Q: My 87-year-old mom lives in a long term care home in Ottawa. I hired a wonderful woman as a companion to her, to supplement my weekly visits. Would her fees be tax deductible as Attendant Care? A: Possibly, if a few other factors are in play. Definition of Attendant Care The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) [...]
Why does tax season have to come when the sun is shining and there's good stuff on TV? Reasons to always file on time, even if you can't afford to pay now.
You may be feeling guilty or ashamed about filing late returns going back a few years, but there’s probably a good reason you fell behind. Why Do People File Late? It starts with the first one... For most people who have filed on time in the past, that first missed return is because of a [...]
Here at Personal Tax Advisors, we serve a lot of new clients who come to us having fallen several years behind on their income tax filing. Helping people clear away years of unfiled taxes is incredibly rewarding because we’re able to not only help with taxes (as always), but alleviate a lot of emotional distress. [...]
As you may know, you don't pay tax in Canada on the sale of your principal residence. But what if the property was your principal residence, but was an investment property by the time you sold it? Q: I purchased my home 20 years ago for $120,000. Fifteen years later I converted that principal residence [...]
It starts with missing one year. Tax time rolls around and you’re going through some things so you put it off or it slips your mind. Second year – it happens again. It starts to bother you, but life is hectic. Third year: now it’s becoming a habit not to file. Every now and then, [...]
The special Work-From-Home deduction relating to Covid-19 came into effect for the 2020 tax year and continued until the end of the 2022 tax year. Let's recap what this deduction does and how to claim it. The Covid-19 Work-From-Home Deduction As a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Canadian government allowed a special Work-From-Home deduction [...]
Little-known fact: 80% of Canadian income tax filing works on the honour system. During tax season, CRA receives an avalanche of income tax returns; far more than they could ever review in real time. Consequently, they send out most Notices of Assessment having done little-to-no review of what is actually in those tax returns. Unless [...]
The Canada Revenue Agency requests that some Canadians pay their income tax by installments through the year. The majority of Canadians don't have to make quarterly tax installment payments toward their income taxes because their employers deduct sufficient tax at source throughout the year to cover their tax bill. But those who have sources of [...]
Tax scams are on the rise, so protect yourself with good information. Here’s how to know if a person claiming to be collecting on a tax bill from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is on the level, or a fraudster. For years, Personal Tax Advisors has warned clients to disregard personal emails about tax refunds [...]
