Are Your Clients’ Quarterly Tax Instalments Necessary?

Are your clients making unnecessary quarterly tax instalment remittances on self-employment, investments, pensions, or other sums from which tax is not withheld at source?

Chances are they are. . .and it’s a significant role in advocating for your clients’ rights to ensure that this is avoided.

When taxpayers fall into an instalment payment profile they start receiving a regular billing notice from Canada Revenue Agency reminding them to pay these amounts on time. Trouble is, if income has dropped since your client last filed a tax return—and that’s quite possible in a volatile financial climate—those instalment payments might be calculated at too high a level.

Be sure to help your clients reduce their quarterly instalments due on September 15 and December 15 by reviewing whether there is an advantage to using the Current Year Option or the Prior Year Option, to estimate the taxes they will owe for 2013.

Summertime is a good time to have those discussions and increase your value proposition to your clients. It will make you and your team more referable.