Time is Running Out for First-Time Home Buyers to Save in 2024

Owning a home, once almost considered a right of Canadian citizenship, has become a more distant dream for millions. The high cost of housing, coupled with a desperate shortage of supply, has turned the notion of home ownership into a near impossibility for many Canadians and those who have arrived in our country more recently.  The Tax-Free First Home Savings Account (FHSA) can help but it’s important to open an account before December 31, 2024 to create and preserve the contribution room.

You are invited to a special, complimentary educational event to learn why a Real Wealth Management approach to your client relationships is so important in this economic environment.  Mark your calendar:  for the Meeting of the Minds February 8 at 10:00 AM Central Time.  Attendees from coast to coast will discuss the events that are triggering their clients to want to make decisions about their life, financial and economic goals – often outside of their pre-defined plans.  There is a new way to approach this.  The Advisor of the Future – the Real Wealth Manager (RWM) – will take a proactive leadership role by aligning the stakeholder groups who are an integral part of a strategic Real Wealth Management plan. 

Did you miss the January 17 Virtual CE Summit? There are still ways to get your hands on the knowledge from the Advanced 2024 T1 Tax Update for 2023 Returns and learn your way, at your own pace from the convenience of your home or office.

Talk about long!  Did you know that Form T2203, Provincial and Territorial Taxes for Multiple Jurisdictions is 104 pages long? The new form, just released online, together with the 2023 T1, provides an excellent scope on just how complicated tax filing really is in this country.  It also makes it clear how critical it is for tax and financial professionals to take an annual Advanced T1 Tax Update course to perform with the high level of competency required to offer tax filing and planning services.  Here’s what you need to know:

Childcare expenses are claimed as a deduction on Line 21400 of the tax return and that’s important because these costs reduce family net income, which is the number used to calculate the monthly Canada Child Benefit (CCB).  But guess what?  If you qualified for the new $10 a day childcare, or you spent less on child care in 2023, an unpleasant surprise may be coming your way.

At rising prescribed interest rates, interspousal investment loans have not been as lucrative  for income splitting purposes as in years past.  Nonetheless if you have one, beware that the borrower must pay the lender the interest due on the loan by January 30 or the arrangement will be nullified.  You may wish to refresh on the rules:

Did you know that CRA has fielded over 8 million calls in past tax seasons, often with complaints as to wait times and quality of their answers?  Perhaps that’s the reason their phone number has been removed from the tax return this year, preferring to sending people to the their website instead.  But when 25% of Canada’s 32 million taxfilers must rely on current, accurate and prompt answers to their tax questions in a very short period of time, professionals will have to pick up the slack.  Fortunately, you can cover your bases with The Tax Tip Toolkit, which includes access to  Evergreen Explanatory Notes, your authoritative tax research library. Plus, the Knowledge Bureau Discovery Calculators. Subscribe now!