Navigating Auto Expense Deduction at Year End: What Clients Need to Know

Doubtless you’ve had clients ask whether they can write off any portion of their vehicle for work or business purposes. And your answer, as always, is: “It depends.” The rules are worth reviewing at year end as they can vary significantly depending on how the client earns their income—employee, self-employed, or incorporated – and this is a deduction that’s often audited. Here’s a practical primer to guide that conversation.

A recent survey by 2019 DAC Sponsor Franklin Templeton shows* that 21% of young boomers (age 55 to 64) have not set anything aside for their retirement while 46% are considering a delayed retirement. Many of these issues are caused by having to support an aging parent as well as older children leaving no funds to save for retirement. To outline the key issues, here’s a case study with Raymond’s story.

Are you a Gen Xer, or do you have clients who are? Did you know that 28% of this demographic (ages 37 to 52) has not saved anything for their retirement? This, according to a recent survey by DAC Sponsor Franklin Templeton*. The following case study explores Helga and Michael’s story and highlights the important role of seeking the right tax and financial advice, sooner rather than later. 

A U.S. study has found that 58% of millennials are actively saving for retirement.* That’s impressive and important because in Canada, Statistics Canada tells us that 42% of senior families are in debt, with 14% still holding mortgages, and those with consumer debt standing at 37%.* Millennials have a few important defensive tools at their disposal to help them prepare for a financially healthy retirement . One of them is to manage mortgage debt with retirement savings through new features in an RRSP under the Home Buyers Plan (HBP).

If you want to help your clients avoid FROM – fear of running out of money – you’ll want to hear dynamic, best-selling author of Master Your Retirement, Doug Nelson B.Comm. (hons), CFP, CIM, MFA™, RWM™ at the November CE Summits. Doug’s sessions are focused on the timely retirement planning issues that impact the work advisors do today in helping investors prepare for a more certain future.

The current scheme of reporting capital gains, by including 50% of taxable gains in income, may be increased to 75% depending on the results of the next election. Does it make sense for the economy and its Canadian investors to do so? Not in the absence of inflation adjusting. Here’s how the math works.

Individual income tax filing statistics for the 2018 tax year to July 2 show that more than 28.5 million Canadians have filed this season. That’s down from the nearly 30 million last year. So are average tax refunds, which now sit at $1,706 compared to $1,765. It’s an important opportunity for tax specialists to review prior filed returns and find out why, while also discussing several new tax changes occurring in 2019.