Best Practices

CRA Makes Changes To The Voluntary Disclosures Program Canada’s tax system is what is known as a “self-assessing” one, in which taxpayers are expected (in fact, in most cases, required) to take the initiative to prepare and file an annual tax return by a specified deadline, to report all taxable income on that return, claim […]

When are Home Office Expenses Deductible In 2025 For individual Canadians, one of the few positive aspects of the recent pandemic was the opportunity it provided to work from home – first as a mandated public health necessity and later as a choice provided by employers. For most employees, working from home was a welcome

Maximizing The Medical Expense Tax Credit For 2025 Notwithstanding the fact that Canada has a publicly funded health care system, the reality is that each year millions of individual Canadians incur medical and para-medical expenses (like prescription drug costs) which can be significant and which are not covered by that public health care system. Absent

Accessing Home Equity In Retirement It’s an acknowledged fact that the cost of living has been on a steady upward trend for the past several years. Making that trend even more problematic is the reality that such cost increases have been greatest in areas where eliminating or cutting back on expenditures is hardest. Food prices,

Some tax breaks for the upcoming post-secondary school year As September approaches, students who are beginning post-secondary education this year have received one or more offers of admission and then chosen a college or university, have hopefully been offered a place in a university residence or have secured off-campus housing, and are making final plans

Claiming a tax credit for adoption expenses Tax Credit The process of adopting a child is often a lengthy one, in which a myriad of requirements must be met and legal processes followed. Where the adoption is an international one, the process can be even lengthier and more complex, as often the legal requirements of

Making the most of the Tax-Free Savings Account program Tax-free savings accounts (TFSAs) have been a part of the Canadian tax system since 2009, and the TFSA program can be utilized by more Canadians than any other tax-advantaged savings program. And Canadians have clearly recognized the benefits: Canada Revenue Agency statistics show that, as of

When the CRA comes calling – dealing with the return verification process By the time the end of summer approaches, the tax return filing deadline for all Canadian individual taxpayers has passed, and nearly all tax filers will have filed the required return for the 2024 tax year and received a Notice of Assessment from

Making use of the First Home Savings Account program The Canadian tax system provides a number of opportunities for taxpayers to save on a tax-assisted basis. Most Canadians are familiar with registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs) and many are also aware of the availability of the tax-free savings account (TFSA). The newest (and probably least

Using the CRA’s online services – signing up for My Account Over the past few decades the Canada Revenue Agency, like many other organizations and businesses, has gradually shifted to providing more and more of its services online, through its website. The Agency has been remarkably successful in bringing the Canadian taxpayer along with those