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:

Are you alarmed by the recent department of finance and CRA’s budget announcements? Are you feeling like you and your clients are drowning in quicksand? You don’t want to miss this Real Wealth Management Program orientation session, where you will have an opportunity to hear from 7 of Canada’s most influential thought leaders as they have a roundtable budget discussion. Learn more about the RWM™ Designation program and how a Real Wealth Management approach can help your clients achieve financial peace of mind through the collaborative multi-stakeholder strategies aimed at building sustainable inter-generational wealth after taxes, fees and inflation.

Last week , on the tax filing deadline of April 30, 2024, the Federal Government tabled a 663-page Notice of Ways and Means Motion to introduce many of the provisions of the April 16 Federal Budget.   Included in the Bill, the Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1 were the following provisions; check out how they impact filing at the virtual CE Savvy Summit on May 22 – earn 15 CE Credits, too :

Although, in general, bare trust filings received a CRA reprieve for the April 2, 2024 tax filing deadline, other obligations remain and will carry non-compliance penalties.  Specifically, CRA has stated that the T3 Return and Schedule 15 (Beneficial Ownership Information of a Trust) will not be required for the 2023 tax year unless the CRA makes a direct request for them. 

Things have changed for Canadians in their pre-retirement planning period.  High interest, inflation and consumer debt are eroding away “savings room” for private savings, and longevity risk is increasing.  As a result, preserving access to indexed public pensions – the CPP and the OAS - is now more important than ever in retirement income planning.  Doing so is complex. That’s why, well informed tax and financial advisors can add significant value.       

The April 16 federal budget proposed capital gains taxes that penalize those who have used their knowledge, skills and resources to make responsible financial decisions and has widely promoted tax and financial concepts that are not quite on the mark.  That introduces the potential for three unfortunate outcomes: uncertainty that stifles investment and initiative, increased financial illiteracy and worse, potential injustices when tax changes are politicized to pit one generation against another.  Fortunately, tax and financial advisors can help to restore shaken confidence in their important roles as educators and intermediaries.  Here are the issues to consider:  

Successful retirements, from a financial point of view, are about three phases of planning:  pre-retirement, in-retirement and after-retirement. While a regular process for saving, investment performance metrics and deaccumulation methods are all very important, retirement income planning is really about one strategic goal:  what matters is what you keep.