Blog - Jones & O’Connell LLP

Tax Consequences of Holiday Gifts and Celebrations

By Amanda CoombesAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsDecember 27, 20240 comments

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 of an income tax bill arising from such activities does intrude. Fortunately, there ...

Tax Planning Steps to Take Before December 31, 2024

By Amanda CoombesAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsDecember 19, 20240 comments

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 season are focused on anything but their 2024 income taxes, the reality is that December ...

Some New Tax Breaks From The Federal Government

By Amanda CoombesAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsDecember 12, 20240 comments

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 stress arises, in large measure, from the steady increase in the cost of goods and ...

Figuring Out When You Can Afford to Retire

By Amanda CoombesAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsDecember 5, 20240 comments

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 one. Particularly when the cost of life’s necessities – especially ...

Claiming Home Office Expenses for 2024

By Amanda CoombesAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsNovember 28, 20240 comments

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. Relatively few employees still work from home on a full-time basis – many have returned ...

Year-End Planning for Your RRSP, RRIF and TFSA

By Amanda CoombesAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsNovember 21, 20240 comments

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 contributions to one’s registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) comes 60 days after ...

Looking Ahead to 2025 - Getting Source Deductions Right From The Start

By Amanda CoombesAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsNovember 14, 20240 comments

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 months, starting with the first paycheque they receive in January. For most Canadians, ...

New Rules for Reporting of Income from Online Sales

By Amanda CoombesAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsNovember 7, 20240 comments

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 reported, and the amount of tax owed on that income calculated and paid. While ...

Tax Planning for Year-End Charitable Donations

By Amanda CoombesAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsOctober 24, 20240 comments

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. And generally, those appeals are met, as Canadians have a well-deserved reputation ...

Claiming the Canada Carbon Rebate

By Amanda CoombesAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsOctober 17, 20240 comments

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 (CCR). That rebate (formerly known as the Climate Action Incentive Payment) is a ...

Deciding When to Begin Receiving Old Age Security Benefits

By Amanda CoombesAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsOctober 10, 20240 comments

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 monthly payments to Canadians, there are significant differences between the ...

Finance Announces Additional Changes to Mortgage Lending Rules

By Amanda CoombesAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsOctober 3, 20240 comments

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 for first-time home buyers to qualify for a mortgage, and providing an incentive to ...

Year-End Planning for Medical Expense Claims

By Amanda CoombesAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsSeptember 26, 20240 comments

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 are covered by provincial health care plans. Notwithstanding, there is a large (and ...

When Help is Available Under the CRA's Taxpayer Relief Provisions

By Amanda CoombesAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsSeptember 19, 20240 comments

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 high – most Canadian taxpayers comply with those tax obligations, filing ...

The Benefits - and Costs - of Extending your Mortgage

By Amanda CoombesAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsSeptember 12, 20240 comments

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% by the end of 2022, and, finally, interest rate increases which saw the Bank Rate ...

Claiming the Canada Child Benefit

By Amanda CoombesAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsSeptember 5, 20240 comments

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 generous of those programs is the Canada Child Benefit (CCB). The CCB ...