Koroll & Company Blog

When it comes to questions around personal finance, two issues tend to dominate current discussions. The first is whether and to what extent Canadians are financially prepared for retirement, and the second is the seemingly inexorable increase in the value of residential real estate. For many retired Canadians, those two issues are very much interlinked. 

Most Canadians are eligible to receive Canada Pension Plan(CPP) and Old Age Security (OAS) payments in retirement. While those two programs provide the “backbone” of retirement income in Canada, they are almost never enough, on their own, to provide for a comfortable standard of living in retirement.

Having access to mobile communications is useful and practical for any number of reasons. In fact, Canadians who don’t have a cell or smart phone are likely now the exception, rather than the rule. But, did you know that cellphone rates payable by Canadians are among the highest in the world? As such, having an employer provide a cellphone (and pay the associated costs) is consequently a valued employment benefit.

That being said, Canadians who enjoy such an employment benefit should be aware that, while they may not have to pay a monthly cell phone bill, there still can be a cost in the form of a taxable benefit, as with an employer-provided vehicle, which must be reported on the annual return.  

Teaching supplies can be expensive and while many schools provide the essentials, teachers are often expected to contribute their own art supplies, educational decor, puzzles/games and similar items. While these items may not be seen as essential to a child's education they are important in providing students with a positive learning environment.

It's for this reason that the Government of Canada has decided to reward the generosity of teachers and educators across Canada with a new tax credit called the Teacher and Early Childhood Educator (ECEs) School Supply Tax Benefit. 

While our health care system is not without its problems, Canadians are fortunate to benefit from a publicly funded system in which individuals are not required to pay personally for the cost of necessary medical care. Generally speaking, acute care provided in a hospital setting is covered by that system, as is more routine care provided by physicians in their offices. 

Canadians who, as the result of illness or accident, require care in our medical system are nonetheless often surprised to find that there is a long and ever-increasing list of expenses which are not covered by government-sponsored health care, or for which the individual is required to make at least a partial payment.

By the time this summer reached the halfway mark, most Canadian taxpayers have filed a tax return for 2015, received a Notice of Assessment with respect to that return, and considered that their income tax obligations for this year were complete.

For a significant number of those taxpayers, however, the filing of that return will trigger the issuance of a 2016 Tax Instalment Reminder from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), and that reminder will show up in their mailboxes sometime during the month of August. On that form, the CRA will suggest to the recipient that he or she should make instalment payments of income tax on September 15 and December 15, 2016, and will identify the amount which should be paid on each date.

The fact that the cost of residential real estate in Canada’s largest cities has reached unaffordable levels for most Canadians, especially young families, isn’t really news any more. What’s relatively new, however, is that significant price increases are now being seen in cities which are within daily driving range of those major cities, presumably as individuals and families move further and further out in search of affordable housing.

As the summer starts to wind down, students returning to their post-secondary institutions, and those just starting post-secondary education, must focus on the details of the upcoming school year: finding a place to live, choosing courses, and — perhaps most important — arranging payment of tuition and other education-related bills.

Home renovations are big in Canada right now, as many homeowners are opting to make changes and/or additions to their current residences rather than try to find a new home in the current real estate market. And, while the cost of renovating one’s home is usually considered a personal expense, which doesn’t qualify for any tax credit or deduction, starting this year there is an exception to that rule.

For 2016 and subsequent taxation years, a non-refundable tax credit can be claimed for home renovation work that's completed to make it easier and/or safer for a senior or disabled individual to live in their home.