20 Canadian tax filing tips for 2017
The TaxLetter •2017-03-12 •
Canadian tax filing deadline may be closer than it appears if you want to take advantage of all the benefits, credits and services that the CRA has to offer. TaxLetter Read More
The TaxLetter •2017-03-12 •
Canadian tax filing deadline may be closer than it appears if you want to take advantage of all the benefits, credits and services that the CRA has to offer. TaxLetter Read More
The TaxLetter •2017-02-19 •
We thank American actress Bette Davis for this keen insight. It’s tough to anticipate the joy of a new day when all your bits and pieces ache and won’t move Read More
Investor's Digest of Canada •2017-02-09 •
Investor’s Digest columnist Kim Inglis explores ways of minimizing or eliminating capital gains tax when donating securities to charities. She suggests direct giving and alternatives such as RRSPs, insurance, Donor Read More
Money Reporter •2017-01-31 •
2016 was a great year for most Canadian stock funds. So you may receive some shocking tax information slips near the end of February. And now, it’s too late to Read More
The TaxLetter •2017-01-29 •
It’s the start of 2017 and a brand new year. However, for RRSP purposes, it’s still 2016 until the end of the day on March 1, as that is the Read More
The TaxLetter •2017-01-08 •
Sometimes reading your financial plan is like staring into a bowl of alphabet soup. Abbreviations and acronyms float by and transmogrify before you can begin to read any sense into Read More
The Investment Reporter •2017-01-05 •
DRIPs (Dividend Re-Investment Plans) and cash option plans are cost-effective and convenient ways of building your holdings in the companies that offer them. The benefits of DRIPs are substantial. But Read More
The Investment Reporter •2016-12-21 •
In The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, Polonius warns his son Laertes to “neither a borrower nor a lender be”. Part of Shakespeare’s enduring appeal, of course, is that Read More
The TaxLetter •2016-12-18 •
It’s true that we don’t have estate taxes in Canada. However, your tax return for the year you die will include more than the income you earned that year. All Read More
Money Reporter •2016-11-29 •
We’re approaching that time of year when many mutual funds distribute the capital gains they’ve realized throughout the year to their unit-holders. This event should serve as a reminder to Read More
The TaxLetter •2016-11-27 •
Whether you’re old enough to remember the original “Home, Sweet Home” or your generational instincts are more attuned to Mötley Crüe’s 1985 power ballad of the same name (or Carrie Read More
The TaxLetter •2016-11-06 •
Election day in the United States of America is almost here. As compelling to observe as it may be for those of us on the northern side of the border, Read More
The TaxLetter •2016-10-16 •
Benjamin Franklin wasn’t first, but perhaps most famously lamented that: “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” Mark Halpern, a Certified Financial Planner, Read More
The Investment Reporter •2016-10-09 •
Every gambler knows / That the secret to survivin’ / Is knowin’ what to throw away / And knowin’ what to keep / ‘Cause every hand’s a winner / And Read More
The TaxLetter •2016-09-22 •
Samantha Prasad is a tax partner at the Toronto-based law firm Minden Gross LLP and a regular contributor to The TaxLetter. Her practice focuses mainly on corporate, estate and international Read More
The TaxLetter •2016-08-18 •
Mark Halpern is a Certified Financial Planner, Trust and Estate Practitioner and regular contributor to The TaxLetter. He is an expert in succession planning for family business owners and tax Read More
The TaxLetter •2016-08-11 •
Mark Halpern is a Certified Financial Planner, Trust and Estate Practitioner and a regular contributor to The TaxLetter. He has extensive experience in succession planning for family business owners using Read More
The TaxLetter •2016-07-21 •
Developing an effective tax planning strategy for selling or transferring your business is not so simple. Potential successors or acquirers may be family members, non-family management or outside third party Read More
The TaxLetter •2016-06-09 •
Watch the mutual funds outside your registered accounts. Otherwise, you may find yourself on the hook for taxes if you buy just prior to an end-of-year capital gains distribution. And Read More
The TaxLetter •2016-05-17 •
The Liberal government’s 2016 federal budget was built around the theme of “growing the middle class”. Samantha Prasad, a tax partner with the Toronto-based law firm Minden Gross LLP, takes Read More
The MoneyLetter •2016-05-04 •
You must turn your RRSP into a RRIF or an annuity by the end of the year you turn 71. Otherwise you’ll receive all your RRSP money and have it Read More
The TaxLetter •2016-04-26 •
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
The TaxLetter •2016-04-05 •
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
The TaxLetter •2016-03-15 •
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
Investor's Digest of Canada •2016-02-24 •
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
The TaxLetter •2016-02-23 •
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
The TaxLetter •2016-02-02 •
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
The TaxLetter •2016-01-12 •
‘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
Investor's Digest of Canada •2015-12-29 •
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
The TaxLetter •2015-12-22 •
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 TaxLetter •2015-12-14 •
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
The TaxLetter •2015-11-09 •
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
The TaxLetter •2015-10-20 •
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
The Investment Reporter •2015-10-13 •
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
The TaxLetter •2015-09-29 •
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
Money Reporter •2015-09-16 •
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
The TaxLetter •2015-09-08 •
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
The TaxLetter •2015-08-18 •
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
The TaxLetter •2015-07-28 •
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
The TaxLetter •2015-07-09 •
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
The TaxLetter •2015-06-22 •
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 TaxLetter •2015-06-02 •
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
The TaxLetter •2015-05-12 •
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
Money Reporter •2015-04-23 •
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
The TaxLetter •2015-04-21 •
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
The TaxLetter •2015-03-31 •
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
The TaxLetter •2015-03-10 •
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
The TaxLetter •2015-02-17 •
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
The TaxLetter •2015-01-26 •
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
The TaxLetter •2015-01-05 •
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 TaxLetter •2014-12-15 •
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
The TaxLetter •2014-11-24 •
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