• You can elect to Stop CPP Contributions if you are 65 and 70 years old. The form CPT30 needs to be filed with your employer and the CRA. You may also wish to defer your CPP or OAS until you are 70 to gain larger future payments. If you started collected OAS, but it makes sense to defer it because of claw back and you are under age 71, you can retroactively defer it within 6 months of starting. If you apply for your OAS pension after you become eligible for it, you may be eligible for a retroactive payment. OAS Clawback begins when income exceeds $81,761 for 2022.
• The Sale of a Principal Residence must be reported, along with any principal residence designation. The CRA is collecting the information to aide them in enforcement programs. If you sold a house within 2 years of purchase you may be subject to new Federal or BC house flipping rules.
• BC taxpayers do not forget to file your Vacancy Tax / Speculation Tax
• Do you ever wonder if your business expenses are within the range? Check out this resource from the Government of Canada - https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/cis-sic.nsf/eng/home
• Capital Gains (Losses) on Foreign Currency changes in excess of $200 needs to be reported on your tax return. The gain is reportable once it is triggered by either converting to another currency or purchasing goods in the foreign currency. Tracking can be difficult, please speak to us if you have gains or losses to report.
• Since 2018, dividends and distributions from privately held related corporations, trusts and partnership which you are not actively involved may be considered split income (TOSI) and be subject to top marginal rates. If you are concerned that you may have this type of income, please let us know upon providing your tax documents.
• Cryptocurrency (Bitcoin) gains may occur when you sell or use the currency in transactions. This will be treated as taxable income and needs to be reported. CRA and other countries are increasing the enforcement on the use of Cryptocurrencies and have been requesting information from crypto wallet companies, and once they have the customer identities, they will be able to review all the transactions in the customer’s history as it is on the public ledger. The CRA puts the onus on the taxpayer to track their transactions during the year and we do not expect much forgiveness on not reporting gains.
• Form T1135 – Foreign Income Verification Statement is required with your tax filing if at any time in the year the total cumulative cost amount of all ‘specified foreign property’ (generally comprised of non-Canadian investments, including foreign stocks held at a Canadian securities dealers) you owned or held a beneficial interest in was more than $100,000 CDN. If this applies to you, you may need to file a completed T1135.
• Make sure you file on time as the CRA has been strictly assessing penalties. It is your responsibility to sign the documents and get them back to us. We cannot file your returns without the signed documents.
• Are you at risk because of the amount of time you spend in the US? Both the Canadian and the United States government have been tracking how much time you spend in each country. Spending too much time in the US could result in adverse tax consequences, such as, US taxation on worldwide income, US information return filing requirements, and potentially a Canadian exit tax. The determination of whether your time in the US is considered substantial presence is determined based on a formula which factors in the number of days in the US over the last three years.
• Dying with US Assets such as real estate located in the U.S., Tangible personal property located in U.S. or owning Stock of corporations organized in or under U.S. law, may result in filing a US Estate Tax Return. Ensure you plan to not own these in your personal name or ensure you are below the threshold for US tax, but note that filing is still required even if you do not owe the tax.
• United States Personal Income Tax Return – Are you a US citizen, resident, green card holder or other US Person? If you answered yes, let us know and we can assist in determining your US filing obligations and preparing your US filing requirements.