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. 

Knowledge Bureau’s November Poll asks you to weigh in on the level of audit activity being experienced across Canada, amidst reports of delays and other service-related problems at CRA, like those experienced by single mom, Marcia Peel, who is still waiting for her Canada Child Benefit after 6 months and $700 in legal fees.

Sadly, the gap between the least and most educated in our society is growing. In 2016 young males without a high school diploma had an employment rate of 67 percent compared with 89 percent for a university-educated man; the employment rate for women with less than a high school diploma was 41 percent versus 84 percent for those with a university degree.

Attaining work-life balance and overall job satisfaction seems out of reach for a percentage of Canadians, according to Statistics Canada. Embracing new opportunities for personal and professional development is the key to reaching these goals.

At Knowledge Bureau, we love to receive feedback from our readers. Klaus Theyer of Exact Tax Services commented on thought leadership about recent federal tax changes.  Here’s what he said:

Breaking news from Ottawa: The Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO to follow-up on The Minister of Finance’s July 18 proposals, releasing a new report on November 23.

The transfer of assets to family members is an important part of retirement and post-retirement planning, as the tax consequences can be enormous. This is especially true now for average families as well as high-net-worth clients, because all final tax returns will carry with them the requirement to report any deemed disposition of a common family asset: the principal residence.