Blog - Jones & O’Connell LLP

Making the RRSP decision when you turn 71

By Web AdminAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsJuly 23, 20260 comments

One’s 71st birthday is a very consequential event when it comes to retirement planning for Canadian taxpayers, and it’s an event which will be experienced by hundreds of thousands of Canadians during 2026. While saving for retirement through an employer-sponsored ...

How to respond to a first Instalment Reminder from the Canada Revenue Agency

By Web AdminAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsJuly 16, 20260 comments

#instalments #instalment #CRA #reminder #owing

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, and have either spent their tax refund or, more grudgingly, paid any balance of tax ...

When the taxman has a few questions about your return

By Web AdminAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsJuly 9, 20260 comments

#CRA #review #audited #audit #personal #tax #return #notice #of #reassessment

By the time summer arrives, the deadline for filing an individual income tax return for the previous year has come and gone for all individual Canadians. The majority of taxpayers were required to file that return for 2025 on or before April 30, 2026, while self-employed individuals ...

Claiming a deduction for moving costs

By Web AdminAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsJuly 2, 20260 comments

#moving #costs #deductions #saving #money #optimize #your #taxes

While the Canadian housing market overall is down significantly from its peak in early 2022, houses continue to be bought and sold, and each such purchase and sale means a move for multiple households. The downturn in residential real estate prices has, in some instances, allowed ...

A mid-year check-up on your taxes for 2026

By Web AdminAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsJune 25, 20260 comments

Most Canadians are likely of the view, having just gone through the process of pulling together various sources of information on income and deductions and having dutifully prepared and filed an income tax return for the 2025 tax year, that they can happily put the subject of income ...

When household debt becomes unmanageable

By Web AdminAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsJune 18, 20260 comments

It’s no secret that Canadian households have, over the past few months and years, been subjected to a series of financial and economic “hits” which have left many such households struggling to maintain their financial stability, or even to meet everyday expenses ...

When and how to dispute your Notice of Assessment

By Web AdminAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsJune 11, 20260 comments

Between February and May of 2026, just over 30 million individual income tax returns for the 2025 tax year were filed with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). And, while each one of those returns was different with respect to income reported and deduction and credit claims ...

Upcoming changes to federal tax benefit and credit programs

By Web AdminAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsJune 4, 20260 comments

While the view of many Canadians, especially at tax return filing time, is that our tax system exists solely to take money out of their pockets, the reality is far more nuanced. It is certainly true that Canadian tax laws cast a very wide net, in which very few sources of income ...

New Quarterly Newsletters

By Web AdminAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsMay 28, 20260 comments

Two quarterly newsletters have been added – one dealing with personal issues, and one dealing with corporate issues. They can be accessed below. Corporate: Issue #76 Corporate Personal: Issue #76 Personal The information presented is only of a general nature, may omit many ...

Targeted tax relief measures announced in 2026 Spring Economic Update

By Web AdminAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsMay 21, 20260 comments

The 2026 Spring Economic Update delivered by the Minister of Finance on April 28 included a number of targeted tax relief measures for Canadian individual taxpayers. Some of those measures are summarized below. Changes to Disability Tax Credit certification program Canadians who ...

Avoiding (or minimizing) the Old Age Security clawback

By Web AdminAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsMay 14, 20260 comments

For most taxpayers, the worst-case outcome when completing their tax return for the previous year is finding out that they owe an additional tax amount to the federal government. However, for Canadians who are receiving Old Age Security (OAS) benefits, there can be additional bad ...

When you make a mistake on your tax return

By Web AdminAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsMay 7, 20260 comments

When the filing of the required annual tax return goes entirely as planned and hoped, the taxpayer will have prepared a return that is complete and correct and filed that return by the required filing deadline. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) will issue a Notice of Assessment indicating ...

When help is available under the CRA’s Taxpayer Relief Provisions

By Web AdminAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsApril 30, 20260 comments

The Canadian tax system is what is termed a self-assessing system, in which taxpayers take the initiative to complete and file a tax return each year. In that tax return they provide information on income earned during the previous year, claim any tax deductions and credits to which ...

Claiming a tax deduction for child care expenses incurred

By Web AdminAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsApril 23, 20260 comments

While the rules of the Canadian tax system include a great number of tax deduction and credit claims which can be made by individuals, the general rule is that personal living expenses do not, in most cases, qualify for any kind of tax assistance or tax relief. However (and fortunately ...

Making a payment arrangement with the CRA

By Web AdminAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsApril 16, 20260 comments

Very few Canadians look forward to the annual chore of completing and filing their income tax return, and that experience isn’t improved by finding out, once the return is completed, that additional tax amounts are owed to the CRA. Unfortunately, that’s an experience ...

Claiming the political contribution tax credit on your 2025 tax return

By Web AdminAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsApril 9, 20260 comments

2025 was a busy year in Canadian politics. In addition to the general federal election, elections were held in two provinces (Ontario and Newfoundland) and two of the territories (Nunavut and Yukon Territory). In addition, there were no fewer than thirteen by-elections and eleven ...