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.

Coming up virtually on January 17, in person in Toronto on January 24 and in Calgary on January 26, registration for Knowledge Bureau’s 2024 Comprehensive T1 Tax Update for professionals is now open.  Check out the detailed agenda online! The program includes not only the presentations for the day but access to the accompanying online course, CE quizzes, accreditation and the new 430-page Knowledge Journal Line-by-Line Desktop Reference, as well as lunch and refreshments at the in-person events.  In addition, every student retains a subscription to EverGreen Explanatory Notes and Knowledge Bureau Report for the tax season and until May 6.   It’s your complete 2024 Tax Season Toolkit!

Did you know that Knowledge Bureau is a private, educational institution certified by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) to provide courses that develop or improve skills for those working in the tax, bookkeeping, accounting, and financial services industries? What this also means is that Knowledge Bureau students who have paid 2023 tuition fees in excess of $100 qualify for the tuition fee amount, and the T2202 tax slips to claim this are now available in your Virtual Campus. Here’s how to claim them:

We wish to express our sincere gratitude to you for the privilege of being a part of your professional life over the past year. 

Canadians and their economy appear to be on the road to financial health.  Canada’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 3.1% on a year-over-year basis in November, and while there was no decline from the month before, if the trend continues and the inflation rate falls to within the Bank of Canada’s target rate of 2%, Canadians could look to 2024 as the year the Bank starts cutting interest rates.  Better still, because household disposable income has risen at the fastest pace in five quarters, Canadian savings rates have risen, too.  There is a fly in the ointment, but even that can’t dampen spirits.

To pull ahead of high inflation, interest rates and new taxes looming for the first half of 2024,  taxpayers and their advisors can best cope by quickly sharpening their skills on uncovering tax-driven savings to manage financial challenges in the short term, says Knowledge Bureau Founder and President Evelyn Jacks, best-selling tax financial author and award-winning educator.  There are also some things that can still be done before year end, especially for delinquent tax filers, but the time is quickly drawing to a close, so if you have missed filing a return now is the time to catch up and recover refunds and benefits.    

Knowledge Bureau’s  T1 Advanced Tax Update Hybrid Learning Event is now available for registration, to provide a complete suite of educational resources personal tax specialists need to file a broad base of T1 returns for the 2023 tax year, including returns for individuals, students, families, investors, seniors, proprietors, the disabled and nuances for terminal returns.  Everything is included for this top tier Advanced T1 Tax Update to fully prepare you for the tax season including, as described below, the CE Summit workshops – virtual and in person – and a full tax research library, hard copy desk top reference journal, and CE Accreditation.