Record Number of Tax Returns Filed in 2026

It looks like tax season 2026 could be the biggest one we’ve seen in the history of filing in Canada, proving once more that Canadians are extremely tax compliant and that filing a personal tax return is the most important triggers for long term wealth planning in this country. But there is a shortage of qualified people and now is the time to do something about that before tax season 2027.

The Canada Revenue Agency completed nearly 112,000 audits during fiscal 2016-17, according to a government report on recent efforts to crack down on tax cheats. If you or your clients are chosen for an audit, there are a few best practices that can help you through the process.

“Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.” — Oprah Winfrey

Canadian portfolio manager and 25-year veteran of the financial services industry, Douglas V. Nelson, CFP, MFA, CLU, CIM, has been awarded the 2017 DAC Client Innovation Scholarship Award, to be presented at the Distinguished Advisor Conference in Kelowna, B.C., November 5-8. The award was co-founded by Knowledge Bureau and Franklin Templeton Investments in 2016.

Canadian household debt hit a record in the second quarter of this year, at $1.68 of debt for every dollar of income. As interest rates increase and debt levels soar, your clients run the risk of much greater uncertainty about their financial security.

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Jan Sawchuk, of Peachland, B.C., on the Basic Bookkeeping for Small Businesses course