Investigative Tax Prep:  Top Ten Changes to Probe

Tax season 2025 has started with a focus on the increased income levels some taxpayers may report due to proposed changes in capital gains tax laws.  But aside from this there are new questions to probe with clients to ensure the family’s tax returns are filed to their very best benefit, given change in their life and financial events as well.  Here are top 10 queries to add to your interview checklist:

On June 5 at 10 am CT we invite you to join practicing Real Wealth Managers™ as they share their “why” that lead them to build their own family offices and practice within the RWM™ framework in order to help Canadians achieve financial peace of mind. How can you be part of transformative change in the financial services industry with your own family office focused on collaborative, future-oriented, financial planning? Learn more at this complimentary event and take advantage of a pre-event enrolment offer to enrol in the program and save $500 only until May 31!

Almost 90% of tax and financial advisors who responded to our May poll say they don’t agree with the proposed capital gains increase on or after June 25, 2024. Advisors have an important role to play in ensuring that the June 25 trigger date for the higher inclusion rates will not unduly upset retirement and estate plans. Knowledge Bureau’s Advanced Retirement & Estate Planning Course, featuring session recordings from expert instructors on May 22 (available today) will help bring you up to speed on the latest issues affecting your clients. Here’s what advisors said:

With all the extra tax filings clients have had to undertake this year including the Underused Housing Tax Returns and T3 returns for trusts, as well as their personal and corporate returns, professional fees payable will certainly  have risen.  For many, it will in fact have been an unbudgeted expense. Yet others, may be incurring legal fees to challenge CRA reassessments. Understanding how much of these fees will be deductible, can help ease the annual double-whammy:  paying taxes and paying professionals to figure them out.  Here are guidelines for deductibility.

The April 16, 2023 federal budget made brief mention of potential enhancements to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP).  The CPP death benefit, in particular, is in the spotlight. At $2,500, it has been unindexed, and it is sorely lacking for the funding of funeral expenses.  Here is what survivors can expect to receive under current rules, and what to look for as CPP enhancements are announced over the next several months to improve benefits available:

Knowledge Bureau’s Advanced Retirement Income Planning Course kicked off with a day long peer-to-peer learning summit that featured four expert presenters and a highly engaged audience of tax and financial advisors from across Canada.  The online course is now available with recorded presentations and all the outstanding insights.   Some of the top retirement planning questions coming out of the session appear below, together with insights about the value this 15 CE Credit Certificate course: 

The capital gains inclusion rate changes have invoke wide-spread concern about the best ways to preserve assets built over a lifetime to fund retirements and pass down important real estate and business interests. These tax changes will indeed cost average households significantly more money when they dispose of the assets that form the cornerstones of their net worth.  Advisors have an important role to play in ensuring that the June 25 trigger date for the higher inclusion rates will not unduly upset retirement and estate plans.  Here are five things that can be done: