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.

Halloween is right around the corner, with the annual treats already proliferating in local retail outlets. For most tax professionals, however, this brings a reminder – if not a recurring nightmare – about the first Underused Housing Tax (UHT) filings which were abruptly aborted by CRA the afternoon of October 31. Since then, more changes to the UHT have been passed into law, specifically in Bill C-69 on June 20, 2024.  This brings more certainty to the tax and filing requirements, briefly summarized below, and an audit alert.

This summer another half a million people were invited to try the SimpleFile pilot project; bringing the total number of invitees to two million potential tax filers of the 2023 tax return.  The project has had minimal uptake so far:  only 50,000 people (0.2% of all tax filers) have used it in the period February 5, 2024 to September 2, 2024.  What’s the objective for this big project?

Choose your CE/CPD Adventure! Knowledge Bureau and its esteemed partners proudly present 9 impactful events for your professional development. Mark your calendar now, register below and come think, collaborate and connect with your peers – live or in person! 

Are you training your team this fall? Now is the time to take advantage of our lowest tuition fees of the year, and enhance your team’s specialized credentials from our Distinguished Master Advisor (DMA™ Designation Program) or Real Wealth Manager™ Programs and introduce new Specialized Credentials to your team’s training plan! Choose from Personal or Corporate Tax, Accounting, Retirement, Small Business Management and Wealth Management streams.

Are you ready to celebrate and network with the best thought leadership in the tax and financial services at the 2024 Acuity Conference for Distinguished Advisors? Don’t miss the final opportunity for early-bird savings and reserve your spot by September 15, your tuition includes the Wine and Cheese Meet & Greet (exclusively for KB Designates), the Opening Reception and Knowledge Bureau Awards Dinner on Sunday, November 10. Then on November 11, you’re invited to join us the beautiful Rialto Theatre for the Acuity Gala for Distinguished Advisors. Details below:

Special Back to School Tax Tips Issue: It’s Back to School and that means it’s time to think about how the tax system works to help support parents, students and employers.  In this Special Knowledge Bureau Report, refresh your memory on the tax deductible do’s and don’ts when it comes to funding education through the tax system. There are two common ways to do so from investment accounts that may have been set up for these purposes.  First there are the Education Assistance Payments available from the Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP).  You may also consider the Lifelong Learning Plan under the RRSP withdrawal rules.  Here’s what to know: