This time of year the taxes that most Canadians are thinking of are the 2013 income taxes due on April 30. However, many Canadians will be reminded that the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is already thinking of taxes which will be owed for 2014 when they find an instalment reminder in their mail. For Canadians who have received many of such notices in the past, the reminder and the tax instalment process are familiar, although not necessarily welcome. For those who are new to that process, however, both the reminder itself and figuring out how to deal with it can be baffling.
Under Canadian law, all residents of Canada are subject to Canadian income tax. However, the reach of the Canadian tax system does not stop at the Canadian border, as all Canadian residents are taxable on their worldwide income, no matter where that income arises.
As December 31st approaches, the need to decide on and implement tax planning strategies for the year becomes top-of-mind for many Canadians. Under general tax rules, tax-free savings account (TFSA) contributions and withdrawals can be made at any time during the year, and registered retirement savings plans (RRSP) contributions for 2013 don’t generally have to be made before March 1, 2014. As outlined below, there are some situations, however, in which planning strategies involving TFSAs and RRSPs have to be put in place by the end of the calendar year.
The time of year is approaching when many Canadian employees look forward to something “extra” from their employer such as a Christmas or Hanukkah gift, a year-end bonus, or an invitation to the annual employer-sponsored holiday party. While it doesn’t necessarily fit well with the holiday spirit, it’s a fact that many such gifts (even, sometimes, attendance at the annual employee holiday party) may have tax consequences, sometimes in unexpected ways.
Every year, thousands of Canadians (mostly retirees) escape our winter by traveling south, usually to the U.S., for periods lasting up to even the entirety of winter. And while the value of the Canadian dollar relative to the U.S. dollar changes on a daily basis, the two currencies have been close to par now (or the Canadian dollar above par) for the last few years, making the cost of such a vacation easier to manage.
For most Canadians, spending hard-earned money on legal fees is about as appealing a prospect as paying income taxes. And, to make matters worse, a need for legal services is often associated with life’s more unwelcome occurrences (e.g., divorce, death, job loss, etc.). About the only thing that mitigates the pain of paying legal fees (aside, hopefully, from a successful resolution of the problem that created the need for legal advice) is being able to claim a tax credit or deduction for the fees paid.
For many Canadians planning their retirement, a pervasive worry is outliving one’s savings. A big part of the reason why they fear such an eventuality is that such savings could as a result of unexpected major medical costs be depleted.
The Canada Revenue Agency doesn’t publish information or statistics on the number of individual taxpayers who owe it money in the form of back taxes, interest, or penalties. Nonetheless, it is a safe assumption that some percentage of the 25 million or so Canadians who filed a tax return this past spring either couldn’t pay their 2012 taxes when due or still owe money from past years – or both. Being unable to pay one’s bills on time and as due obviously isn’t desirable no matter who the creditor is. There are, however, a number of detailed reasons why owing money to the tax authorities is a particularly bad situation to be in.
