Tax professional Jamie Golombek provides tips about CRA deadlines and modifications
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Tax season is quick approaching, however there are some things try to be doing proper now to get a head begin.
An important factor, tax professional Jamie Golombek stated, is to know your Registered Retirement Financial savings Plan (RRSP) contribution restrict.
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The managing director of tax and property planning at CIBC Personal Wealth Administration stated being conscious of your restrict is essential for the reason that deadline to assert an RRSP deduction in your 2023 tax return is Feb. 29. Canadians can nonetheless contribute to their RRSPs after that deadline, however they received’t be capable to declare the deduction till their 2024 tax return.
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The simplest option to discover out your contribution restrict is to take a look at the discover of evaluation on your 2022 tax return. In the event you don’t have that, you possibly can log into your account on the Canada Income Company’s web site.
“I’m an enormous fan of RRSPs,” Golombek stated in a current interview with the Monetary Publish’s Larysa Harapyn. “An RRSP continues to be the best option to save for retirement.”
He stated most Canadians ought to maximize their RRSP contributions, however that doesn’t imply they need to take out a mortgage to take action. A mortgage on this case solely is smart in “very restricted and uncommon conditions” the place you possibly can repay most, if not all, of it inside just a few months, comparable to when you understand you’ll quickly be getting a bonus, additional money or large tax refund.
“The issue is in the event you can’t afford to pay it again, and this drags on for months, it turns into a really, very costly option to make an RRSP contribution,” Golombek stated.
Canadians who’ve been working from house on a full-time or hybrid foundation must also get a head begin on determining their home-office bills earlier than the April 30 tax submitting deadline. That’s as a result of the CRA’s simplified technique of claiming work-from-home bills is not out there for the 2023 tax yr.
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Between 2020 to 2022, workers had been allowed to assert $2 per day for every single day they labored from house, as much as a most of $500. Now, workers will likely be required to tally up and prorate their bills earlier than claiming the ensuing quantity as a deduction. Staff will even want a duplicate of type T2200 from their employer.
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In the event you owe the CRA cash, it’s extra important “now than ever earlier than within the final twenty years” to pay the excellent steadiness by April 30, Golombek stated. That’s as a result of the CRA’s prescribed rate of interest for overdue or late taxes has hit 10 per cent for the primary time since mid-2001.
“For somebody in a prime tax bracket of fifty per cent or extra, you’d should earn a price of return of over 20 per cent on an equal funding to be higher off than not paying your tax debt,” he stated.
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