Downsizing Your CRA Tax Files?

Happy New Year! If one of your resolutions for 2026 is to downsize, or at least sort through all that stuff you don’t need anymore, you may inevitably run across those tax files you’ve been keeping for decades. Just how long do you have to keep them? Do you need permission to destroy them? From whom? Read on to learn more. 

The results of a mid-month survey of CRA tax auditors by the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) highlight the challenges of keeping Canada’s tax system fair for all. One of them is the easy headlines that pit one group of taxpayers – generally the “wealthy” - against another. But a deeper read of the survey uncovers relevant and possibly more purposeful insights.

The vast majority of Canadians caring for sick and disabled family members are missing out on lucrative tax assistance and paying for expensive care costs out of pocket, according to a CIBC poll. Worse, only 12 percent of caregivers are accessing available tax deductions, credits, and benefits on their tax returns.

Entrepreneur Amanda McAskill, of AJM Bookkeeping and Business Services is a recent graduate of Knowledge Bureau’s Bookkeeping for Small Business course. She found herself re-energized by the course, and inspired to tackle her career goals. Here’s her story:

Nearly 90 percent of Canadians filed their tax returns online this year. Despite this, low adoption rates show that some of the CRA’s automated programs are missing the mark - at least so far - and may be failing to improve the rates of taxpayer filing delinquency.

How financially literate is the global population? Not very, according to two important reports, and that’s a big problem. There are significant economic consequences to this knowledge gap that underscore why financial education is essential for everyone.

Young advisors are the future of an industry that’s rapidly transforming, and Knowledge Bureau will be honoring an up-and-coming change-maker at November’s Distinguished Advisor Conference in Quebec City. Nominations for the Distinguished Young Advisor Award are being accepted until August 31, 2018.