Claiming Medical Expenses: Free Healthcare?

Free Health Care? Did you know that Canadians spend on average more than $1,000 on medical expenses each year? It’s estimated that government programs, via our taxes, cover about 72% of medical expenses, which means that we pay for the rest. Your clients may be over-paying on their taxes because they don’t know about medical expense deductions. 

The tax preparation industry is undergoing massive change: from jobs that required data entry skills to professional advice that focuses on the best after-tax results for the client and his or her family. That requires a new educational solution for those who want to build a career in this rewarding industry.

Troy Harrison of Winnipeg, shares why investing in education as an advisor, isn’t just about career advancement. Education also helps advisors forge trust with clients.  His focus now is to cultivate and nurture his client relationships and inspire other advisors to do the same.

Two new important pieces of information from the CRA impact the registered investment strategies of Canadian taxpayers. The forecasted TFSA contribution limits for 2019, and the long-awaited Income Tax Folio S3-F10-C3, Advantages – RRSPs, RESPs, RRIFs, RDSPs and TFSAs issued on October 1.

The new NAFTA deal—now called USMCA—will no doubt make positive contributions to the Canadian economy and investors will appreciate the improvement in market uncertainty. But, there are also some points of concern, including impacts to specific sectors and looming interest rate hikes. Plus, a duty-free limit increase that improves ease of holiday shopping, but could have economic repercussions.

A new report from the C.D. Howe Institute answers the common question: should the rich pay more tax? While recent tax rate changes brought in $1.2 Billion federally (far less than the $3 Billion anticipated) the data points to several negative impacts, with consequences to all taxpayers, when the rates applied to Canada’s top income earners go up.

It’s almost unanimous among tax and financial advisors who strongly believe that Canada needs tax reform to create a fair, simple and certain tax system for people of all income levels.