning strategies for   Read More

You likely qualify for deductions when you file your income tax return. If so, some tax planning this month by properly filling in form T1213 Request to Reduce Tax Deductions   Read More

Those of you who happen to own shares in a private corporation, especially a family owned business, should be aware of some tax traps to avoid. Samantha Prasad, a tax   Read More

The new cumulative contribution limit on a Tax-Free Savings Account is $41,000. Everybody should have a TFSA. TFSAs are the best thing offered to investors by the federal government since   Read More

We used to communicate with the Canada Revenue Agency via paper or online forms. Now you can get social with the CRA via Twitter, e-mail, RSS feeds, YouTube and mobile   Read More

Markham, Ontario-based Mark Halpern is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP), Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP) and CEO of WEALTHinsurance.com and illnessPROTECTION.com. He says new rules are coming in 2017 but   Read More

Being too generous to your family can hurt. Samantha Prasad, a tax partner with the Toronto-based law firm Minden Gross LLP, outlines the benefits and potential traps in any tax   Read More

Sending someone away from home to university for four years can cost more than $100,000. That’s taking into account tuition, books, transportation, room and board, and incidentals. Government cutbacks, inflation,   Read More

It’s a common question at tax-filing time: What employment expenses are tax-deductible by a salaried employee? Peter Still, a Markham, Ont.-based Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) and Certified General Accountant (CGA)   Read More

The federal government’s new budget contains a number of personal tax measures that may affect you. Samantha Prasad, a tax partner with the Toronto-based law firm Minden Gross and a   Read More

Samantha Prasad, a tax partner with the Toronto-based law firm Minden Gross and a contributing editor to The TaxLetter, outlines some tax planning strategies such as income splitting and asset   Read More

The Money Reporter regularly publishes tables of recommended government bonds, corporate bonds and preferred shares suitable for income-oriented investors. The monthly Fact and Advice Sheet also gives guidance for current   Read More

Mutual fund investors should be prepared for tax advice slips which will report their income, eligible Canadian dividends and capital gains and losses when doing their tax planning.
At this time   Read More

April 30 is almost here. But before those April showers bring May flowers, the Canada Revenue Agency is going to want to rain on your parade too. Here are some   Read More

Many mutual-fund management companies offer services that can help investors organize their affairs. Some of these services may be of great assistance to the investor, while others tend to benefit the fund company more.   Read More

Putting money into your Registered Retirement Savings Plan, or RRSP, is a great way to start planning for your retirement. And there’s no better time to start thinking about your   Read More

Writing in The TaxLetter, Mark Halpern, a Certified Financial Planner and Trust and Estate Practitioner with Markham, Ontario-based illnessPROTECTION.com outlined several easy ways to help you and your family find   Read More

Dividend Re-Investment Plans, or “DRIPs,” can assist you in building your wealth. You can instruct companies with DRIPs to reinvest your dividends into new shares. You can build your wealth   Read More

The federal government introduced a new “first-time donor’s super credit” last year, but many Canadians are still either unaware of what it is or not quite sure of what the   Read More

As we begin to approach the end of the calendar year, a common tax tip is to think about “tax-loss selling”. This refers to the strategy of triggering losses before   Read More

Watch the mutual funds you buy outside your registered accounts between now and the end of the year. Otherwise, you may find yourself on the hook for taxes if you   Read More

Once upon a time, a family was eligible for a double principal residence exemption. However, in the early 1980s, the tax rules were changed. Now there is essentially a one-principal-residence-per-family   Read More

There is nothing more joyful than the birth of a child. It is a very emotional time for parents and grandparents as they make lofty plans for the baby’s future   Read More

Registered Retirement Savings Plans, or RRSPs, help you to save for a more comfortable retirement while deferring taxes – hopefully on more favorable terms – into the future.

But the investment   Read More

BCE Inc. wants to buy the Bell Aliant shares that it doesn’t already own. BCE (TSX—BCE) remains a buy. If you hold Bell Aliant (TSX—BA), you should perform your own   Read More

Thinking about what to include in your will? If you are like most people, your thoughts are probably focused on who gets what, and who will take care of the   Read More

Samantha Prasad, a tax partner with the law firm Minden Gross LLP, recalls that a few years ago, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) was actively engaged in a special audit   Read More

Mark Halpern, a Certified Financial Planner and Trust and Estate Practitioner, says that in his business he encounters many people who are well established and working hard with good jobs.   Read More

In the search for yield, investors have turned to such things as monthly income funds and income trusts, structured notes, and capital class units. But again, cash in your hand   Read More

Some investors find that when they need a list of their securities to undertake some portfolio management or tax planning, they have to go on a safari of sorts, fumbling   Read More

For conservative investors, the urge to keep money in cash or the equivalent is hard to overcome, despite today’s low interest rates.

And yet, seeking safety in income-producing investments and cash   Read More

Save enough to pay your taxes, and a little more. If you’re self-employed or running a business, it’s important to stay in the black with the Canada Revenue Agency. But   Read More

Rental Income

If you own a second home in the U.S., chances are that you may be renting it out during the off-season to help offset costs (especially if the home   Read More

High youth unemployment in Central and Atlantic Canada make student summer jobs harder to come by. That’s too bad, because students can benefit in many ways from summer jobs.
One high-school   Read More

This year’s cold and lengthy winter had me constantly daydreaming of beaches and warmer weather. I certainly envy those lucky ones who head south at the first sign of snow.

The   Read More

Dave and Sandra are in their 50s and have just inherited $150,000. They rent their home. Both are working and making ends meet, but they have very little saved for   Read More

Peace of mind is a hard thing to come by these days.

People’s lives are so busy with their businesses or jobs, their family, friends and squeezing time in for   Read More

Announcing a REAL target for your retirement savings goals.

For a couple of issues of this newsletter advisory, I have been (more than) hinting at how the retirement/planning complex has been   Read More

Treaty Shopping

Following recent consultations, the Government is proposing a domestic law that would impact benefits derived from treaty shopping, which would be denied if it is reasonable to conclude that   Read More

Maximize your TFSA contribution in 2014

When the Government of Canada introduced Tax Free Savings Accounts effectively beginning in 2009, it set the contribution limit at $5,000 per year.

The plan was   Read More

Amateur Athlete Trusts

The budget proposes to allow income contributed to an amateur athlete trust after 2013 to qualify as earned income for purposes of determining the registered retirement savings plan   Read More