Time’s Up: CRA’s 100 Day Mandate for Improvement

After years of frustration on the part of tax professionals and taxpayers alike, the Finance Minister ordered the Canada Revenue Agency to clean up its act in 100 days. Specifically, the improvement plan was to run from September 2 through December 11. Finance Minister and Minister of National Revenue, Francoise-Phillippe Champagne instructed CRA to fix “unacceptable wait times and service delays.” Time’s up this week and CRA has released an update on progress. What gets measured, gets done. Let’s see what CRA’s metrics show. 

As the April 30 tax filing deadline rapidly approaches, we’ve been hearing from the tax filing community about long, long waits for urgently needed CRA answers to client issues. More are having success obtaining information through the CRA Represent a Client Portal. However, it seems their phone service is proving to be a challenge for both taxpayers and tax pros alike. Greg Clark of Greg Clark Accounting and Tax Inc. in Winnipeg shares his experience:

The Manitoba Budget was released on April 7 and contains a highlight for teachers in 2021: a 15% refundable tax credit for eligible educators who spend their own money (up to $1,000) on supplies for students.  This claim mirrors the federal credit, which is claimed on Lines 46800 and 46900.  Who is an eligible educator?  Here are the details.

Do you have clients that purchased zero-emission vehicles (such as electric cars)? There are some newer rules to get up to speed on as the government has continued to offer a $5,000 rebate for light-duty, zero-emission vehicle purchases along with the 100% write-off for zero-emission autos purchased by those who can write off the purchase of a vehicle. Here’s what you need to know.

April 30 is an important deadline for more than one reason: late elections for pension income splitting for 2017 expire April 30, 2021 as taxpayers can optimize pension income splitting, but only for up to three years.  Taxpayers who elect to split pension income with a spouse must claim an offsetting deduction on Line 21000 for the elected amount of income that will be reported by the pensioner's spouse. Form T1032 Joint Election to Split Pension Income is used to determine the election. What should professional tax and financial advisors know?

The difference between good and bad debt often lies in its tax deductibility. Those who leverage their assets as part of their strategic plan to build wealth will often do so more successfully by earning more income and increasing their net worth. However, should you borrow to invest? Claiming tax-deductible interest is often the only consolation for the eroding effect that the costs of debt can have on personal wealth. Here’s what you need to know this tax season:

Okay, we admit, it’s a stretch, but we wanted to hop into the spirit, and surprise you, our Knowledge Bureau Report readers, with a tuition treat to celebrate the long weekend!