The UHT May Be Cancelled, But Vacancy Taxes Remain

As tax professionals, you are keenly aware of the constant changes our federal government makes to the Income Tax Act. Adjustments are made, and you must adapt. Not often, though, is a tax eliminated altogether. But in the case of the Underused Housing Tax (UHT), that is exactly what has happened – it was cancelled in the federal budget of November 4, 2025, but Canada’s underused housing taxes have not been eliminated. Here’s what you need to know for tax season 2026.

As CERB income reporting begins in earnest on the 2020 tax return, Canadians and their advisors are scrambling to confirm eligibility for amounts received last year and if required, to repay amounts received in error.  However, a number of questions have arisen around the grey areas of eligibility.  A common one surrounded eligibility for individual recipients of dividends from family businesses.

Business owners are struggling and despite the announcement of a new loan program yesterday, is more indebtedness the help that business owners really want at this time?

Join the Society of Real Wealth Managers™ on February 3rd at 11:30 EST to discuss how to interact and adapt to challenges working with your clients and other financial professionals. The focus is on how to  overcome the technical, ethical, moral and legal issues that can arise when multiple advisors are involved.   

The 2020 Distinguished Advisor Conference set a high standard for virtual conferences with a unique blend of information, education, inspiration and recreation. We are working  hard to bring DAC back to a live format, October 17-19 in Niagara Falls*, with a great mix of networking activities to celebrate – together! If you register by the February 15 early-bird deadline, you can save $400 on tuition, too! Take a peek at what we’ve got in store for you so far:

Hundreds of advisors from coast to coast were caught off guard at Knowledge Bureau’s January 20 CE Summit with the news that the forgivable portion of the CEBA loan is taxable when the loan is received.

The pandemic has wreaked havoc on personal and business lives and continues to do so. Those in the bookkeeping and tax accounting services will need to digest and properly report various pandemic relief provisions including the new detailed information required on new T4 Slips – requirements for all employers, by the way.