Koroll & Company Blog

Planning for 2016 taxes when the year has barely started and the filing deadline for 2015 returns is still months away may seem more than a little premature. Nonetheless, taking some time to review one’s tax situation—and perhaps putting a few strategies in place—at the beginning of the year can help avoid a cash flow crisis or other financial shock when the RRSP contribution deadline looms or it is tax filing (and tax payment) time in the spring of 2017. And, while many tax planning and tax saving strategies can be implemented throughout the tax year, getting an early start on such planning usually leads to the best results.

The Canadian income tax system, as it applies to individuals, operates on a calendar year basis. While there are a few exceptions (RRSP contributions and pension income splitting being the important ones), the general rule is that, in order to be effective for a particular taxation year, tax planning strategies must be implemented before the end of that year.

Old Age Security (or OAS) is one the two main components of Canada’s government-sponsored retirement income system—the other being the Canada Pension Plan (CPP). There are also federal and provincial supplements which are available to lower-income seniors. While many retired Canadians receive both OAS and CPP benefits every month, the two plans are quite different. The only determinants of the amount of Canada Pension Plan benefits receivable are one’s contribution amount and the age at which one elects to begin receiving benefits; other sources of available income or one’s overall income level are not considered. Eligibility for OAS, on the other hand, is based on Canadian residency. Essentially, a person aged 65 and older who has lived in Canada for at least forty years after the age of 18 is eligible for full OAS benefits. Where the length of Canadian residency after age 18 is less than forty years, a partial pension is earned at the rate of 1/40th of the full monthly pension for each full year lived in Canada. OAS benefits are fully indexed to inflation.

It seems not entirely in the spirit of the upcoming holidays to be talking about potential tax liability arising from holiday gifts. And it should be noted that, in the vast majority of cases, there are no tax consequences to such gifts. Where, however, gifts are provided by an employer to employees, unintended (and unwelcome) employee tax liability can be the result.

Generally speaking, and absent extraordinary circumstances, the federal government issues two major economic and fiscal documents each year. The first is the federal Budget, which is usually delivered in the late winter or early spring, and outlines the government’s plans and projections with respect to federal government revenues and expenditures for the upcoming (April 1 to March 31) fiscal year, along with any new tax measures which the government intends to implement. About halfway through the fiscal year, usually during month of October, the federal government releases its Economic and Fiscal Update. As the name implies, this release updates the information announced in the federal Budget, especially with respect to revenue and expense projections, the overall state of the Canadian economy, and whether a change is required to the surplus or deficit projection provided in the Budget for the current fiscal year.

One of the many changes resulting from developments in Canada’s economy over the past quarter century has been the need for, more or less, continuous learning. At one time, it was possible to set a career goal, acquire the necessary training or skills for that work and make a lifelong career in that field. It’s abundantly clear that that is no longer the reality for most Canadian workers, whatever their field of work.

In some cases, skills have been acquired to work in sectors, like the manufacturing sector, which no longer employs Canadians in the numbers it once did. In other cases, changes—especially changes in technology—have created the need to learn new skills in order to continue to work and advance in one’s chosen field. Finally, today’s economy of contract positions and part-time work means that most Canadians will change jobs and career paths several times throughout their working lives, and that some of those changes will involve a move into a different field altogether.

Thousands of Canadians, usually retirees, spend some or all of the Canadian winter as far south of the border as possible, often in Florida or Arizona. While the declining value of the Canadian dollar has made such sojourns much more expensive, meaning that some vacation plans may have to be scaled back, many Canadians will be planning at least a short stay in a warmer place this winter.