You Have a Bare Trust! The 2023 personal income tax season has been underway since February 19 2024 when CRA opened to e-filing. And for most taxpayers, there are not a lot of changes compared to the 2022 tax year. But there is a major change in reporting Bare Trusts...
Twenty years, 36,000 tax returns, and Wisdom February 2004 was the first time I started preparing tax returns for clients. The first year was very modest: only 40 tax returns. I was a financial advisor at the time and my clients had investments and life insurance that...
The New Canadian Dental Care Plan On December 11 2023, the federal government announced it will introduce the new Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP). The new dental plan will help ease financial barriers to accessing oral health care for eligible Canadian residents....
Were You Added as a Joint Owner? There have been two recent developments with Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) in the past couple of years and it may have an impact on more taxpayers than we (tax preparers) originally thought. The intention of this article is to put you on...
A reminder to those who qualify that we are in Period 2 of the Canada Dental Benefit and the Province of Manitoba is still accepting applications for the Hearing Aid Grant Canada Dental Benefit Period 2 Applications for period 2 of the Canada Dental Benefit are as of...
The new Underused Housing Tax came in effect January 1, 2022, and is mostly applicable for those who own residential property in Canada and are NOT Canadian Citizens or are NOT permanent residents. In a nutshell, the UHT is a one-percent tax on the value of...
Income Tested Benefits for Seniors There are many benefits mostly related to seniors that are income tested. The higher your income the less benefit you receive. There are three main ones: Guaranteed Income Supplement, Pharmacare, and Personal Care Home fees....
CRA and Estate Administration Estate administration takes time. A lot of the time is waiting for Canada Revenue Agency CRA. I am currently executor for three different estates and all three are getting near the end; and I can pay out the estate to the beneficiaries...
Grocery Rebate, GST credit, Climate Action Incentive, Manitoba Carbon Tax Relief Fund Every household will be receiving some credits or benefits from CRA Canada Revenue Agency in July 2023. Check your bank account in July for credits on July 5 and/or July 15. Grocery...
The previously announced program will open to applications on June 7. We still don’t know if the application format will be on-line or paper and mailed or both. Are you eligible? You need to be: Resident of Manitoba Be age 65 or over Have a household net income below...
Did you receive your annual letter from Manitoba Health that shows what your 2023 / 2024 Pharmacare Deductible is? The letters are dated mid April 2023. The current deductible is based on the 2021 tax year. Pharmacare is the drug benefit program for eligible...
Provincial and Federal Budgets There were many announcements made by both our provincial government and the federal government during the month of March. Here are a few items that will affect our personal income taxes and some benefits tied to taxable income. MANITOBA...
March 31 Deadlines and Tax Changes for Renters There are two benefits and rebates available:: one for low-income renters and one for those who own farmland. But the deadlines are fast approaching; the deadline for both of them is March 31, 2023. And there are some...
White Envelopes and MB Cheques An interesting notice came out mid January from Service Canada: Your mail from Service Canada “Service Canada usually sends mail in beige envelopes. This year, however, we will be sending your 2022 CPP Canada Pension Plan and OAS Old Age...
Lower Your Family Income and Increase Benefits First, Happy New Year to you and your family; I hope 2023 is a better year for everyone; healthy and more affordable; and I am optimistic that the world finds peace in 2023. There are two family benefits provided by the...
Canada Dental and Housing Benefits The federal government finally released some details about how these two new benefits will be administered and how individuals can apply for the benefits. Both benefits will be administered by Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and you will...
Extra GST Credit On October 18, the federal government announced that Canadians who receive the GST Good and Services Tax Credit for the benefit year July 2022 to April 2023, will receive their extra payment early November. Individual Canadians that are eligible will...
GST Extra Payment; Dental & Housing Benefits In September, the federal government announced some new and additional benefits for lower income Canadians. There will be an extra GST payment made before the end of the year. We still do not know when exactly it will...
Manitoba Government Issues Cheques to Families and Seniors On Wednesday August 31, our provincial government announced one-time payments to certain populations in our province, including families, some seniors, and an increase to the monthly payment for those...
CAI Rural Supplement; Shared Custody The Climate Action Incentive has been around since 2018, but this year is the first time it is being paid as a quarterly benefit payment instead of part of the income tax refund (or reduce taxes payable). The first payment was made...
OAS 10% increase for 75+ If you are 75 years old or older as of June 2022, you will get an automatic 10% increase of your Old Age Security pension starting July 2022. If you are turning 75 after June 30, 2022, you will receive the increase in the month following your...
Pharmacare is the drug benefit program for eligible Manitobans, regardless of disease or age, whose income is seriously affected by high prescription drug costs. Did you know you can request your Pharmacare Deductible be adjusted if your income has decreased?...
How did your income taxes go this year? Was your refund smaller than normal? Did you end up paying taxes for a change? There were two changes to the 2021 tax returns that impacted almost everyone. Climate Action Incentive First, the federal government announced that...
The Climate Action Incentive CAI payments for 2022 have been announced. They are about 15% higher than they were a year ago. And for 2022, the payments will be made throughout the year. There is more information at the end of this article. One-Time GIS Payment for...