Red Ink on the Prairies

A day after Quebec’s Finance Minister Eric Girard brought down a Budget featuring a $6.3 Billion deficit, Saskatchewan’s Finance Minister Jim Reiter tabled his government’s budget on March 19. Next up was Finance Minister Adrian Salas, who tabled the Manitoba Budget on March 24. The common thread: there’s lots of red ink on the Prairies. But that’s where the budget documents differ between Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Here’s the latest tax news and why it matters to the advice you give your clients.

This week’s Knowledge Bureau Report is dedicated to those often-missed and often-audited discretionary deductions and credits that both professionals and taxpayers will want to ensure they’re maximizing on to improve the size of tax refunds and/or reduce family tax bills. 

An often under-claimed and misunderstood tax deduction is the claim for babysitting or child care expenses. Make the claim on auxiliary tax form T778 and generally you will do so on the return of the spouse with the lowest net income. However, there are cases where the higher earner can make the claim. Here are the rules:

Taxpayers who moved in 2018 can take advantage of expense claims for lucrative tax breaks when filing their tax returns this year. However, there are some tricky rules that apply to eligible and ineligible moving expenses that must be considered in order to remain audit-proof with the CRA.

Medical expenses are among the most commonly overlooked tax provisions. Most people have out-of-pocket costs not covered by a medical plan, so It’s important to pay attention to to claim them, as they can be used to reduce taxes payable. Use this checklist of twelve often-missed allowable medical expenses to your benefit, or that of your clients.

The height of tax season is drawing close. Make a great decision and commit to your off-season education plan now. Train your staff for next year too. Making sure you mark early registration deadlines will save you money. Ask for group discounts when 2 or more enrol  Here are the key deadline dates:

Certified Financial Planner (CFP) Chris Bockstael, of OneLife Wealth Management Inc, graduated with an MFA™ – Retirement and Succession Services Specialist designation, based on recommendations from colleagues who indicated that Knowledge Bureau courses were particularly pertinent to financial planning.