Blog - Jones & O’Connell LLP

What to do When You Can't Pay Your Tax Bill on Time

By Amanda CoombesAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsApril 24, 20250 comments

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 completed, what the “bottom line” will be, and it’s usually a case ...

Planning to Avoid the Old Age Security Clawblack

By Amanda CoombesAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsApril 17, 20250 comments

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 return will result in the need to pay a tax amount owing. Taxpayers who are recipients ...

Making Sure You Don't Fall Victim to a Tax Scam

By Amanda CoombesAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsApril 10, 20250 comments

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 majority of Canadian taxpayers will file a return for 2024 with the Canada Revenue Agency. ...

How, When and Where to Pay Your Taxes for 2024

By Amanda CoombesAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsApril 3, 20250 comments

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 circumstances. That rule is that income tax owed for a year must be paid, in full, ...

What's New on the Tax Return for 2024

By Amanda CoombesAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsMarch 27, 20250 comments

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 that change is reflected in amendments made to each year’s tax return form, ...

The CPP Post-Retirement Benefit - Deciding Whether to Continue Contributing

By Amanda CoombesAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsMarch 20, 20250 comments

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 retiree would begin to receive Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Old Age Security (OAS) ...

Some Last-Minute Tax Filing Strategies - What (and What Not) to Claim

By Amanda CoombesAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsMarch 13, 20250 comments

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 spring of 2025, when the deadline for filing a tax return for 2024 approaches. ...

How to Prepare and File Your 2024 Tax Return

By Amanda CoombesAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsMarch 6, 20250 comments

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 doubtful that many of them do so with any degree of enthusiasm, the rate of compliance ...

RRSPs, TFSAs, and FHSAs – Making the Annual Choice

By Amanda CoombesAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsFebruary 27, 20250 comments

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 off the bills from holiday spending. The first income tax instalment payment of ...

Reporting Online Income on the 2024 Tax Return

By Amanda CoombesAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsFebruary 20, 20250 comments

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 “self-assessing” system, in which Canadian residents voluntarily file an ...

Pension Income Splitting for the 2024 Tax Year

By Amanda CoombesAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsFebruary 13, 20250 comments

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 increase that income in any significant way are limited. As well, in recent years, inflation ...

How to Respond to a Tax Instalment Reminder

By Amanda CoombesAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsFebruary 6, 20250 comments

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 employees, because income taxes (and other statutory deductions like Canada Pension ...

Canada Pension Plan Contributions for 2025

By Amanda CoombesAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsJanuary 30, 20250 comments

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. First tier contributions for 2025 are set at 5.95% of pensionable earnings between $3,500 ...

Employment Insurance Premiums for 2025

By Amanda CoombesAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsJanuary 23, 20250 comments

The Employment Insurance premium rate for 2025 is set at 1.64%. Yearly maximum insurable earnings are increased to $65,700, making the maximum employee premium $1,077.48. As in previous years, employer premiums are 1.4 times the employee premium. The maximum employer premium for 2025 ...

Federal Individual Tax Credits for 2025

By Amanda CoombesAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsJanuary 16, 20250 comments

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: &nb ...

Federal Individual Tax Rates and Brackets for 2025

By Amanda CoombesAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsJanuary 9, 20250 comments

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. Income level Federal ...