A September 6, 2024 Tax Court of Canada case reviewed whether a taxpayer’s employment by a corporation owned by her brother was insurable. The taxpayer performed various office duties for the corporation. As the taxpayer was related to the corporation, she was non-arm’s length to the employer. A non-arm’s length employee is engaged in insurable… Read more »

Taxpayers who contribute excess amounts to their TFSA are subject to a penalty tax of 1%/month that the excess contribution remains in the TFSA. If subject to the tax, an individual may apply to have the tax waived. If the individual is unsuccessful after the CRA’s first and second review of the application, the individual… Read more »

Individuals can start collecting Canada Pension Plan (CPP) retirement benefits as early as age 60. However, benefits are decreased by 0.6%/month (7.2% per year) prior to age 65 for a maximum reduction of 36%. They are increased by 0.7%/month (8.4% per year) that CPP is delayed past age 65 to a maximum increase of 42%… Read more »

In the Spring of 2025, CRA will change the default method of correspondence for most businesses to online only. This means that most businesses will receive their notices of assessment, letters, forms, statements and other documents from CRA through My Business Account rather than by traditional mail. Notifications that new mail is available online will… Read more »

For the December 14, 2024 to February 15, 2025 period, certain items normally subject to GST/HST should not have GST/HST applied at the point of sale. Businesses selling these goods can still claim input tax credits for the GST/HST they paid on inputs acquired to supply the good, as they are zero-rated. The types of… Read more »

Several changes have been introduced to targeted measures and benefits under the Canada Pension Plan (CPP). None of the below changes are expected to impact contribution rates. Death benefit The CPP death benefit is increased to $5,000 (from $2,500) where all of the following criteria are met: – the estate would otherwise be eligible for the… Read more »

The capital gains inclusion rate has been proposed to increase from 50% to 2/3, effective June 25, 2024, for corporations and most trusts as well as for the portion of capital gains realized in the year that exceeds $250,000 for individuals, graduated rate estates and qualified disability trusts. While the proposals to increase the capital… Read more »

A recent communication from CRA indicated that they have roughly 400 ongoing audits or examinations related to crypto-assets, including 125 “intent to audit” letters sent to taxpayers that they believe did not report income obtained through cryptocurrency trading on Coinsquare. In 2021, CRA required Coinsquare, via an unnamed persons requirement (UPR), to provide information on… Read more »

Some quick points to consider… – The limit on the deduction for non-taxable allowances paid by an employer to an employee using a personal vehicle for business purposes will increase in 2025 by 2 cents to 72 cents per km for the first 5,000 km driven and to 66 cents for each additional km (higher… Read more »

In a recent Tax Tip, CRA stated that an acceptable receipt for income tax purposes must contain all of the following: – the date of the purchase; – the name and address of the seller; – the name and address of the buyer; – the full description of the goods or services purchased; and –… Read more »