Q4 - Indexation of OAS and Prescribed Interest Rates

Two pieces of good news for the last quarter of 2026: seniors will get a small raise, but prescribed interest rates at CRA will stay steady for the last quarter of 2026. Here’s what you need to integrate into your year end planning activities.

What’s changing at CRA? Who is at greater risk of an audit? What can CRA demand, and how should you respond when an assessment is wrong? In just one week, the September 23 CE Savvy Summit: Audit Defence Management brings together Evelyn Jacks, Ruth Horst and Kim G C Moody for a comprehensive update on the issues tax professionals need to understand to prepare stronger filings and defend their clients.

For clients who have accumulated significant wealth, the question may no longer be whether they need insurance. Instead, where can insurance fit as a strategic tool to preserve wealth, provide liquidity and optimize the resources they already have? That’s the focus of an important insurance planning session at the 2026 Acuity Conference for Distinguished Advisors, featuring Daniel Dessureault, ASA, CEA, CLU®, CFP®, RWM™, MFA-P™ and Melanie Zimmerman, CPA, CA, TEP, sponsored by PPI.

One can’t avoid the messaging of the economic pain to come. Our deteriorating economic relationship with our biggest trading partner will require us to “pivot and prosper” in order to emerge “stronger and more resilient” says our Prime Minister. While exactly how we will do this is still unclear, there is one clear opportunity: for both federal and provincial governments to initiate a significant personal and corporate tax reform in the upcoming fall budget.

With the tariff war with the United States heating up, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on September 2 that the excise tax suspension will be extended until January 31, 2027. This news provides a measure of relief for the average Canadian family but now is the time to get ready for the inflationary effects of the reinstated tax staring in February – already an expensive month for winter heating costs. Here’s what you need to know:

What does effective CRA audit defence look like in practice? On September 23, the CE Summit: Audit Defence Management will tackle that question across a full day of advanced professional development. The agenda moves from identifying high-risk files and emerging areas of CRA scrutiny through audit and reassessment management, documentation and defence strategies, tax technology and a true-to-life case study that puts the day’s learning into practice.

How do advisors grow when prospective clients are increasingly influenced by market headlines, emotional biases and financial uncertainty? At the 2026 Acuity Conference for Distinguished Advisors (DAC), April-Lynn Levitt, BCom., CFP, will explore how behavioural finance can help professionals approach prospecting differently in Prospecting: New Clients, New Team, sponsored by Gold Sponsor The Personal Coach. Register by the September 30 early-bird deadline to join us at the beautiful Delta Victoria Ocean Pointe Resort in Victoria, BC this November!