CRA’s Callback Service for Tax Pros Pilot

Are you a tax professional with years of experience? Have you ever felt frustrated after calling the CRA, having spent hours on hold, wasting your client’s or employer’s time, only to speak to CRA agents who aren’t qualified to answer your questions? The Auditor General of Canada was equally displeased in a scathing report last fall on wait times and accuracy levels at the CRA. Now a new CRA callback service may come to the rescue this tax season. Here is my experience with the pilot project so far:

Experts and visionaries from all sides of the financial services are now preparing their ground-breaking research for presentations at the Distinguished Advisor Conference, November 6 to 9 in San Diego.

Now that tax season is in full swing, Knowledge Bureau would like to remind you of some key dates to mark in your calendar: Regional DAW Workshops - May 24 to 31, Summer Studies Begin June 15, DAC  Nov 6 -9.

"If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door." Milton Berle

Unincorporated business owners can avoid late filing penalties by filing their taxes before midnight June 15. However, if you owe money to CRA, you must pay by midnight May 2 to avoid interest charges.

Saul lost his job and was not able to keep up with his required support payments to his estranged family. He was required to pay $500 per month in spousal support and $1,000 per month in child support. He did not begin to know how to claim his arrears payments on his tax return. Fortunately his Tax Services Specialist could help.

Old Age Security (OAS) and the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) are indexed quarterly. However, the indexation factor for these purposes for the second quarter—April to June 2016—is nil so there will be no raise in the monthly benefit amount for that period. But that doesn’t mean consumer spending didn’t cost more last quarter, as reported by Statistics Canada, especially for food, alcohol and tobacco.