If you receive a telephone call, voice mail, or email asking for personal, credit card, and bank account information it maybe a tax scam from someone is not from Canada Revenue Agency (i.e. “CRA”):
Be aware that the CRA will never:
Contact anyone for personal or financial information,
Request payments from prepaid credit cards or iTunes gift cards,
Give personal information to a third party,
Leave personal information on voicemail,
Send email with a link and ask for personal or financial information, or
Ask for personal information of any kind by email or text message
About Expert Fiscaliste
Contact Expert Fiscaliste
Expert Fiscaliste provides Canadian and international income tax preparation and consulting services to individuals, businesses, and trusts.
If you want to take advantage of our services for your tax return. Give us a call at 514-954-9031, or visit our Contact Tax Experts page.
Universal child care benefit (UCCB) – The UCCB has
increased to $160 per month for each qualified dependant under 6 years of age and there is a new benefit of $60 per month for each qualified dependant aged 6 through 17.
Child care expenses – The maximum limit per child has increased by $1,000.
Family caregiver amount for children under 18 years of age – The amount for children under 18 years of age has been eliminated and replaced by the enhanced universal child care benefit.
Family tax cut – For 2014 and later years, the calculation for the family tax cut has been revised to allow unused tuition, education, and textbook amounts transferred from a spouse or common-law partner.
Children’s fitness tax credit – The children’s fitness tax credit is now a refundable credit.
family
Tax-free savings accounts are available for Canadian residents who are 18 years of age or older. The first tax year that they were available was 2009.
There is no deadline for contributions to a TFSA, as the unused contribution room is carried forward into the next year. However, a withdrawal in any year increases the TFSA room in the following calendar year. Thus, if you are thinking of making a withdrawal close to year end, make sure it is done by December 31st, in order to have the withdrawal amount added back to the TFSA room sooner.
If you hold a corporate class mutual fund, or plan to purchase one, we want to make sure you’re aware of an upcoming change that could affect you. The 2016 federal budget includes a change to all corporate class funds that eliminates the ability to switch between different classes of shares within a mutual fund corporation without triggering a capital gain or loss, effective October 1, 2016.
You must file a return for 2015 if any of the following situations apply:
You have to pay tax for 2015.
You have received a request to file a return for 2015.
You and your spouse or common-law partner elected to split pension income for 2015.
You received working income tax benefit (WITB) advance payments in 2015.
You disposed of capital property in 2015 (for example, if you sold real estate or shares) or you realized a taxable capital gain (for example, if a mutual fund or trust attributed income to you, or you are reporting a capital gains reserve you claimed on your 2014 return).
You have to repay any of your old age security or employment insurance benefits.
You have not repaid all amounts withdrawn from your registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) under the Home Buyers’ Plan or the Lifelong Learning Plan.
You have to contribute to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP). This can apply if for 2015 the total of your net self-employment income and pensionable employment income is more than $3,500.
You are paying employment insurance premiums on self-employment and other eligible earnings.
Even if none of these requirements apply, you can file a return for other reasons:
CRA now allows tax return preparers to electronically transmit PAD agreements to authorize CRA to debit a predetermined amount directly in a taxpayers bank account, at a specified date, to pay the income tax of this taxpayer. To transmit a PAD agreement, complete Part F, “Pre-authorized debit agreement”, of Form T183.
Generally, your return for 2015 has to be filed on or before April 30, 2016. For the 2015 taxation year April 30th due date falls on a Saturday, and CRA will consider your return to be filed on time if we receive it or it is postmarked on the next business day or May 2, 2016.
Self-employed persons
If you or your spouse or common-law partner carried on a business in 2015 has to be filed on or before June 15, 2016. However, if you have a balance owing for 2015, you have to pay it on or before April 30, 2016.
Filing Late Tax Returns & Penalties
Interest
If you have a balance owing for the year, you are charged compound daily interest starting May 1 on any unpaid amounts owing. This includes any balance owing if your return is reassessed. In addition, you will be charged interest on the penalties starting the day after your return is due. The rate of interest you are charged can change every three months. If you have amounts owing from previous years, they will continue to charge compound daily interest on those amounts. Payments you make are first applied to amounts owing from previous years.
Late-filing penalty
If you owe tax and do not file your return on time, you will be charged a late-filing penalty. The penalty is 5% of your current tax year balance owing, plus 1% of your balance owing for each full month that your return is late, to a maximum of 12 months. If you were charged a late-filing penalty on your return for any of the previous three years your late-filing penalty for this year may be 10% of your current tax year balance
About Expert Fiscaliste
Contact Expert Fiscaliste
Expert Fiscaliste provides Canadian and international income tax preparation and consulting services to individuals, businesses, and trusts.
If you want to take advantage of our services for your tax return. Give us a call at 514-954-9031, or visit our Contact Tax Experts page.
Need more time to prepare your US federal tax return?
April 18 is the deadline for most to pay taxes owed and avoid penalty and interest charges.
If you cannot file by April 18th 2016, apply for an extension of time to file. Please be aware that an extension of time to file your return does not grant you any extension of time to pay your taxes.
Fore more information see the attached form: f4868
About Expert Fiscaliste
Contact Expert Fiscaliste
Expert Fiscaliste provides Canadian and international income tax preparation and consulting services to individuals, businesses, and trusts.
If you want to take advantage of our services for your tax return. Give us a call at 514-954-9031, or visit our Contact Tax Experts page.
March 22, 2016 – Ottawa, Ontario – Department of Finance
The Minister of Finance, Bill Morneau, today tabled the new Government of Canada’s first federal budget.
Here are some highlights:
TAX MEASURES FOR INDIVIDUALS
Canada Child Benefit: New monthly tax-free payments starts July 1 to replace UCCB and other tax measures: up to $6,400 a year per child under 6, and $5,400 those aged 6 to 18. But this amount begins to claw back for households with an income over $30,000 and is eliminated entirely for incomes over $190,000.
Tax credits:Children’s arts and fitness tax credits phased out by end of 2017. But teachers get a $150 credit for teaching materials.
Elimination of Education and Textbook Tax Credits to eliminate the education and textbook tax credits, while leaving the tuition tax credit in place. Other income tax provisions that rely on eligibility for the education tax credit would be unaffected by the elimination of the credit effective January 1, 2017.
EI: Changes make it easier to qualify for benefits, and extends benefits for workers in 12 hard-hit regions. Plus: a bigger-than-expected cut in EI premiums next January.
Student grants: Increased 50%, to $3,000 for low-income and $1,200 for middle-income students.
Seniors: Guaranteed Income Supplement increased by up to $947 annually.
