Breaking News - Capital Gains Inclusion Rate Increase Postponed to January 1, 2026

Breaking News - From Finance Canada today - a postponement of capital gains inclusion rate increase from June 25, 2024 to January 1, 2026—the new date on which the capital gains inclusion rate would increase from one-half to two-thirds on capital gains realized annually above $250,000 by individuals and on all capital gains realized by corporations and most types of trusts.

According to the Vanier Institute, the pandemic that began a year ago may have a significant effect on family life in Canada, particularly for those who experienced unemployment as part of the equation.  Families who may have separated or divorced in 2020 will now have significantly altered income tax profiles.  Here is what you need to know to ensure support payments are properly reported.  

“My 69-year-old mother now lives with us, and we had to make renovations to our home so that she could be safe after her accident at her personal care home.   Can we write off the costs of those renovations?”  It’s not an uncommon question this year as Canadians coped with the stress of the pandemic. The Home Accessibility Tax Credit can provide some financial relief in these cases.

The Refundable Medical Expense Supplement is a tax credit claimed on line 45200 of the T1 return targeted at lower income earners.  If the credit exceeds the taxes payable, the balance will be refunded to the taxpayer. CRA provides an area on the Federal Worksheet that accompanies the income tax package to make the calculations. The trouble is, few people know about it.

Filing a tax return is always a good idea, but chances are CRA will owe you money even if you don’t have any income at all.  That’s because you may be eligible for some refundable tax credits. However, for the majority of people who have at least some income – and that includes teenagers who qualified for the CERB and other pandemic supports this year, it’s important to know the answer to this question:  who should file a tax return and who must file one? 

It’s not too late to learn to prepare personal income tax returns from your home or office and now you can confidently learn and practice doing 2020 tax returns with Knowledge Bureau’s newly released 2021 Professional Basic Tax Course. 

You may have heard the saying “the harder I work, the luckier I get.”  When it comes to tax, bookkeeping and financial advisory services,  it can also be said that the more education you have, the better the advice you’ll give to the benefit of your lucky clients.  For these reasons, we offer you twin “pots of educational gold” on this St. Patrick’s Day.