5 - Blog - Jones & O’Connell LLP

When the taxman has a few questions about your return

By Amanda CoombesAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsAugust 10, 20230 comments

By mid to late summer, almost every Canadian has filed his or her income tax return for the previous year and has received the Notice of Assessment issued by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) with respect to that tax filing. Most taxpayers, therefore, would consider that their annual ...

Managing debt in a (continually) rising interest rate environment

By Amanda CoombesAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsAugust 3, 20230 comments

Between 2009 and early 2022, Canadians lived (and borrowed) in an ultra-low interest rate environment. Between January 2009 and March 2022, the bank rate (from which commercial interest rates are determined) was (except, briefly, in the fall of 2018) never higher than 1.50% – ...

Making the RRSP decision when you turn 71

By Amanda CoombesAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsJuly 27, 20230 comments

The age at which Canadians retire and begin deriving income from government and private pensions and private retirement savings has become something of a moving target. At one time, reaching one’s 65th birthday marked the transition from working life to full retirement, ...

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

By Amanda CoombesAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsJuly 20, 20230 comments

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 ...

The start of a new benefit year - what can you receive in 2023-24?

By Amanda CoombesAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsJuly 13, 20230 comments

At a time when Canadian households are coping simultaneously with ongoing inflation, especially food inflation, as well as interest rates which are at their highest point in decades, every dollar of income counts. And where that income can be obtained with minimal effort, and received ...

Claiming a deduction for summer child care costs

By Amanda CoombesAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsJuly 6, 20230 comments

With the worst days of the pandemic behind us, more and more Canadian families have returned to their usual schedule, with kids back in attendance at school and parents back at work at the office, on either a full-time or a part-time basis. While a return to the normal routine is ...

Claiming the principal residence exemption in 2023 – some new rules

By Amanda CoombesAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsJune 29, 20230 comments

The purchase of a first home is a milestone in anyone’s life, for many reasons. A home purchase is likely the largest single financial transaction most Canadians will enter into in their lives, and having the ability to buy one’s own home has traditionally been perceived ...

Making sure your taxes for 2023 are on track

By Amanda CoombesAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsJune 22, 20230 comments

Many, if not most, taxpayers think of tax planning as a year-end exercise to be carried out in the last few weeks of the year, with a view to taking the steps needed to minimize the tax bill for the current year. And it’s true that almost all strategies needed to both minimize ...

Claiming a deduction for moving costs

By Amanda CoombesAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsJune 15, 20230 comments

Sales of residential real estate across Canada are, after a slowdown in 2022, once again on the rise. Back-to-back increases in sales figures during February and March 2023 were followed by a double digit increase in such sales during the month of April. Those figures mean that tens ...

Upcoming changes to the Canada Pension Plan

By Amanda CoombesAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsJune 8, 20230 comments

Canada’s retirement income system is made up of two public retirement income programs – the Old Age Security program and the Canada Pension Plan – as well as the opportunity to accumulate private retirement savings on a tax-assisted basis, through registered pension ...

When you make a mistake on your tax return

By Jones & O'Connell LLPAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsMay 13, 20220 comments

For the majority of Canadians, the due date for filing of an individual tax return for the 2021 tax year was Monday May 2, 2022. (Self-employed Canadians and their spouses have until Wednesday June 15, 2022 to get that return filed.) When things go entirely as planned and hoped, ...

Employment Insurance Premiums for 2022

By Jones & O'Connell LLPAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsFebruary 2, 20220 comments

The Employment Insurance premium rate for 2022 is unchanged at 1.58%. Yearly maximum insurable earnings are set at $60,300, making the maximum employee premium $952.74. As in previous years, employer premiums are 1.4 times the employee premium. The maximum employer premium for 2022 ...

Canada Pension Plan Contributions for 2022

By Jones & O'Connell LLPAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsFebruary 2, 20220 comments

The Canada Pension Plan contribution rate for 2022 is set at 5.7% of pensionable earnings for the year. Maximum pensionable earnings for the year will be $64,900, and the basic exemption is unchanged at $3,500. The maximum employer and employee contributions to the plan for 2022 will ...

Tax deadlines and limits for the 2022 tax year

By Jones & O'Connell LLPAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsJanuary 19, 20220 comments

Each new tax year brings with it a listing of tax payment and filing deadlines, as well as some changes with respect to tax saving and planning strategies. Some of the more significant dates and changes for individual taxpayers for 2022 are listed below. RRSP deduction limit and contribution ...

Tax consequences of employer holiday gifts and bonuses

By Jones & O'Connell LLPAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsDecember 20, 20210 comments

During the month of December, it’s customary for employers to provide something “extra” for their employees, by way of a holiday gift, a year-end bonus, or an employer-sponsored social event. Once again this year, as in 2020, there is unlikely to be an annual office ...

Federal government provides details of new Tourism and Hospitality Recovery Program

By Jones & O'Connell LLPAccounting, Auditing, Tax & Consulting NewsDecember 14, 20210 comments

In October, the federal government outlined the next stage of its pandemic recovery benefit programs, which focused on provided support to businesses in the economic sectors hit hardest by the pandemic. Among the programs introduced was the Tourism and Hospitality Recovery Program ...