Tax Change: Advise Taxpayer About Short-Term Rentals

Taxpayers who own a residential property and rent it out must be aware that income reporting is required in most cases.  Further if the rental was for periods of less than 90 days, expenses to offset that income could be restricted.  These Short Term Rental (STR) rules are new for the 2024 tax year.  Here’s what you need to know based on recent directives from Finance Canada and the CRA, which includes a brief reprieve for some STR owners in 2024:

At a time when interest rates are rising, a more common question from investors in real estate may concern interest deductibility.  When is the interest paid on a loan to finance a building or its construction, written off as an operating expense and when must it be capitalized? Most people are unaware of the latter option.

Knowledge Bureau Report asked its national audience “Do you believe the RRSP is still a good investment for pre-retirees who work after age 60?” last month and the results were surprising, given all the rhetoric around the use of RRSPs. A full majority – 74% said yes, but with lots of qualifications.  Here’s why:

At year-end, the T4 summary is completed and sent to the CRA.  The T4 forms are generated and sent to the employees before the end of February in the year following the payroll year.  If the employer is late in completing the T slip summary and remitting to the CRA, depending upon the number of slips to be completed, an employer could see a penalty of anywhere from $10 to $7,500.

The Federal Budget of April 7, 2022 represents a much brighter economic outlook for Canada and contains a sprinkling of tax provisions that most importantly did not raise any tax rates or impose new capital gains taxes.  However, there is a warning that this could be on the horizon as early as this fall.

The Finance Department has announced that the Federal Budget will be on April 7, 2022.  Your Knowledge Bureau Special Budget Report team will provide full details.  Then join us comprehensive analysis and CE Credits with Evelyn Jacks and the Knowledge Bureau Faculty at the May 18 Virtual CE Summit for the effect of budget and economic change on Retirement and Estate Planning.   

On March 23, 2022, the Federal Government announced the increased payments for the Climate Action Incentive (CAI) for the 2022-23 period and some Canadian households will soon receive over $1,000. But not through their tax filings, a change from last year.  It’s a recycling of federal carbon tax surtaxes.  Here’s what you need to know: