Unfortunately, this COVID-19 year has caused many of us to think about our own mortality, but it also gives us a lesson in taxes. The federal deficit for 2019 was $26.7 billion but is estimated to balloon to $184 billion and quite likely more next year with COVID-related additional program spending. Federal debt (accumulated deficit) […] Read more
Author Archives
Death will result in tax implications for RRSPs, RRIFs
Feds urged to waive mandatory RRIF withdrawal rules
Can my Registered Retirement Income Fund catch the COVID-19 virus? Unfortunately, in a way, it has already. Although the impact of COVID-19 on health and mortality is the most critical issue, it has rendered the Canadian and world economies sick as well. The government has acknowledged this by placing in motion several programs to buffer […] Read more
Add to your CPP payout with a post retirement benefit
If understanding the Canadian tax code can be mind-numbing. Getting the gist of the Canada Pension Plan’s Post Retirement Benefit program can be equally confusing. At one time, the rules were relatively simple. If you decided to receive CPP (whether it was early at age 60, or 65 or 69), you stopped making contributions to […] Read more
Is the late rush to top up an RRSP account worth the trouble?
Every year many (even most) eligible Canadians wait until the deadline to contribute to their Registered Retirement Savings Plans. This year, that deadline is March 2 to make your 2019 contribution to benefit from the resulting tax deduction for the past year. The deduction limit for 2019 is the lesser of 18 percent of your […] Read more
Taxing near-cash or non-cash benefits to employees
We previously discussed the benefits and limitations of paying a spouse or children for work on the farm. Usually, for record-keeping purposes it is most effective to issue cash amounts by cheque to meet the conditions set out by the Canada Revenue Agency. There are other means of employee compensation, however, that are referred to […] Read more
Use caution when paying family members for farm work
Farming in Canada has always been a family intensive business, even on larger incorporated farm enterprises. Spouses in many cases are full partners in the process and chief bookkeepers for the business. Part of normal childhood education on the farm is an ongoing list of farm chores, which can include everything from field preparation, planting, […] Read more
Timing critical when jumping on the CPP bandwagon
You can start collecting your Canada Pension Plan benefits as early as one month after you turn 60 or as late as age 70. Many people claim that since there is no best-before date on your birth certificate and no one really knows how long they have to live, it is better to take your […] Read more
Double tax standard can complicate selling your business
So you want to sell your business to another corporation with no family ties to you. That is considered an arm’s length deal and you can claim your lifetime capital exemption. Try and do the same with a family member. That’s called a non-arm’s-length deal, and a nasty bit of the Income Tax Act kicks […] Read more
A farm asset transfer crisis is looming on the Prairies
According to Agriculture Canada the total value of farmland and buildings in Canada amounted to $427.9 billion in 2016. In the same year, the total value of farm machinery and equipment owned and leased by farm operators added another $53.9 billion to the asset base. The fastest-growing age group in the farm population was operators […] Read more
The pitfalls of payroll deductions and remittance for employers
Granted, payroll obligations are not a simple procedure and the red tape may seem overwhelming at times but it is one area that attracts close scrutiny from the Canada Revenue Agency. Essentially, you have to record and remit deductions for Canada Pension Plan (CPP), employment insurance (EI) and all federal, provincial or territorial income taxes. […] Read more
